Report: Montoya out at Ganassi in 2014

13 Comments

Well, here’s one for the NASCAR silly season file. According to team sources who told the Associated Press, Juan Pablo Montoya won’t be back at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates for 2014.

Montoya’s NASCAR career has been largely underwhelming with only two wins and one Chase for the Sprint Cup appearance (eighth in 2009) since his then-shock decision to leave Formula One midway through 2006. He’s spent his entire Sprint Cup career with CGR, first in the Havoline, then Target No. 42.

He also had a successful two-year run with Ganassi in IndyCar before heading to F1. He won the 1999 CART championship as a rookie, and took the 2000 Indianapolis 500 victory a year later.

The speculation will now begin in earnest as to who could replace Montoya in the 42. Ryan Newman’s a free agent and this could be a potential landing spot for him. Kurt Busch? Possibly for the Furniture Row Racing driver, although you’d expect he’ll stay put after needing to change teams each of the last two seasons.

Logical speculation though would lead you to think Kyle Larson, Ganassi’s prized developmental driver, will play a role in the proceedings. He could either be promoted full-time or as part of a ride share with a veteran. Either way, expect that with this news, Larson’s chances of making a Sprint Cup race cameo later this year will increase substantially.

Supercross: Enzo Lopes will race with ClubMX in 2024

Lopes ClubMX 2024
Feld Motor Sports/MX Sports Pro Racing/Align Media
0 Comments

Coming off his best Supercross season to date, Enzo Lopes has re-signed with Muc-Off / ClubMX Yamaha and will race for the team in 2024. The deal is for Supercross only.

Enzo Lopes won his heat race in Denver and finished fourth in the Main. – Feld Motor Sports

Lopes debuted in the Supercross series in 2019 on a Suzuki and scored his first top-10 finishes in his last two starts of that season. Showing consistent improvement, he earned six top-10s in eight Main events the following year and finished fifth in the 250 East standings. In 2022, he scored his first top-five at Daytona and finished in the top five in points again.

“I am happy to be returning to ClubMX for another season,” Lopes said in a press release. “It is like family to me there and that is very important. Although I had many options, staying where I am makes the most sense for many reasons. The bikes are great, the people are great, the tracks are amazing, and I am surrounded by people that care about me. We all want to win and together we will get there.”

While he improved his season-best performance by only one position this year, it was nevertheless a breakout season. Lopes barely missed the podium three times in 2023 with fourth-place finishes at San Diego, Seattle, and Denver.

His strong performance him rumored to be speaking with factory teams.

“We could see the growth from Enzo every time he gets on the bike,” said team owner Brandon Haas. “We all knew it was just a matter of time before he would be noticed by everyone, and we are proud of him on many levels. He had some heat race wins and qualified fastest at three events this season. It would be hard not to be noticed going that fast. He had a big decision to make and we are glad he chose to stay with us at ClubMX.”

Lopes had three podium finishes in heat races this year, including a win preceding his fourth-place finish in Denver.

Lopes will join Jeremy Martin, Phil Nicoletti and Garrett Marchbanks, who announced a two-year extension with the team in January, at the ClubMX team.