NASCAR Cup Series

Montoya, McMurray should be pleased with team's progress

Published Aug. 10, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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Larry McReynolds

Wow, what a race we had Sunday at Watkins Glen International.

It was one of those exciting events that makes you think we need more road-course races in our schedule. It didn’t matter if you were at the race or just watching it at home, it was just a really good race all day long.

I like a race where it doesn’t come down to who changed two tires or who changed four tires. Everybody was kind of on the same agenda, so that took the strategy out of it. It also was really cool to see two guys, Juan Pablo Montoya and Marcos Ambrose, battle like they did with good clean, hard racing.

While I was really happy for Juan Pablo, I have to be honest, I was more excited for his crew chief, Brian Pattie. It was his first win as a NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chief. It came at a track where he has now won as a crew chief in the Truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup series. On top of all that, as beat up internally and externally as Brian has been over the previous two races, I couldn’t have been happier for him.

You also have to be thrilled for team owner Chip Ganassi and his entire organization. Don’t forget, toward the end of last year there were a lot of questions about whether that team would field one or two cars and whether they would even be able to secure sponsorship. Now they have had both cars — those of Montoya and Jamie McMurray — in Victory Lane in 2010. They also join Joe Gibbs Racing as the only multi-car team to have more than one car win in 2010.

I still haven’t written Juan Pablo’s teammate, Jamie McMurray, off from making the Chase, but in reality the odds are the Ganassi camp won’t have any car in the championship field. After winning the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400 and now at Watkins Glen, I don’t think you will hear that organization complaining too much.

I was really impressed with the crowd Sunday. Even Friday, there were a lot of people there. So it was just a good weekend in Watkins Glen all around.

A lot of things are moving and shaking in our sport right now. As speculated, look for Kasey Kahne to drive for Red Bull Racing for 2011 before moving to the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports’ car in 2012. It also looks like Red Bull may be considering making a manufacturer switch to Chevrolet, just like Hendrick..

Let’s face it, Red Bull Racing needs something positive to happen for it. The performance from both teams has been very dismal this year. The organization had to go through the agony of losing Brian Vickers for the year due to medical reasons. So anytime you can add Kasey Kahne to your lineup, even for just one year, is a great shot in the arm for them.

The other remaining question is will Brian Vickers be able to come back in 2011? If he does, will that mean Scott Speed is out of a ride? Just like everything else in our sport, it seems like when we answer one question, well it creates two new questions that need answered. It might be some time yet before we know Brian’s status.

I know all of us are hoping and praying that Brian’s health situation can get resolved. No one knows just yet.

The other big thing going on in our sport is the schedule change.

While I hate the fact that Atlanta Motor Speedway will only host one race next year, in all honesty, it was inevitable. The fans over the last few years have just not supported the spring Atlanta race. So now that slot will move to Kentucky Speedway, which is also owned by Bruton Smith‘s Speedway Motorsports Inc.

I am excited for that region. They are very passionate NASCAR fans.

As far as California losing a date — Auto Club Speedway is losing one of its dates — again I say it was inevitable. Like Atlanta, the fans have simply not supported a second date. Since 2005, when they added a second race, it just seems like it has been the Achilles heel for that venue.

It was also an interesting move making Chicagoland Speedway the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup beginning in 2011. NASCAR needed to do something to spice up the start of the Chase and I think this is a great first step.

I am also very excited that Kansas is getting a second date. Kansas is an awesome facility. It’s an awesome place for fans to go. I really love going there. I guess my only concern is like what happened to California. Will having two races at Kansas dilute the fan support?

It also sounds like when we leave Daytona next February, we head to Phoenix instead of California. Then our traveling circus will go to Las Vegas. That is all very exciting.

Now sure, there is a lot of sorting out to do with the schedule, but I will be the first to tell you that what I have seen and heard about so far is really exciting for our sport.
 

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