Not the End of the Road

In a recent interview with a local newspaper, Juan Pablo Montoya, the Colombian who has announced his decision to quit Formula One to join the NASCAR circuit next year, finally explained the reason for his decision which Yours Truly cannot agree more.

In essence, JPM said that he quits because Formula One is boring.

JPM has won some of the major titles in auto-racing, including the Formula 3000 title in 1998 and the CART (now Champ Car) title in 1999 (including a win at the Indianapolis 500 in 2000), and scored victories in some of the most prestigious circuits in Formula One, such as Monza in 2001 and 2005, Monaco in 2003 and Silverstone in 2005. It seems that the only major title missing is the Formula One World Championship title.

It isn't that he never came close. In 2003 he still had an outside chance to win the title while with Williams with only two races to go. But a costly and controversial stop-and-go penalty at the United States Grand Prix dropped him to sixth and out of the title race. Eventually he finished third, just 11 points behind Michael Schumacher in the all-conquering Ferrari.

Apart from the occasional races with lots of action (such as the Hungarian Grand Prix two weeks ago), Formula One has been regarded as a race of procession. Cars rarely overtake each other and most of the overtaking take place when drivers are in the pits. Worse though, the dominance of Ferrari and Schumacher makes a lot of racing fans wonder, "Oh no, not again," when they see the two red cars miles ahead of the rest of the field.

It was just no contest at all. And JPM admitted said that it's no fun for him and his teammate to fight for only fifth or sixth place every race.

In the days where political correctness is more important than anything else, the departure of the frank and articulate JPM is a big loss for the Formula One fans. He's always to the point, and is often a great source of quotes.

And Formula One is indeed boring, and NASCAR is simply fascinating.

In the 36 NASCAR races held in 2005 (not including a handful of non-point scoring races), 15 drivers have gone on to the winner's circle. Meanwhile, only five drivers have stepped on the top step of the podium in 19 Formula One races that year.

And who can forget that in 2002, Schumi managed to win 11 out of the 17 races that year, and his teammate Rubens Barrichello added four more? And in 2004, Schumi won a staggering 13 races out of 18, and Barrichello picked up two more?

In NASCAR, if you manage to get your car on the starting grid, you stand a very big chance to be competitive, and a reasonable chance to win a race.

But in Formula One, if you (are lucky enough to) manage to get your car on the starting grid, you stand a very big chance to be fighting for the lesser places, and a reasonable chance to be lapped a couple of times by the few front runners.

No wonder many NASCAR drivers such as Mark Martin, are still running strong in their 50s'. And that means JPM will have as many as 20 years competing in the NASCAR circuit. A really shrewd career move for him indeed.