The fate of Mercedes-McLaren's F1 team, in an uproar since Fernando "soul patch" Alonzo announced he was coming on board in 2007, is becoming clearer. MMC's perennial sleeper, Colombia-born Juan Pablo Montoya, now says he will leave F1 for barbeque-stained pastures. Montoya won Indy in 2000, so it's clear he knows how to hang a left, a skill he'll get to exersize when he brings his latin mojo to the Sherwin-Williams-white Nascar next year. He and Indy 500 buddy Chip Ganassi will team up, as Montoya replaces Casey Mears in the #42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for Chip Ganassi Racing. He may even enter some Busch Series races when his F1 season with McLaren-Mercedes ends later this year.

First Toyota, then Montoya? Who thought Nascar would become ground zero for multiculturalism? [Thanks to allenparkpete for the tip]

Montoya ro Drive Nascar Circuit [TSN.ca]

Related:
F1 Champ Alonzo Signs with McLaren for 2007 [internal]

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