NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
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CUP: Montoya Likes Racing Just As It Is
Juan Pablo Montoya has enjoyed a breakout third season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted November 10, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Juan Pablo Montoya is a big fan of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing. (Photo: Getty Images)

While there has been a fair amount of debate about the quality of racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year, one of its staunchest defenders is also one of its most recent converts.

Juan Pablo Montoya, a Colombia native who made his name racing in the old Champ Car World Series and then Formula 1, the most prestigious auto racing series in the world, said Tuesday that he feels NASCAR has it all over the competition these days.

“Honestly, if you don't like what you're seeing, you shouldn't be seeing it because it's the greatest racing you can have in any motorsport scene,” Montoya said during Tuesday’s weekly NASCAR teleconference. “It doesn't get any better than this, I'll tell you the truth.”

And he was just getting started.

“I've been in Formula 1. I've been in IndyCars, I've been in CART. I've been in you name it, Grand Am,” said Montoya, who currently is sixth in the Sprint Cup points. “And the best racing is right here. I'm not saying this because I'm here. I'm saying this because I've lived all of them, and nothing compares to this.”

When Montoya first announced in 2006 that he was coming to NASCAR, there were predictions that it would be a short-lived experiment. But Montoya confounded the skeptics and has turned into a consistent front-runner with the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet Impala SS.

According to Montoya, he’s having the time of his life, and he doesn’t understand why NASCAR has come in for the criticism that it has.

“I don't know why people complain about it when the racing is so good,” said Montoya. “Like last week (at Texas Motor Speedway) was good racing. You know, it was a blast. A lot of things happened, so it's very — I don't understand when people complain about things like that. … I tell you the truth, I think people that complain about a NASCAR race, they haven't watched anything else of motor racing.”


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