NASCAR Insider Gives Brutal Reality Check to Juan Pablo Montoya Amid Watkins Glen Optimism

Rahul Ahluwalia | 14/09/2024
NASCAR Insider Gives Brutal Reality Check to Juan Pablo Montoya Amid Watkins Glen Optimism

The 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen is all set to go live this weekend as NASCAR Cup drivers prepare to battle on the esteemed road course during the first round of this year’s postseason.

However, this Sunday’s race could also witness wild card entries such as Juan Pablo Montoya or Shane van Gisbergen playing spoilsport for a prospective playoff driver’s hopes of winning and advancing into the Round of 12.

Montoya will be seen returning to stock car racing after a ten-year hiatus driving the #50 Toyota Camry XSE fielded by 23XI Racing this weekend.  This will be the Colombian driver’s first outing since the governance introduced the Next Gen car into the sport in 2022. Former NASCAR crew chief turned broadcaster Steve Letarte had firm opinions on how he expected Montoya to adapt to the same.

“The guy wins in everything. He’s a hell of a racecar driver. He ain’t just gonna jump in the old Next Gen car and be as good as these guys are now. It’s been a long time since he’s been in the Cup car,” opined Letarte on his podcast.

He added to the former F1 and Indy 500 winner’s abilities and said, “This is not a discount on Juan Pablo, the man is a wheelman. He’s like, the real deal, but not in a one-off. I think he’s going to run good.”

Previewing the former Williams F1 driver’s performance ahead of the weekend, Letarte was also of the opinion that Juan Pablo could realistically be found running inside the top-25 during the 90-lap event at ‘The Glen’, with a top-5 running out of the question according to him.

It remains to be seen how the Colombian driver performs at what should be a type of event aligning well with his abilities. The 2-time Cup Series winner could also surprise many if he can adapt quickly to the seventh-generation race car.

The Next Gen car which relies more than ever on aerodynamics in the current day and age could play to Montoya‘s strengths and past experiences with open-wheeled machinery as well as sportscar racing in the IMSA Series.

Meanwhile, drivers on the qualification bubble such as Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski will also be looking to put in solid results on Sunday to ensure that they advance into the subsequent rounds of the title chase.

The event goes live with the green flag dropping on Sunday, September 15, 2024, at 3:00 pm ET.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma
Juan Pablo Montoya NASCAR Cup Series Watkins Glen International

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Rahul Ahluwalia

Rahul Ahluwalia is a NASCAR Content Strategist and Journalist at The SportsRush. Hailing from a Journalism and Mass Communication background, Rahul's love for automobiles transformed into his passion for all things racing. With over 1200+ articles under his belt covering a mixture of NASCAR and F1, he has realized his calling in the world of motorsports with actual first hand experience behind the wheel to back it up. He has competed in several autocross events as well as rallycross-style competitions to hone his skills behind the wheel and better understand the mindset of a racecar driver, allowing him to further improve his writing as well. He also has an editorial background with respect to racing and has eye for stories which otherwise go unnoticed. Rahul is also an avid sim racer indulging in various disciplines such as rallying and oval racing during his free time. Having begun his motorsports journey at the start of 2020, he turned his passion into his work allowing him to delve deeper into the ever evolving and world of cars and motorsports. Apart from racing, Rahul also has sound technical knowledge of the automotive industry and automobiles in general. Having grown up playing video games such as Need for Speed, Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo, it is easy to see where the love for racing and machines inculcated in the first place.

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