liquid_x

SPEED Channel will strap in with four-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and Formula One standout Juan Pablo Montoya as the pair swap hot rods for the afternoon on June 11 at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The two-hour, live program, entitled Gordon/Montoya Tradin’ Paint, will begin at noon ET and be hosted by Bob Varsha, former NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds and former F1 mechanic Steve Matchett. Both drivers will be wired for sound and the cars will be equipped with multiple on-board cameras.

“We hear a lot of speculation from SPEED viewers about who is the best driver out there these days,” said SPEED Channel President Jim Liberatore. “Jeff Gordon and Juan Montoya are two of the most talented racers in the world, so this special will offer an entertaining glimpse into how these two might fair in different machines. For SPEED Channel, it’s a great opportunity to bring fans of both NASCAR and open-wheel racing together for one event.”

Both drivers have scored victories at the famed track -- Montoya at the 2000 Indianapolis 500 and Gordon with three Winston Cup wins, including the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994.

Statements from both camps highlight the curiosity.

"I'm fascinated with the technology involved in Formula One racing and am excited about the chance to drive an F1 car,” Gordon said. “It should be a lot of fun to see firsthand what F1 drivers face during a lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway."

"The experience would be very interesting and driving a big, heavy NASCAR car would certainly be different,” Montoya said. “I don't think Jeff should be concerned that I will take away his job, but I would enjoy driving his Chevrolet and letting him take my BMW Williams F1 car for a drive on Indy's road course."

Montoya, fresh of his impressive win at the Grand Prix of Monaco, is expected to bring his 2002 race car – the FW24. The engine alone has 5,000 individual parts. This year, Montoya is racing a FW25 with the next generation P83 BMW powerplant. A comparison of the two cars:

No. 24 Hendrick Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Horsepower: 770 HP @ 9,000 RPM
Engine: Cast iron 5.7L V8
Top speed: 200 mph
Fuel: 110-octane gasoline
Chassis weight: 3,400 lbs. (w/o driver)

HP Williams BMW FW24

Horsepower: 900 (max RPM of 19,000)
Engine: 3L BMW P82 V10 (aluminum block)
Top Speed: 225 mph
Fuel: Unleaded racing gasoline
Chassis weight: 1322.76 lbs. (w/driver)




this should be fun to watch

EDIT: oops wrong section

AztecRol

iTrader: (2)

I'm putting my money on Montoya!!! I think the switch from his car to the stock car will be no big deal. Gordon is gonna get into the BMW and be WTF????? The F1 car will turn faster laps, but Gordon wont get it near what Montoya does!!!

GO F1!!!!

Gilgamesh

That circle car is heavier, but Montoya should be able to hack it. The redneck is gonna sh!t when he gets into the real car...

Haha, I can see it now: "What the hell are all these right turns about...damnit!! I can only turn left!!"

Montoya may lose if he falls alseep from the boredom.

nandowong

IMHO nascar does not require skills any where close to those required to drive a F1 car. Montoya is going to be bored to hell driving that boat

srika

Gordon is actually pretty bad ass and I think he will do just fine in the F1 car. He does well at roadcourses in Nascar, and has proven himself in at least one other competition similar to this where he got into a rally car (and actually beat a couple of F1 drivers who got into rally cars as well). And you think its going to be cake for Montoya to get into the NASCAR and do well!?!? He's going to hate that thing - compared to an F1 car its just terrible - weak brakes, bad handling, weak acceleration. Montoya is going to be hating it, imo.

As for Gordon, I don't know if I'd want to get back in a Nascar after driving an F1 car!!!!!!! ahaha..

-d

liquid_x

lets just hope montoya doesnt kill himself doing some crazy sh!t cause he's bored

Red Rider

Jeff Gordon aint no redneck !! Don't underestimate him, i'll bet he's gonna like it more than Montoya likes the big heavy hunk o metal

Starter

I don't think a lap of Watkins Glen, even if it is the short course or Infineon (nee Sears Point) takes significantly less skill than F. Especially in a 3500 lb taxi cab.

srika

True that. Why do most people think Nascar is just ovals? It's not. Yes, it is MOSTLY ovals - but they do have a number of roadcourses with real turns!! Now I'm no fan of Nascar, not like I watch it or anything, in fact, I don't like it, but I will give the guys some credit!!! And very true, it does take some amount of skill to pilot a hunk of metal around such roadcourses!! And these things have 700-800 hp I believe - they are going to require skill to drive fast. Just give em some credit, is all I ask.

-d

srika

JPM/JG Recap

looks like they did just fine.

-d

liquid_x

gordon was having the time of his life. after the first lap when he got used to the car he started haulin ass and putting out some good times. I do have more respect for gordon after seeing that. replays at 7PM and midnight if you missed it.

Red Rider

Jeff was He was one second off last years grid time !!

Chief F1 Fan

Red, wasn't he one second off last year's 107%? That'd make him a little slower than what you stated. Nonetheless, Gordon did a bang up job in the FW25 I thought. He was a helluva short track racer before he went to Cup cars so I expected him to do pretty well, can't stand the guy but that's not to take away from his abilities (ditto Senna).

srika

Got this from somewhere online........... kinda funny.

Q&A with JPM Re: Indy swap.

Now tell us about what happened a couple of days ago at Indianapolis.
Juan Pablo Montoya: Well, I went to drive Jeff Gordon’s NASCAR and it was quite different. The thing that most impressed me, surprised me, not impressed me…I think the power’s quite good, but what really surprised was the braking. Into turn one there’s only markers for 150 meters and you probably have to break 100 meters before that, just to make the corner! (Laughter).

So how many laps did you do?
Juan Pablo Montoya: Probably six, seven laps. It was fun. It doesn’t slow down and you really have to throw it in. It’s just different.

Was it physical?
Juan Pablo Montoya: Not at all (laughter). No it’s not. You’ve got power steering, like serious power steering. It’s so light the steering wheel. At high speed if felt quite light. You know when you go onto the banking in the F1 into turn one of the oval it’s pretty easy to be flat. With this, you have to lift. You have to put your hands somewhere down here (indicates with arms wide apart) just trying to control the car. (Laughter again).

Are you going to do any more?
Juan Pablo Montoya: At the moment, no.

And how did Jeff Gordon get on in the Formula One car?
Juan Pablo Montoya: I think surprisingly well. He did pretty good. I did some laps in the morning, and I think he ended up just over a second slower, which I thought was pretty good for the first time in a Formula One car. I think the track itself is not very difficult but he seemed to adapt quite well. The first time he braked, it was quite funny - you couldn’t even see his helmet. It was like… (indicates moving forward, laughter).

He just completely disappeared, did he?
Juan Pablo Montoya: Yeah, it was quite funny. You look at the inboard, he was turning right and his head was going in the other direction. It was fun.

DigiBox

Have you ever watched a nascar race when Jeff wins or crashes?? A win, the boo. A crash, they cheer. Why? Cause he's not a "good ol' boy." California roots. He has a big fan base, but not loud enough to drown out the boos. Indianapolis and Infineon are the places I hear people cheer for him the most.

Red Rider

Yeah, his name ain't Dale !! He would be this countries best shot at F1 in my opinion, but he makes too much in NASCAR

Chief F1 Fan

He could wipe his ass w/ the cash he makes in F1 as compared to what he would make as a driver in NASCAR and still have more than he would driving those 3500 pound old tech cars.