Betting on NASCAR drivers to win a race is unusual, because there are 43 of them to choose from. But if there was ever a time to bet the farm, it’s this weekend at the road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Juan Pablo Montoya – aka The Road Course Ringer – is the overwhelming favorite to win the Busch and Nextel Cup races. The former CART and Formula One star is 2-for-2 in road-course races, having won the Busch event at Mexico City in March and the Cup race in June in Sonoma, Calif.
He is vying to become the first driver to win three road-course events in the same season in NASCAR’s top two circuits, and the rookie from Colombia will have two chances to do it.
During a teleconference Tuesday, Montoya said he hasn’t raced at Watkins Glen since 1994. But he’ll know how to tackle the 2.45-mile course by Sunday’s main event.
“It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to it,” Montoya said. “I think driving the Busch race is going to be a big help to get much more track time before the Cup race, and hopefully we can get really good results.”
Montoya, the 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner, did not compete in last week’s Busch road-course race in Montreal. The runnerup in that race, French-Canadian Patrick Carpentier, joined Montoya in the conference call and also is expected to run well this weekend in both circuits.
Carpentier, who used to compete against Montoya in Champ Car and won the pole at last week’s Busch event, is scheduled to make his Nextel Cup debut Sunday, replacing Scott Riggs in the No. 10 Dodge.
Joining forces
Vail businessman George Gillett Jr. is NASCAR’s newest owner, but he’s certainly not new to racing. Gillett, now the majority owner of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, co-founded the Grand Prix of Denver, the Champ Car street race around the Pepsi Center that was scheduled to take place next week.
The event was canceled in January after a five-year run, the past three without Gillett in the picture.
Gillett’s new deal with Ray Evernham is the latest merger between rich, multifaceted businessmen and veteran car owners who attend every race in the pits.
The movement began when Jack Roush agreed to share Roush Racing with Fenway Sports Group, which is owned by Boston Red Sox owner John Henry.
Evernham, formerly Jeff Gordon’s crew chief, said he was spending too much time in the conference rooms and not enough time with his drivers in the garage.
“This will allow me to focus on our racing operations and team performance, while the Gillett family will focus on our business operations,” Evernham said in a release.
GEM will continue fielding cars for Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Riggs and Carpentier.
R. Gordon reprimanded
Robby Gordon avoided a lengthy suspension when NASCAR fined him $35,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year for his misconduct during the Busch race in Montreal. The penalties came with the stipulation Gordon would be suspended indefinitely if he disrupts another event this season or NASCAR deems his actions inappropriate.
Gordon protested a NASCAR ruling during the closing laps of Saturday’s race, when he was ordered to surrender his second-place position and move back to 13th. He refused and was immediately disqualified.
Gordon then spun leader Marcos Ambrose, an act NASCAR ruled was intentional, and Gordon was ordered off the track immediately. He refused, completed the final two laps of the event and celebrated as if he were the winner by doing burnouts and pumping his fists in the air.
The celebration, and his lack of contrition in a postrace meeting with NASCAR, got him suspended from Sunday’s Nextel Cup event at Pocono Raceway.
CNS honors Bonfili
Colorado National Speedway honored Bert Bonfili Saturday during the weekly event at the NASCAR-sanctioned short track in Erie. Bonfili, who in the mid-1990s was the crew chief for Alan Moore’s late-model team at CNS, is the director of engine research and development for Joe Gibbs Racing in Huntersville, N.C.
Bonfili owns three Nextel Cup championship rings, including two with driver Tony Stewart. He was the front-tire changer in Stewart’s rookie season in 1999, and remained on Stewart’s crew during his championship years of 2002 and 2005.
SPOTLIGHT: CHAD KNAUS
Busted crew chief to return Aug. 19
Knaus, who calls the race for defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, is entering the final week of his suspension and is scheduled to return to the No. 48 crew next week at Michigan. Knaus was fined $100,000 and suspended for six races for illegal modifications to the car. He was caught cheating during qualifying for the 2006 Daytona 500 and was suspended for the race, which Johnson won. This year, Johnson has struggled without Knaus. In the first five races of the suspension, the driver fell from third to ninth in the standings. He finished fifth last weekend at Pocono, Pa., to climb into seventh. “Certainly, we can’t wait to have (Knaus) back,” Johnson told reporters at Pocono. “He adds a great deal of leadership at the track and to the setup of the car and all those things.”
THIS WEEK’S RACE: CENTURION BOATS AT THE GLEN
Last chance for road warriors
11 a.m. Sunday, ESPN
Where: Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile road course)
Distance: 220.5 miles, 90 laps
Qualifying: Friday, 1 p.m., ESPN
Last year: Kevin Harvick won from the No. 7 starting position. Kurt Busch won the pole.
Points standings
(Driver Pts. Wins Top 5s Top 10s)
1. Jeff Gordon 3,236 4 14 19
2. Denny Hamlin 2,870 1 8 12
3. Matt Kenseth 2,825 1 7 14
4. Jeff Burton 2,763 1 6 11
5. Tony Stewart 2,749 2 6 14
6. Carl Edwards 2,682 1 5 7
7. Jimmie Johnson 2,624 4 10 12
8. Kyle Busch 2,611 1 5 11
9. Kevin Harvick 2,600 1 4 10
10. Clint Bowyer 2,552 0 1 11
11. Martin Truex Jr. 2,437 1 4 7
12. Kurt Busch 2,399 1 4 6
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2,392 0 4 8
14. Ryan Newman 2,309 0 3 9
– Top 12 qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup
Staff writer Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
