2017 Verizon IndyCar SeriesOpen Wheel

[L8 Apex]

Another shoe drops: JPM is staying put at Penske.

http://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/montoya-to-stay-with-penske-in-2017-845670/

 

[Eva]

Another shoe drops: JPM is staying put at Penske.

http://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/montoya-to-stay-with-penske-in-2017-845670/

That...wasn't expected. But it opens an opportunity for someone else.

 

[catamount39]

And it also smells of IMSA DPi Penske...

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

Gutted no JPM full time shame Penske can't run 5 cars full time in 2017. I guess if Penske can't make a full time JPM deal work who else on the grid can. Its a major loss to Indycar

 

[Eva]

Gutted no JPM full time shame Penske can't run 5 cars full time in 2017. I guess if Penske can't make a full time JPM deal work who else on the grid can. Its a major loss to Indycar

Article said outside Indy, Montoya won't be running any other races this year.

 

[Dylan]

Article said outside Indy, Montoya won't be running any other races this year.

Indycar is going to be hard to watch next year...

 

[Eva]

Indycar is going to be hard to watch next year...

No it isn't. Montoya wasn't a factor in the season last year after Indy. It's great because potentially someone newer will get a chance now.

 

[Northstar]

The guy is 41 and has accomplished what most drivers can only dream of. It's sad that he won't be full time but everyone has to step aside at some point. At least he still has a chance to become the 11th driver to win 3 500's.

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

No it isn't. Montoya wasn't a factor in the season last year after Indy. It's great because potentially someone newer will get a chance now.

Won a race not a factor

The sad thing is AS with Jenson button in F1 Juan is still amongst the best drivers on the grid. Honestly Ganassi have two drivers who wont be a match for JPM when he's like 50. Gotta be realistic this is a money issue in Indycar Drivers are buying most of the drives which is a shame

 

[Eva]

Won a race not a factor

The sad thing is AS with Jenson button in F1 Juan is still amongst the best drivers on the grid. Honestly Ganassi have two drivers who wont be a match for JPM when he's like 50. Gotta be realistic this is a money issue in Indycar Drivers are buying most of the drives which is a shame

Winning a race is not the same as being a factor in the season. He had one win, which was St. Pete. Outside of that, he only had 4 other top fives. He DNF'd four times as well and was out of the championship hunt as early as Pocono. That is not being a factor.

Going to your second statement. Money is an issue regardless of series. Montoya however, could easily pull in big sponsorship. Just two years ago he won the Indy 500 and was tied for the series championship. Had you read the article, it said that he was offered an drive at Indy, which he specifically said "is the only one that matters" and if Penske get a DPi program set up in IMSA, they'd have him there since he is interested in it. Montoya is not going to be overlooked by someone like Draccone, Fillipi, or any other pay driver. He can bring his own money to the table and has success. The problem is that a lot of the field have merit by talent and have the ability to bring sponsorship because of that talent. The only teams that are looking for money primarily are Ed Carpenter Racing, who are favoring Hildebrand and Pigot because both have performed well within the team and have great sponsorship because of that, KV Racing because Bourdais left, and if Carlin merge with them, Ed Jones or Max Chilton will have a ride there, Jones the Indy Lights champion, Chilton coming off a season where he really impressed with how he improved. AJ Foyt have ABC Supply for both of their cars. They aren't even looking for sponsorship. CGR, if looking for sponsorship, have a lot of people to choose from like Sage Karam, Santiago Urrutia, and Zach Veach. Is money an issue in motorsports? Yes, it has been for decades. But Montoya's situation is not a byproduct with that.

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

Winning a race is not the same as being a factor in the season. He had one win, which was St. Pete. Outside of that, he only had 4 other top fives. He DNF'd four times as well and was out of the championship hunt as early as Pocono. That is not being a factor.

Going to your second statement. Money is an issue regardless of series. Montoya however, could easily pull in big sponsorship. Just two years ago he won the Indy 500 and was tied for the series championship. Had you read the article, it said that he was offered an drive at Indy, which he specifically said "is the only one that matters" and if Penske get a DPi program set up in IMSA, they'd have him there since he is interested in it. Montoya is not going to be overlooked by someone like Draccone, Fillipi, or any other pay driver. He can bring his own money to the table and has success. The problem is that a lot of the field have merit by talent and have the ability to bring sponsorship because of that talent. The only teams that are looking for money primarily are Ed Carpenter Racing, who are favoring Hildebrand and Pigot because both have performed well within the team and have great sponsorship because of that, KV Racing because Bourdais left, and if Carlin merge with them, Ed Jones or Max Chilton will have a ride there, Jones the Indy Lights champion, Chilton coming off a season where he really impressed with how he improved. AJ Foyt have ABC Supply for both of their cars. They aren't even looking for sponsorship. CGR, if looking for sponsorship, have a lot of people to choose from like Sage Karam, Santiago Urrutia, and Zach Veach. Is money an issue in motorsports? Yes, it has been for decades. But Montoya's situation is not a byproduct with that.

I don't know who you think is a factor in indycar. I guess you mean only Pagenaud and guess what in 2015 we could have written him off as not a top 10 driver and look at the results in 16. I don't believe Foyt was ever on the cards for a driver like Juan. I think you need to look at CGR and Andretti Honda and honestly you need money to get in one of their available cars whether from Honda or not .

 

[mustafur]

I don't know who you think is a factor in indycar. I guess you mean only Pagenaud and guess what in 2015 we could have written him off as not a top 10 driver and look at the results in 16. I don't believe Foyt was ever on the cards for a driver like Juan. I think you need to look at CGR and Andretti Honda and honestly you need money to get in one of their available cars whether from Honda or not .

Drivers I rate higher then Montoya in Indycar right now:
Pagenaud
Power
Dixon
Newgarden
Rahal
Castroneves

Montoya had a decent season last year but after Indy he was just coasting and really hasn't shown form since.

 

[Eva]

Drivers I rate higher then Montoya in Indycar right now:
Pagenaud
Power
Dixon
Newgarden
Rahal
Castroneves

Montoya had a decent season last year but after Indy he was just coasting and really hasn't shown form since.

I'd even extend that list. Montoya showed a slump.
Pagenaud
Power
Dixon
Kanaan
Newgarden
Castroneves
Rahal
Aleshin (he was steadily improving which was great. Look at Mid Ohio and Pocono for key examples)
Daly (qualifying was meh, but he made a rear of the field car look like race winning potential)
Rossi (beyond Indy, his season was as expected, improving and learning. Still, that win though...)

Montoya was the most notable driver to take a slump. Whereas we expect Marco and Takuma and Bourdais to be inconsistent or average, Montoya went from championship caliber to old guy past his prime in one spin at Indy. That doesn't look good for anyone, especially someone already on the edge of forgone potential as Montoya. He wasn't ever a highlight of any races. St. Pete, he won, but no one really got enthused about it. From then on it was just downhill.

 

[Dylan]

No it isn't. Montoya wasn't a factor in the season last year after Indy. It's great because potentially someone newer will get a chance now.

It will be for me because he's my favorite driver after Dale Earnhardt Jr. in NASCAR. With him gone, I don't have anyone to root for.

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

Everyone is welcome to their options but JPM has been a top5 runner over the last two seasons. AS I said before Pagenaud had a similar bad run that Juan had over the summer. As for 2015 after Indy he was points racing If Will Power had kept his ego in place Penske would have won in 2015. Losing one of the top drivers from the series is a step back for Indycar. If the sponsorship was there Penske would run the 5th car full season but its not

P.s Bourdais average come on all for patriotism but really Rossi & Daley are a long way from being polished diamonds

 

[Eva]

Everyone is welcome to their options but JPM has been a top5 runner over the last two seasons. AS I said before Pagenaud had a similar bad run that Juan had over the summer. As for 2015 after Indy he was points racing If Will Power had kept his ego in place Penske would have won in 2015. Losing one of the top drivers from the series is a step back for Indycar. If the sponsorship was there Penske would run the 5th car full season but its not

P.s Bourdais average come on all for patriotism but really Rossi & Daley are a long way from being polished diamonds

I never said either Rossi or Daly were top tier. I said they impressed for what they were given, while Montoya, who did not finish top 5 in points in 2016, unlike every other Penske driver, current and future. Montoya, while a very experienced and legendary driver, Penske is a smart team owner, and he is aware that with or without Montoya, he's almost guaranteed another championship in 2017 if the development freeze does what it's supposed to do and hold Honda behind them as they were all year last year outside of the big speedways. Beyond 2017, who knows. Maybe someone will pick Montoya up with the idea that uniform aero kits will give him an advantage. But he does not hold the value to Penske that Power, Newgarden, Pagenaud, and Castroneves hold. If anything, JPM should use this to make an attempt at completing the Triple Crown by going to Le Mans.

 

[LumpiestFish]

Remember how Montoya tested with the Porsche WEC team? Now that Webber has retired, maybe Montoya wants a shot at the Triple Crown? Maybe I'm being too hopeful...

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

I never said either Rossi or Daly were top tier. I said they impressed for what they were given, while Montoya, who did not finish top 5 in points in 2016, unlike every other Penske driver, current and future. Montoya, while a very experienced and legendary driver, Penske is a smart team owner, and he is aware that with or without Montoya, he's almost guaranteed another championship in 2017 if the development freeze does what it's supposed to do and hold Honda behind them as they were all year last year outside of the big speedways. Beyond 2017, who knows. Maybe someone will pick Montoya up with the idea that uniform aero kits will give him an advantage. But he does not hold the value to Penske that Power, Newgarden, Pagenaud, and Castroneves hold. If anything, JPM should use this to make an attempt at completing the Triple Crown by going to Le Mans.

Pagenaud Finished 11th in 2015 then was champion in 2016 Indycar is competitive get over it . As I have been pointing out neither CGR or Andretti can take a full driver line up on talent that's not a great place for the series to be at the moment If your happy to see Sato, Marco, Kimball & Chilton full time and no Montoya well that's not my idea of a dream line up.

 

[Eva]

Dream lineups are just that. Is the series mainstays ideal? No. I often wonder how Kimball and Sato remain employed, but it's how the system works. I question why certain drivers are in certain positions in every series. But I understand why Penske let him go. And once Penske let someone go, they rarely ever recover. Just look at Ryan Briscoe as another example.

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

The Problem is that a Briscoe or Montoya don't bringing a sponsor to a team and Kimball Sato etc are bringing the budget to the team. Look back a few years at the super Line ups Andretti had back in the IRL days its not the case now. Basically Mark Miles has to answer why a great product can't even keep its stars on the Grid?

Briscoe earn more than half the indycar grid driving a ford GTE

 

[catamount39]

Dream lineups are just that. Is the series mainstays ideal? No. I often wonder how Kimball and Sato remain employed, but it's how the system works. I question why certain drivers are in certain positions in every series. But I understand why Penske let him go. And once Penske let someone go, they rarely ever recover. Just look at Ryan Briscoe as another example.

I wouldn't call being a mercenary for the Corvette factory team (and doing very well) and then signing a factory drive with Ford's factory team that also pays very well (better than most Indycar rides, no offense but hey its a manufacturer team vs an independent open wheel team) "not recovering". I believe Montoya will be the same, especially with the rumors of Penske returning to sportscar racing floating about. He was a maniac in Ganassi's DP's, think he'd bring the same skill to Penske.

 

[Eva]

I wouldn't call being a mercenary for the Corvette factory team (and doing very well) and then signing a factory drive with Ford's factory team that also pays very well (better than most Indycar rides, no offense but hey its a manufacturer team vs an independent open wheel team) "not recovering". I believe Montoya will be the same, especially with the rumors of Penske returning to sportscar racing floating about.

But he never recovered in IndyCar after Penske let go of him. That was my point. He had to go somewhere else.

 

[catamount39]

But he never recovered in IndyCar after Penske let go of him. That was my point. He had to go somewhere else.

Oh okay yeah on that front you're very correct. Yeah Indycar wise he didn't recover at all. Had that short comeback when Hinch' got hurt, but never was able to capitalize on it.

 

[Eva]

Oh okay yeah on that front you're very correct. Yeah Indycar wise he didn't recover at all. Had a short comeback when Hinch' got hurt, but never was able to capitalize on it.

And when Hildebrand was released from Panther he shared the #4 with Servia. But sharing a car for a season with an aging Spaniard and a kabob isn't a good way to from point A to B. I was absolutely thrilled when he got success in endurance racing, but it's kinda hard to recover if you get replaced by a top team like Penske or Ganassi. I think it would have been different had he left on his own instead of being replaced. And Briscoe is a consistent talent. I don't think he's much for race winning talent any more, but a Kanaan type talent of being able to do good anywhere is still good to have. I also forgot he drove for Ganassi in 2014, but got dropped for Karam in 2015.

 

[Chad151515]

Gutted no JPM full time shame Penske can't run 5 cars full time in 2017. I guess if Penske can't make a full time JPM deal work who else on the grid can. Its a major loss to Indycar

Won a race not a factor

The sad thing is AS with Jenson button in F1 Juan is still amongst the best drivers on the grid. Honestly Ganassi have two drivers who wont be a match for JPM when he's like 50. Gotta be realistic this is a money issue in Indycar Drivers are buying most of the drives which is a shame

I don't know who you think is a factor in indycar. I guess you mean only Pagenaud and guess what in 2015 we could have written him off as not a top 10 driver and look at the results in 16. I don't believe Foyt was ever on the cards for a driver like Juan. I think you need to look at CGR and Andretti Honda and honestly you need money to get in one of their available cars whether from Honda or not .

Quote 1 - Other teams can supply a car for JPM. He chose a one race deal with Penske and the potential of racing sports car with him over a full time ride with AJ Foyt or ECR.

Quote 2 - Ride buyers are in every major racing series in the world unfortunately not just IndyCar. Ride Buyers have been in IndyCar since it started.

Quote 3 - JPM was a a possible driver at AJ Foyt but like I said he would rather run one IndyCar race with Penske then run full time.


JPM wasn`t a factor last season. I am a JPM fan and I can see that. He was dominant in St.Petersburg but that was it.

 

[BKGlover]

I pull for JPM, but aside from St. Pete the races I watched he was only mentioned due to being at Penske, at Indy I don't remember where he was, and when they finally ran Texas the only reason he was up front was because of pit stops once.

I hope he does well at the 500 next year, but like others I see him going to sports cars soon.

Now, has Ganassi announced Target's replacement?

 

[Chad151515]

I pull for JPM, but aside from St. Pete the races I watched he was only mentioned due to being at Penske, at Indy I don't remember where he was, and when they finally ran Texas the only reason he was up front was because of pit stops once.

I hope he does well at the 500 next year, but like others I see him going to sports cars soon.

Now, has Ganassi announced Target's replacement?

I believe Mike Hull tweeted something kinda teasing a sponsor but SD will have a big time sponsor I'm sure!

 

[TDZdave]

And when Hildebrand was released from Panther he shared the #4 with Servia. But sharing a car for a season with an aging Spaniard and a kabob isn't a good way to from point A to B. I was absolutely thrilled when he got success in endurance racing, but it's kinda hard to recover if you get replaced by a top team like Penske or Ganassi. I think it would have been different had he left on his own instead of being replaced. And Briscoe is a consistent talent. I don't think he's much for race winning talent any more, but a Kanaan type talent of being able to do good anywhere is still good to have. I also forgot he drove for Ganassi in 2014, but got dropped for Karam in 2015.

Being Australian I'm quite patriotic in supporting the handful of athletes we have in world class motorsport, so I'm more or less a fan of Briscoe, I felt bad for him when he got shafted by Toyota F1 after winning the F3 euroseries, whilst 2nd Christian Klien, and 6th place finished Timo Glock got solid opportunities to show their talent in F1, though after sewing his form in the top teirs of motorsport I can kinda see why he isn't there now, specially in IndyCar, I've seen posts on some other forums and facebook that believe that Penske nor Briscoe got the best out of each other, well I think they did, but it just plain wasn't good enough, and it was the same deal with his Ganassi ride, I genuinely believe he is a B class driver, but easily the best of them,

Now Penske and Montoya's 2016 is the perfect example of two parties not getting the best out of each other, I think Montoya does still have at least 1 more full time competitive year in him for driving IndyCar, he should have been 2015 champion and i would expect him to be well in contention for 2017, but it is what it is,

 

[RHODRIEWILLIAMS]

Quote 1 - Other teams can supply a car for JPM. He chose a one race deal with Penske and the potential of racing sports car with him over a full time ride with AJ Foyt or ECR.

Quote 2 - Ride buyers are in every major racing series in the world unfortunately not just IndyCar. Ride Buyers have been in IndyCar since it started.

Quote 3 - JPM was a a possible driver at AJ Foyt but like I said he would rather run one IndyCar race with Penske then run full time.


JPM wasn`t a factor last season. I am a JPM fan and I can see that. He was dominant in St.Petersburg but that was it.

I still disagree about this factor in the series the guy lead 150 ish laps similar very similar results too Power & Castroneves

There is a big problem in Indy car with sponsorship CGR and Andretti are in a much worst situation than in IRL days look back at the names on the car.

I am not sure that ECR offered JPM the 21 car cause I think he d have taken that ride.

Foyt ride is for a youngster with talent not a 500 winner championship runner up from 2015

It's like NASCAR losing Johnson cause 2015 was an off year etc

 

[Eva]

I still disagree about this factor in the series the guy lead 150 ish laps similar very similar results too Power & Castroneves

There is a big problem in Indy car with sponsorship CGR and Andretti are in a much worst situation than in IRL days look back at the names on the car.

I am not sure that ECR offered JPM the 21 car cause I think he d have taken that ride.

Foyt ride is for a youngster with talent not a 500 winner championship runner up from 2015

It's like NASCAR losing Johnson cause 2015 was an off year etc

Both ECR and Foyt wanted Montoya for a full season.

In other news, Hildebrand is in ECR to replace Newgarden.