Montoya interest spawns new site

Chip Ganassi Racing, home of Juan Pablo Montoya, translated its site into Spanish.

Chip Ganassi Racing will launch its Web site in Spanish today in response to the interest generated from the signing of Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya.

The Spanish-language Web site — espanol.chipganassiracing.com — will feature race news and releases related to Montoya, as well as information on the team’s other drivers in NASCAR’s Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series. The site also will have a merchandise and sponsorship component.

A little more than half of the original site will be available in Spanish this week. The rest will be translated and phased in over the next few months.

“Our traffic has really spiked since the announcement in July,” said Dan Griffis, Ganassi Racing vice president of marketing. “This is something we want to continue to develop for all of our racing teams.”

Montoya, the former CART and Indianapolis 500 champion, was to attempt to qualify for his first NASCAR race this past weekend at the Busch Series race in Memphis. He will take over full driving duties of Ganassi’s No. 42 Dodge in 2007.