Who will draft with Montoya?

[VilleneuveTracy]

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

When a rookie first gets into drafting isn't he a good person to draft with? He will be easy to shake off at the end!

You raise a very good point. If JPM has the dominant car at Daytona drivers will flock to him because they will want to improve their position. The object of drafting is obviously to move up the running order. The reason rookies are distrusted is because their lack of experience often causes them to make bad moves in the draft and lose positions. Moreover, some drivers like to draft with particular drivers. Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart are two good examples. It isn't just because they are friends but the fact that they both have strong records at Daytona and Talladega. Certain drivers have a knack at weeding their way through the pack to the front at these two tracks and drivers naturally play the odds and draft with the drivers who are most likely to get to the front.

As several others have said, I think JPM will have some problems that any rookie would have but I suspect that the problem will not be as bad for him as it would be for a typical rookie. I think that his impressive racing resume will give him instant credibility and respect by most drivers. Sure, there will be some who will give him a hard time during his first year because they want to show up a former F1 driver but I think they will be in the minority.

Drafting may not be a big concern for JPM anyway. Aside from the Daytona 500, Ganassi's cars haven't done well in the other two plate races. So what we are talking about may be the difference between 15th and 20th.

[muggle not]

perhaps you mean Dale, Jr and Tony Stewart. They do most of the drafting together and are friends. And Dale, jr does pretty good at both plate tracks (10 wins I believe). kevin has yet to win a plate race in Cup.