History repeats
No doubt about it: Juan Pablo Montoya can wheel a race car. He looked good at the Rolex 24 (more here) this weekend. If you were lucky enough to catch the Sunday morning session, you saw Montoya going nose to tail with Ryan Dalziel and Max Angelelli. (Those cars looked really slow on the stock car track. The in-car cameras showed that they were really flying on the road-course portion.)
But I'm getting this sense of deja vu about the whole thing. Hmmm ... like the 2007 winner, the 2006 Rolex 24 winner had open-wheel experience, wore a black firesuit and would drive the No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge in the Daytona 500 in three weeks hence.
Yep, Casey Mears.
Remember that Mears finished second at Daytona and was the hottest thing going in February after he finished seventh in California and ninth in Vegas. Then March came, and everyone remembered that this was an average driver working for an average team and he finished the season 14th.
What does this portend for JP Montoya? I haven't the foggiest. Just an interesting parallel.
More on the Rolex 24, including pretty pictures, is here. If you missed it, race recaps here. More race recaps and team reports are here.
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