The trip I had at Watkins Glen last weekend while watching Juan Pablo Montoya was action-packed even though the No. 42 Dodge didn't reach
Montoya has been superb on road courses this season because of his experience in driving (and winning) in Formula 1 machines. However, his performance on oval tracks�the kind that makes up the bulk of the Nextel Cup schedule�paints a rather different picture. Prior to his coming to NASCAR, he had driven on oval racecourses only about 15 times in his life. He had basically no experience on them.
To keep Montoya under control earlier in the year, his crew chief, Donnie Wingo, deliberately sent him out to race in tight race cars. Beginning with Montoya's second-place run at Atlanta back in March, Wingo has been loosening up the setup of the No. 42 Dodge, making it faster by allowing the back end to swing out through corners. Montoya, Wingo says, is gradually learning how to handle a loose race car, and points to the driver's 15th-place finish at Chicagoland, as well as to his second-place run at Indy, last month as evidence.
Montoya's big challenge has been finding out what his car needs to feel like at the beginning of a run (when he has a full tank of gas) in order for it to be fast at the end of a run (when the tank is nearly empty). This is the challenge that every driver must master, and the only way to learn it is with experience.
Remember, Montoya has not even visited every track on the Nextel Cup schedule. His upside is huge and he is already earned strong results on ovals despite his learning curve. He is very much talented, and once he starts winning races, I think that his aggressive driving will stop rubbing so many people the wrong way. He should be a favorite to make the Chase in 2008.
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