Montoya to make Cup debut in Homestead

UPDATE #2 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will enter Juan Pablo Montoya in the Ford 400 qualifying field in the #30 Texaco/Havoline Dodge. It will be his first attempt at making a Nextel Cup starting grid. Montoya will attempt to make his Nextel Cup Series debut by qualifying on Friday for the Ford 400, scheduled for Sunday. Last July, Montoya announced his plans to switch to NASCAR where he will pilot the #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger in 2007 while running for the Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year title, along with an assortment of NASCAR Busch Series races. In doing so, Montoya will become the first Formula 1 regular to ever join the Nextel Cup ranks full time. HMS PR

11/13/06 Car owner Chip Ganassi has entered a Nextel Cup car for driver Juan Pablo Montoya for next weekend's season finale at Homestead, Fla., but Ganassi and Montoya said they still haven't decided if Montoya will actually run in the Sunday race or just Saturday's Busch race. "We're making the decision this week," Ganassi said. The stumbling block could be the car number: If Ganassi puts Montoya in the No.42, which Montoya is scheduled to run next season, he would be assured of a spot in the field. If not, then Montoya would have to make the field on speed. But Casey Mears, who is vacating the 42 at the end of the season and moving to the Rick Hendrick camp, might not be enthusiastic about giving up that number early. Ganassi said he had not raised the issue yet with Mears.

"If everything is right, it's worth doing it," Montoya said. "If things are not right, there's no point to doing it."

There is certainly pressure to put Montoya in the Nextel Cup race, from a marketing standpoint, and the ability to exploit Montoya's Miami-as-hometown angle.

"We feel very strong about getting him in the Cup race," Ganassi said. "The issue is getting him out of the pits in a competitive manner. You can have the fastest car, but if we can't get out of the pits you might as well not even be there. This has all come on pretty quick, putting him in a Cup race. We just don't want to embarrass him or ourselves. We want to make sure it's right." Winston-Salem Journal

11/12/06 Speculation is rampant that Juan Pablo Montoya, a Formula One star, may announce today that he'll make his Nextel Cup debut in next Sunday's NASCAR tour finale at Homestead, Fla., down the road from Montoya's Miami home. Winston-Salem Journal