August 5th, 2010 
Journo Two weeks, two problems and frustrations again boiled over on the radio between Juan Pablo Montoya and his crew chief Brian Pattie.
With the four tire stop that cost them the race at the Brickyard still fresh in their minds, Montoya entered the pits for a late race stop at Pocono. As he pulled in his box he rolled just ever slightly forward screwing up the teams rhythm and costing them time and positions.
What resulted was a 17 second pit stop and a profanity laced tirade that included Pattie telling Montoya he needed to go to Charlotte and practice pit stops, and Montoya telling Pattie, “Screw you!” He further blamed Pattie for making a bad call.
On the surface this appears to be the beginning of the end for the Pattie, Montoya relationship. Tension is building and that is evident in these select interactions between the two. Still, despite all the trouble the two have had this season I don’t think things aren’t quite as bad as they seem.
Juan Pablo Montoya is known for his temper, and his spectacular (I say sarcastically) ability to express his opinion and frustration – normally it involves an ‘f’ and a ‘you’.
Brian Pattie on the other hand is about as cool, calm and collected as they come. The difference in their personalities is one of the reasons I believe they have had such a productive (though not as successful as they would have liked) relationship.
It can’t be denied this hasn’t been a great season for team #42. They’ve had just four top-fives and sit 21st in the points. Most damaging of all, Montoya has had seven DNFs. On top of that it doesn’t look very good that his teammate Jamie McMurray has already had two wins in his inaugural season with EGR.
This was Montoya’s season to shine. Now he’s being outshined. Add that to some missed opportunities because of what turned out to be wrong decisions and Montoya is not very happy with his racing – and that’s translating to frustration with Pattie.
That brings us to the million dollar question: what does that mean for Brian Pattie and JPM going down the road? Is this the beginning of the end?
I don’t think so. No doubt this is a rough patch in their relationship. But I think the progress that has been made and the relationship that has been built is too valuable to give up on.
Fortunately for Pattie and Montoya, Chip Ganassi isn’t Jack Roush. And through the rough spots there have been moments of near triumph. It’s a matter of consistency and good luck, and right now the #42 team is struggling.
Given the right circumstances this is a team and combination that can be successful – I think outside the fleeting moments of anger all parties involved know that.
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once again: communication between a driver & crew chief on the radio is what it is. fans get to eavesdrop but do not have the right to make statements about that relationship based on what they hear. i enjoy hearing/reading about my drivers & their crew chiefs “discussing” things on the team radio. but i make NO assumption about what that might mean between the two nor do i call for the crew chief’s head when it gets terse on the mic. i don’t see them or interact with them on any sort of basis so i have no idea how they work together.
we as outsiders need to be extremely careful in how much we read into any series of interactions that occur in the heat of the race. listening in on team radios is a risky business: sometimes, it’s funny & makes one smile. but often times, it’s dark and angry & is most definitely a result of frustration, anger, fear, disappointment.
my advice to fans: enjoy what you hear. if it makes you unhappy, stop listening. but don’t read more into it than is there.
I think this is over , I don’t understand why Pattie gets so much support from the media, specially from the Speed and ESPN crowd, maybe is more a dislike for Montoya than anything else, Montoya is not a third rate Driver in any series and with Ganassi that is how he has been treated, from the junk Dodges in 2007 and 2008 to the hiring second tear crew chiefs (three of then in 4 years, can you remember how many wins the other two have since they left Chip? Have they made the chase ? Let me tell you …nothing and no..)
I said it from day one , Juan Pablo’s loyalty to Ganassi will be his downfall, Juan needs to move on to a team and a car he deserves.
Montoya keeps blaming others for his ham fisted driving technique. His poor pit stop was his own fault. As a driver, he’s an important factor in team morale. His tirades erode morale. He needs a good ass kicking if you ask me.
JPM is a hot head and blows up at what he calls friends. Between his mouth and his front bumper he’s going to loose what respect he has left in the garage. He’s refuses to shoulder responsibility when he wrecks a race car; typically looking for somebody else to blame it on. Blaming NASCAR for his speeding penalty at Indy is a prime example of his inability to take responsibility for his mistakes.
By the time he’s done racing he won’t have any friends left in the sport.
What are being called “wrong” decisions are actually right decisions based on all of Brian Pattie’s experience. Obviously he, and some other similarly experienced CCs who have been having the same trouble, need to adapt faster to unprecedented changes with the car, tire compounds, and track conditions- or take more risks like some CCs are doing. It’s been mentioned by several people that there’s no way they would want to be a CC right now because of all the new variables bouncing around, the driver almost being the least of the problems.
Bottom line, I don’t see any real relationship problem. JPM is like any fierce competitor, he needs to work at keeping himself on a more even keel in order to communicate the info vital for Pattie’s CC decisions.
ya know …
I was going to bring it …. I was going to bring the hate / insult / slamming S.storm down upon JPM, but ….
….but I discovered that the allotment for that type of post here on TNI has been all used up ( for the time being ) by all of the hate posting against Jimmie Johnson, dang it!!! ….. now I just have to sit here and use “esp” ( or something ) to send mean thoughts to JaneyPaulaMon-lil-boya ; )
Steve Letarte made the same decision Brian did – and 24 didn’t light him up. JPM flipped out because it was the same call that lost Indy the week before – at a similar track. I do not think Juan was really “over it in 10 minutes” as Chip lead us to believe.
Brian’s an excellent crew chief…sometimes those decisions are not the easiest. I will say that JPM has lost way, way more races for the #42 bunch than BP, because he cannot keep his cool and ends up getting into whoever he’s racing equaling a damaged car.
I don’t know enough about EGR… are they generally quick to pull the plug? Hendrick cerainly was with Junior. Other teams have pulled the crew chief without trying to smooth things out.
I’ve been reading a lot about Montoya a Pocono. I’m suprised that I havent seen anybody mention what Biffel said…..”We learned our lesson at Indy” Apparently Biffe’s CC learns faster than Brian Pattie