Juan Pablo Montoya has insisted that he will be ‘a lot happier' competing in the NASCAR series when he defects from
Formula One, following two unhappy seasons in the McLaren-Mercedes team.
Although Montoya's whereabouts in 2007 has become one of the buzzwords this year for the obligatory ‘silly season' and a Chip Ganassi return in NASCAR had been mentioned, a deal was not thought to be imminent.
Nonetheless, despite the challenge of switching from open-wheel, road course racing to stock car, oval racing, Montoya is certain that he is doing the right thing for his career, even after Chip Ganassi himself doubted his decision.
"Chip told me, 'You need to convince me that you need to do this,'" said Montoya. "'It is a matter of three years down the road, will you be excited doing what you're doing?'. I will be a lot happier here."
With
McLaren choosing not to take up their option on Montoya following two seasons in which he was not able to match team-mate
Kimi Raikkonen, the Colombian was rumoured to be moving to
Toyota, but they are now expecting to field an unchanged line-up next year.
Red Bull was also though to be in contention for his signature but their interest appears to have waned recently.
As a result, Montoya has taken the plunge to team up with Chip Ganassi and replace Casey Mears in the Target Dodge Charger in 2007. It was a deal that came together quickly.
"It took us an hour to go through everything," said Montoya. "It was that simple. It is hard to turn it down.”
"I am so happy to be entering the fastest growing racing league in the world. I've thought about this for quite some time but the opportunity had to be right.
“I've known and worked with Chip for a number of years and this situation could not be better for me. I have a lot of confidence in my ability as a racecar driver and in Chip and Felix as owners. I know the transition will not be easy but I can't wait to get behind the wheel."
