Montoya’s Latest Mission Is F1

The last time Juan Pablo Montoya was at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he was simply Juan Montoya and he started his race by heading south with a rolling start, hurtling into the first turn of the 2000 Indianapolis 500 at 230 mph.

Sunday, he will be heading in the opposite direction, accelerating from a standing start toward the 90-degree first turn on the first lap of the U.S. Grand Prix.

Montoya won the 500 as a rookie last year in one of the most impressive rides in the track’s storied history. Now, he hopes to win this country’s Formula One race as a rookie. Having just won his first F1 race two weeks ago in Italy, and having also won three poles, the 26-year-old Colombian will be no worse than co-favorite with four-time world champion Michael Schumacher, Ferrari’s German driver, in the 73-lap, 190-mile race over the 2.606-mile circuit that combines part of the main track with an infield circuit.

“I have really good memories from Indianapolis, not only from winning the 500 but because my CART team was based here for two years and it was like home,” Montoya said. “I think it’s going to be an interesting race for us Sunday, and hopefully we’ll get quite a good result out of it.”

After winning a CART championship with Chip Ganassi in 1999 and the Indianapolis 500 last year--he led 167 of 200 laps--Montoya left the U.S. to return to Frank Williams’ BMW Grand Prix team. He had been a test driver for Williams in 1998.

“The 500 and F1, they’re two quite different animals,” he said. “One is a long race, a marathon, where you have to take care of the car and then sprint at the end. In the Grand Prix, it is a sprint from the start, less than 200 miles.”

The race distance is not the only difference.

“Mentally, there is a great difference,” Montoya said. “You’ve got to be a lot stronger in F1 because in CART the atmosphere is a lot friendlier. In the car, it is very similar--in both you have to push yourself to the limit. But outside, in CART everybody talks to everybody. Everybody is friendly.

“Here, you don’t even cross a word with anybody. You’re there by yourself, and you’ve got to work with the people around you. In a series like this, the team is a much more important asset.”

A case in point, according to Montoya, is his relationship with his teammates, Jimmy Vasser in CART and Ralf Schumacher, Michael’s younger brother, in F1.

“With Jimmy, we were friends, we had fun together. With Ralf is a bit different. He does his job, I do mine. We work together in the car with the engineers and what we need to do to make the car go quick. Because I don’t talk to the guy or he doesn’t talk to me doesn’t mean that we’re going to slow down the car because of the attitude. What we’re doing is a professional relationship.

“I think the results show that there is no No. 1 and No. 2 on Frank Williams’ team. Ralf has won three races and I have won one; he has won one pole and I have won three.”

Michael Schumacher clinched his fourth Formula One championship three races ago when he won at Budapest in the GP of Hungary. Unlike most Grand Prix rookies, who defer to the champion Schumacher, the brash Montoya has shown no signs of intimidation.

In Brazil, in only his third race, Montoya made a spectacular pass of Schumacher, astonishing longtime F1 observers not used to such disrespect for Herr Michael.

“To be honest with you, I never really thought about Michael Schumacher when I went into Formula One this year,” Montoya said. “I went because I wanted to do it. I knew that the first thing you’ve got to think about is yourself, not somebody else. If my sights were on Michael Schumacher or somebody, then I wouldn’t have been thinking about driving the car.

“You know, if you really think about doing the best job you can, the results will come. I’ve been able to beat Michael on quite a few occasions in my first season and the guy is a tough racer. But I consider myself one, as well.”

Having won on the 21/2-mile oval won’t mean a thing when it comes to the 2.606-mile road course, Montoya said.

“I have been around it,” he said, laughing, knowing that there has been no testing on the circuit built inside the oval. “I drove around with [track owner] Tony George in a sedan when I was here before. I don’t know how much that will help.

“I think it’s a big compromise between a lot of slow corners in the infield and very long straights. There’s going to be a big compromise in how much down force you use. With a lot of down force, you can make a lot of time in the infield, but then you’re going to be box slow down the straight.

“The start will be important. With not many passing points, the driver who gets to the first turn first will be in control. Now ... what really counts is the reaction time of the driver.”

Montoya has been on the pole in three of the last four races, including the last two.

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Twenty-eight vintage Formula One cars, including Dan Gurney’s All American Racers Eagle, which is still the only American-built car to have won an F1 race with an American driver, will take parade laps today and Saturday as part of the USGP weekend. Gurney is expected to be at the wheel, as he was in 1967 when the car won the Grand Prix of Belgium.

After its appearance here, the dark blue No. 36 Eagle, considered one of the most stylish F1 machines ever built, will be taken to the Miles Collier Museum in Florida.

Other cars in the parade will include the Lotus 79 John Player Special driven by Mario Andretti in winning the 1978 F1 championship, and an Elf Team Tyrrell that Jackie Stewart drove during his 1971 title season.

Drag Racing

The National Hot Rod Assn.’s latest venture, import drag racing, will make the final stop of its inaugural season this weekend at the Pomona Fairplex. The Mazda World Finals will be the last event of the six-race Summit Import Drag Racing series.

There will be racing in five classes--all-motor, street tire, hot rod, modified and pro.

The top-of-the-line pro class will match points leader R. J. Simrock against Southland favorite Abel Ibarra of Mira Loma and Rafael Rivera of Puerto Rico. Ibarra, who drives a 1998 Mazda RX7, trails Simrock, 367-326.

“I think the future [of import racing] is pretty big,” said Ibarra, who campaigns two cars. “I think, down the road, the imports will blow away the domestics at the pro stock and Federal Mogul sportsman levels.”

Featured makes are Mazdas, Toyotas, Hondas and Mitsubishis.

How about a match race between L.A.’s top cops, Police Chief Bernard Parks, and Sheriff, Lee Baca?

It could happen Saturday when Irwindale Speedway opens its eighth-mile street-legal drag strip with a “Salute to Law Enforcement Day.” Police chiefs and sheriffs from Southern California communities are scheduled to race with celebrity entertainers from 2 to 5 p.m. in Ford Mustangs. Admission is free.

Law enforcement competitors will take a lap of honor during ceremonies before the regularly scheduled NASCAR racing program in the evening. Portions of the proceeds will be donated to the LAPD Disaster Support Fund for officers and firefighters from New York City.

Superbikes

Australian Mat Mladin, who had hoped to win his third consecutive U.S. Superbike championship at Willow Springs, only to see the race canceled after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will get his chance Sunday at the new Virginia International Raceway.

The Suzuki rider, who lives in Chino during the racing season, needs only to finish ninth or better, even if Eric Bostrom, his only challenger, wins the pole, leads the most laps and wins the 150-kilometer race. No rider since Fred Merkel in 1986 has won three successive titles.

“It was disappointing to not race at Willow, but under the circumstances it was the only thing to do,” Mladin said.

He will be on the same Suzuki GSX-R750 that he rode to victory in the Daytona 200 in its first outing. This season, Mladin has won four races and had a streak of eight poles. In his spare time, he golfs. Immediately after the Virginia race, he will head for Australia and his spread of several hundred acres about an hour inland from Sydney.

Last Laps

Dale Armstrong, winner of 12 NHRA national events but better known for his successes as a crew chief, was named No. 10 in the NHRA’s list of top 50 drivers. Armstrong is now manager of Jerry Tolliver’s funny car team

Valvoline Runoffs: Douglas Gamble of Escondido was the only Southland driver to win a main event in the SCCA’s national championships at Mid-Ohio. Driving a BMW M3, Gamble won in the T2 class. Wolfgang Maike of Santa Barbara finished second in GT-3 after winning the pole in his Toyota Paseo .... Laura Olson of Fountain Valley received the Eagle One Award for best appearing car. She drove a Showroom Stock B Mazda Miata.

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FORMULA ONE

U.S. Grand Prix

When: Saturday, qualifying (Speedvision, 10:30 a.m.); Sunday, race (ABC, 11 a.m.)

Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (road course, 2.606-miles, 13 turns).

Race distance: 190.238 miles, 73 laps.

Last race: Rookie Juan Pablo Montoya won the Italian Grand Prix in Monza

2000 winner: Michael Schumacher beat teammate Rubens Barrichello by 12.118 seconds.

Next race: Japanese Grand Prix, Oct. 14, Suzuka.

On the net: www.formula1.com.

WINSTON CUP

Protection One 400

When: Today, qualifying (CNN/SI, 1p.m.); Sunday, race (Channel 4, 10 a.m.)

Where: Kansas Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 15-degree banking in turns), Kansas City, Kan.

Race distance: 400.5 miles, 267 laps.

Last race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Cal Ripken Jr. 400 in Dover, Del., leading 193 of 400 laps.

2000 winner: Inaugural event.

Next race: UAW-GM Quality 500, Oct. 7, Concord, N.C.

On the net: www.nascar.com.

BUSCH

Mr. Goodcents 300

When: Today, qualifying, 11:15 a.m.; Saturday, race (TNT, 10 a.m.)

Where: Kansas Speedway.

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Jeff Green won the MBNA.com 200 at Dover, Del., after polesitter Ryan Newman started a three-car crash.

2000 winner: Inaugural event.

Next race: Little Trees 300, Oct. 6, Concord, N.C.

On the net: www.nascar.com.

CRAFTSMAN TRUCKS

NetZero 250

When: Today, qualifying, noon; race (ESPN2, 4 p.m.)

Where: South Boston Speedway (oval 0.4 of a mile, 7-degree banking in turns), South Boston, Va.

Race distance: 100 miles, 250 laps.

Last race: The Silverado 350 in Fort Worth was postponed until Oct. 5.

2000 winner: Inaugural event.

Next race: Silverado 350, Oct. 5, Fort Worth.

On the net: www.nascar.com.

NHRA

NHRA Nationals

When: Today, qualifying, noon; Saturday, qualifying, 9 a.m. (ESPN2, 7 p.m., tape); Sunday, eliminations, 8 a.m. (ESPN2, 5:30 p.m., tape).

Where: Route 66 Raceway, Joliet, Ill.

Last event: Gary Densham, funny cars, and George Marnell, pro stocks, earned their first victories in the AutoZone Nationals at Memphis Motorsports Park. Kenny Bernstein, top fuel, and Mike Coughlin, pro stock trucks, also won.

2000 winners: Gary Scelzi, top fuel; John Force, funny cars; Ron Krisher, pro stocks.

Next event: Keystone Nationals, Oct. 7, Mohnton, Pa.

On the net: www.nhra.com.