Juan Pablo Montoya 2013 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
2012 Stats: Points Finish 22nd, 0 Wins, 0 Top Fives, 2 Top Tens, Average Running Position 21.5 , Average Finish 21.7, Laps Led 22, Driver Rating 67.4
2012 is a year that Juan Pablo Montoya would like to forget. It started off with him hitting a jet dryer in the Daytona 500 and it didn’t get much better for him after that.
On the track last season it was pretty clear that Montoya and EGR organization weren’t competitive. Montoya only had two top tens and failed to finish in the top twenty in over half the races. One of the more puzzling aspects about this team is that they actually got worse as the season progressed. Since Infineon in June until the end of the season they failed to have a top ten and only finished in the top fifteen three times.
There is some reason’s for optimism surrounding this team. In 2013 The Generation Six car will roll out. This should prove to be a great equalizer because with the old car they fell behind technologically quite a bit. The Gen Six SS will be a fresh start for them. Another change in 2013 is that Hendrick Motorsports will now be their engine supplier.
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Strengths- Montoya is at his best at road courses. Both of his career wins have come at these venues and if the race is trouble free for him he’ll finish in the top ten.
Weaknesses- This team has many weaknesses. It’s tough to pick a starting point. Their two steps behind the competition on the track and they have a tendency to find problems.
Intermediate Track Grade- C+, Intermediate tracks make up the core of the schedule and Montoya really, really struggled at these venues. On them last season he only had one top ten and three finishes in the top fifteen. His lone top ten was in the first race on the new track surface at MIS. That race was an unknown so they probably hit on something by accident. This next season I think we’ll see some improvement from the #42 team. There’s no reason for this team to struggle this much two years in a row. From a historical perspective Montoya’s best races on this track type come at tracks where the high line’s the fast line.
Flat Track Grade- B-, Montoya didn’t have a single top ten on this track type in 2012 but he did have finishes of 11th and 12th at Phoenix. In the other flat track races his results ranged from 17th to 25th. I think his struggles on this track type were surprising. He’s a capable driver but his results speak for how uncompetitive the EGR organization is. If his cars were better than he could potentially have sleeper potential have top ten sleeper potential at all of these tracks. In the past he’s had cars that were capable of winning at Indy and New Hampshire.
Short Track Grade- B-, After road courses I think short tracks are Montoya’s next best track type. Last season one of his two top tens came at Bristol. For the season he had a 15.7 average finish, that ranked as the 16th best. In 2013 Montoya will have some fantasy potential based on his recent finishes. At Richmond in four out of the last six races there he’s finished in the top ten. At Bristol last season he had finishes of 8th and 13th (August). Martinsville ranks as one of his better tracks. At that venue he has two top fives (the most he has at any track is three) and has finished in the top fifteen in half his starts.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B-, Montoya had an abysmal 2012 at these wild card venues. At Daytona he had finishes of 28th and 36th and at Talladega he had finishes of 38th and 32nd. Those results earned him a 35.5 average finish which ranked as the 41st best in the series. Luckily Montoya hasn’t always been bad on this track type. Prior to 2012 at Daytona he finished in the top ten in four out of the last five races. At Talladega Montoya has three top three finishes but all of his other results were 15th or worse.
Road Course Track Grade- A-, Don’t lose faith in Montoya on this track type. As long as he doesn’t have problems he’s nearly a lock to finish in the top ten. At both of these venues he has a similar track record. At both tracks he has one win and four top ten finishes. Last season Montoya had problems in both races. Both of his incidents were flukey, especially his Infineon battery problems.
How to use Juan Pablo Montoya from a Fantasy NASCAR Perspective in 2013?
Montoya will have strong fantasy potential at road courses next season. If this team gets their program turned around he’ll also have fantasy potential at short flat tracks, big flat tracks, short tracks and high-speed intermediate tracks where the high line comes into play.
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