Chip Ganassi and Juan Pablo Montoya said it took little more than a week to make the decision to the driver in the No. 42 car. Credit: Autostock

Mears, others embrace Montoya's 2007 arrival

Remaining focused not an issue for current No. 42 driver, crew

JOLIET, Ill. -- Casey Mears experienced a wide range of emotions over the past two days at Chicagoland Speedway, getting his first NASCAR victory in Saturday's Busch Series race and finishing 25th in Sunday's Nextel Cup event after crashing twice in the final 32 laps.

	Juan Pablo Montoya will finish out the Formula One season. Credit: AP
	Inside the Numbers Juan Pablo Montoya in F1 Year Starts W T5 T10 2001 17 1 5 6 2002 17 0 12 12 2003 16 2 10 12 2004 18 1 10 13 2005 17 3 7 10 2006 10 0 4 5 Totals 95 7 48 58 MONTOYA TO DRIVE NO. 42 Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya will drive the No. 42 Dodge in 2007, team owner Chip Ganassi announced Sunday.  •   Complete story, click here

He's sure Juan Pablo Montoya, who will replace him in the No. 42 car at Chip Ganassi Racing next season, will run a gamut of emotions as he attempts to move from Formula One to Nextel Cup.

"He's going to have a big learning curve coming over to stock cars, but it's not like he doesn't have talent," Mears said of Montoya, the 1999 CART champion and 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner.

"It's totally different. Nothing's the same, but he's going to have time. He's got a long-term deal with Chip. Chip's committed to him and he's committed to Chip. If they stick it out for a couple of years and get through the first two, I'm sure he'll be fine."

But Mears is offended by recent comments that Montoya will take over a "dead" race team because of his so-called lame-duck status before moving to Hendrick Motorsports in 2007.

Mears reminded he's had two top-10 finishes -- seventh at Michigan and Daytona -- in the four races since it was announced he would replace Brian Vickers next season.

He was running between 12th and 14th on Sunday before a wreck involving Ryan Newman.

"Everybody keeps saying [we're a dead team], but nobody has a clue what's going on inside of our team right now," Mears said. "It's nothing like that. There isn't even a hint of people backing down. There's no sore attitudes. Nothing has changed at all.

"Everybody is upbeat and trying to get in the Chase. For people to be saying that we're dead, they're pulling stuff out of thin air."

Mears is 15th in points, more than 200 points behind race winner Jeff Gordon who moved into the 10th and final spot that guarantees a place in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

	Casey Mears said anyone saying the No. 42 team is "dead" this year is wrong. Credit: Autostock
	MEARS NOT QUACKING Casey Mears says he is not in a lame-duck situation, vowing to stay committed to the No. 42 team to the end of the season.  •   Complete story, click here Victory LaneCasey Mears earns his first victory at the USG Durock 300 Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

He said Montoya will inherit a team capable of competing for the Chase if he can adjust quickly.

"Anytime there's a situation like this everybody starts saying lame duck," Mears said. "The only people that are inside our team are us. There isn't any conflict in any way."

Gordon is excited to see Montoya in NASCAR. He swapped cars with the 30-year-old Columbian a couple of years ago for a test run at Indianapolis.

"I thought he did a great job then," Gordon said. "I don't know if he's the first F1 driver to move to NASCAR, but I respect him a lot for making that kind of move. It's a big challenge and it's going to be a big challenge for him.

"Driving his car, because I drove it, it's so much different than our cars. I respect the fact that he knows that, but he knows he's talented and has a team that's committed to him."

Gordon said over time Montoya will adjust.

"It's going to be a long road, but he's going to do a great job and it's going to be fantastic for our sport," he said.

Kyle Petty agreed.

"I don't see why a Formula One driver can't come into NASCAR," he said. "It's great from an international standpoint. The media in England, Japan, China, Germany and other countries are really going to get excited about this.

"That's going to help grow our sport. That's really big for us."

Christian Fittipaldi drove some in Formula One before driving 16 races for Petty Enterprises between 2002 and 2003. He failed to finish seven of those races and never finished on the lead lap.

"But there's no magic to it," Petty said. "[Montoya's] probably in the perfect position to do it. He's the right age and he has a lot of racing talent."