Ever since coming to NASCAR from his days as an open-wheel engineer, Chris Heroy wanted to work as a crew chief.
He got the opportunity a few times in 2011 when JR Motorsports fielded a third car. But now he’s got the chance to be in charge full time.
Heroy has replaced Jim Pohlman as Juan Pablo Montoya’s crew chief. After several years as a Hendrick engineer, Heroy believes he is ready or the job after spending seven seasons at Hendrick Motorsports, primarily as the chief engineer for Alan Gustafson’s teams.
“I’ve known I wanted to do this for a long time,” Heroy said in a phone interview. “I realized that one day to have the opportunity to build my own team my way would mean a lot to myself. I kind of figured that out early on.
“The JRM stuff was finally getting the opportunity and putting your money where your mouth is.”
Having joined Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in December, Heroy is still learning about the company. His goals are to win races, make the Chase For The Sprint Cup and compete for championships. He had never had an in-depth conversation with Montoya until taking the job.
Montoya made the Chase in 2009 but has missed it the last two years. Crew chief Brian Pattie was released in July, and Heroy knew this was a job he wanted.
“Juan can drive,” Heroy said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. … I’ve watched him race for a number of years and the talent and just the pure speed is always something I respected about him.
“We obviously made a few changes. But Earnhardt Ganassi has a lot of big trophies and a lot of talented people. The expectations here is no different than Hendrick or anybody else.”
Heroy believed he had to leave Hendrick if he wanted to be a crew chief soon. Gustafson, Chad Knaus and Steve Letarte made the Chase with their drivers, and Kenny Francis has had a long association with Kasey Kahne..
“It seemed to fit,” Heroy said. “Hendrick understood. They have four great crew chiefs over there, and I’ve wanted to crew chief or a long time. I had been working for JRM, just doing extra stuff at nights, just kind of putting those deals together.
“They respected my wishes to move on and move up.”
Now it’s up to him to work with a team that is not that different from the one he left.
“This has got all the abilities of Hendrick – just a few less cars and a few less buildings,” Heroy said. “We can do everything we need to do here. Good communication with Juan, good communication with our key partners, good communication connecting the shop to the engineering staff to the fabricators … is the way the best teams are built that I’ve been on.
“I’m just here trying to develop what they have and improve what they have and just get systems in place that make us move faster in terms of development and improving our cars.”
To do that, Heroy will tap his knowledge from his experiences at Hendrick. He said he believes the EGR crewmen are motivated as he is.
“This is the hardest working offseason I’ve definitely ever had,” Heroy said. “It’s really just coming in here and just continuing what I did over there in terms of the people and the work ethic. I’ve found it to be very similar.
“I haven’t had to bring anything from Hendrick to here. It’s more just continuing what was in place over here.”
When did you first discover your passion for racing?
Juan Pablo Montoya: My dad raced go-karts so I followed in his footsteps at a very young age. I think I was five or six years old when I started, and I was hooked from that point on.
What is your most memorable moment at a racetrack?
JPM: That depends. I would say winning the Grand Prix in Monaco was big because I had always dreamed of winning that race as a little kid. But the Indianapolis 500 win with Chip and Target ranks right up there too. That was my first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I had never even been to that track before.
If you could go head-to-head on the track against any racing legend, who would it be?
JPM: To tell you the truth, I would have loved to race against Ayrton Senna – he was my childhood hero. He was from Brazil and we didn’t really have any Colombian drivers in F1, so I always followed Senna. My father was also a big fan of his.
What goes through your mind when you’re racing?
JPM: You can’t lose concentration. I’m always thinking about what we can do to make the car better. Can I follow a different line around the racetrack? What adjustments can we make to get the car handle better?
What’s your favorite race in the NASCAR circuit?
JPM: I really like the short tracks. I think there is a lot of skill in driving those tracks. I also think the restrictor plate races are fun. But really, I just want to win races and be competitive in all of them.
What race is at the top of your win “wish list”?
JPM: In general, I’d just love to win on an oval – the Daytona 500 or Brickyard would be pretty nice. I would obviously like to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. That’s what every racer dreams of. You race against the best drivers in the world every weekend and we’re all after the same thing – wins and the championship at the end of the season.
What are some words of wisdom you’d give to young drivers starting out in the racing world?
JPM: Keep after your dreams. I’m proof that if you work hard enough they can come true.
Who do you think is more popular in Colombia – you or Sofia Vergara?
JPM: Sofia Vergara – without a doubt. Haha!
What are some nerdy things about racing?
JPM: The engineers on our race teams are considered the nerds of our sport. They are the number crunchers in NASCAR and do all of the technical stuff. They have a difficult job because they have to make educated guesses.
How do you and your wife balance busy working and home lives?
JPM: Connie does most of the day-to-day stuff at home. I’m away a lot racing, and with Sebastian and Paulina [his children] in school, the family doesn’t get to travel as much as they used to. I don’t know how Connie does it. When I am home I’m running the kids to school, taking them go-karting and doing whatever activities they want. It is not easy.
What’s one fact most people don’t know about you?
JPM: That I love to cook. I don’t get to do it that often, but it’s something I truly love to do when I have the time. Connie threw a birthday party for me at the house this year and I volunteered to cook for everyone.
What are your other off-track passions?
JPM: I’ve been into RC planes and helicopters a lot these days. I like building them from the ground up and then taking them out flying. I have my own “man cave” at home to build them and then there’s an actual flying field not too far from my house. I also enjoy golfing and windsurfing when I have the time.
Hoztam egy cikket a NASCAR.COM-rl! Juan Pablo alrta a szerzdst tegnap a jv vre vonatkozan, gy jv vben is az EGRFS csapatnl fog versenyezni!A versenymrnkrl mg nincsenek informcik, hogy marad-e Jim Pohlman, vagy esetleg egy j versenymrnkt fog kapni :)
Montoya set to return to Ganassi for 2012 season
AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Throughout his career racing in the United States, Juan Montoya has competed for exactly one car owner -- Chip Ganassi. They won the old CART title together, won the Indianapolis 500 together, and it was Ganassi who brought Montoya to NASCAR. So it should come as no surprise that the Colombia native has agreed to return to Ganassi's No. 42 car on the Sprint Cup tour next season.
Montoya's current contract with his race team, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, ends after this season. Although there was never any real threat of Montoya winding up anywhere else, the driver confirmed Friday that he would be back in the red and white Chevrolet in 2012, likely meaning that he had signed a contract extension. The Ganassi team traditionally does not announce extensions.
"I'll be driving this car next year ... that's a given," Montoya said at Phoenix International Raceway, site of Sunday's event. "... We're all good."
Montoya did not divulge the length of the deal. Although his contract may be done, his crew chief for next year remains uncertain. In July, Ganassi replaced former crew chief Brian Pattie with Jim Pohlman on what was originally supposed to be an interim basis. The No. 42 car has made only modest improvements in its finishing results, with a ninth-place run at New Hampshire being the program's only top-10 on an oval track since the change. Whether Pohlman remains as crew chief into 2012 depends on the car owner, Montoya said.
"I think that's more up to whatever Chip wants to do," he said. "So far, we're having a lot of fun working really well together. I need a little more speed in the car, I would think. We've been getting better the last few weeks. We've been really unlucky. I feel like the last three or four weeks, we've had cars that could get in the top 10. When there's a wreck, and we don't even cause the wrecks, we're just running around ... and it kind of sucks. but it's OK."
It's been a trying season for Montoya, who made the Chase in 2009 and won a race at Watkins Glen International the next year. This season he's fallen to 19th in points, although he hopes to overtake a few of the drivers directly ahead of him before the season ends next weekend outside Miami, where Montoya lives.
"Right now, we're really trying to enjoy ourselves, have fun," he said. "There are like three or four guys around us who are really close in points, and we're trying to beat those guys. Two or three of those guys are in Roush cars, so that's quite a challenge. But it's been fun."
AJÁNLOM AZ OLDALT![[JPM] Juan Pablo Montoya's Fan Site - the ONLY ONE! ||the BEST driver EVER!!!!](/portal/juan-pablomontoya/image/logo_1325350682.png "[JPM] Juan Pablo Montoya's Fan Site - the ONLY ONE! ||the BEST driver EVER!!!!"){kind=logo}
