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Originally Posted by VilleneuveTracy
I believe the yardstick for him is Tony Stewart, a convert from the IRL. JPM is light years ahead of where Stewart was after 8-9 NASCAR starts. How good will he be when he gets 2-3 years under his belt?
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I agree about Stewart being the yardstick. When it comes to Montoya being light years ahead, however, I'd say the jury is still out on that one. True, Montoya is ahead when it comes to Busch Series results, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. While Tony Stewart had a rather average time in the Busch Series (36 starts in 1996-1998 which resulted in just 6 top-5 finishes and no victories), he had one of the, at that time, best-ever seasons by a NEXTEL Cup rookie in 1999, scoring 12 top-5 finishes (3 victories included) and 2 pole positions.
Since I'm a sucker for numbers, here are some NEXTEL Cup benchmarks/statistics by Stewart in his first year that we can compare Montoya to as the season goes on:
Misc benchmarks/stats:
First top-5 start: 1st race, Daytona (started 2nd)/4th race, Atlanta (started 3rd) - mentioned both since Daytona is a r/p track
First pole: 8th race, at Martinsville
First top-10 finish: 5th race, Darlington (finished 6th)
First top-5 finish: 9th race, Talladega (finished 5th)
First victory: 25th race, Richmond
Road course numbers:
Sonoma: started 2nd, finished 15th
the Glen: started 4th, finished 6th
Average r/c start: 3.0
Average r/c finish: 10.5
Short track (less than 1 mile) numbers:
Best short track start: 1st (2 times), Martinsville & Bristol
Best short track finish: 1st, Richmond
Average s/t start: 12.5
Average s/t finish: 16.2
Intermediate track (1+ miles) numbers:
Best intermediate track start: 3rd (2 times), Atlanta & Dover
Best intermediate track finish: 1st (2 times), Phoenix & Homestead
Average i/t start: 13.8
Average i/t finish: 9.5
Superspeedway (2 miles and up, unrestricted) numbers:
Best superspeedway start: 7th, Fontana
Best superspeedway finish: 3rd, Michigan
Average s/s start: 17.8
Average s/s finish: 5.5
Restrictor plate (Daytona & Talladega) numbers:
Best restrictor plate start: 2nd, Daytona
Best restrictor plate finish: 5th, Talladega
Average r/p start: 5.3
Average r/p finish: 11.3
In 1999 the schedule featured 34 races. There were 2 road course races, 4 restrictor plate races, 6 short track races, 6 superspeedway races and 16 intermediate track races.
In 2007 the schedule features 36 races. There are 2 road course races, 4 restrictor plate races, 6 short track races, 7 superspeedway races and 17 intermediate track races.
Yes, I'm a nerd. So shoot me
