Juan Pablo Montoya might be a NASCAR rookie, but he is a road-course master.
Not known for his patience, the Colombian driver showed plenty of it Sunday. He used his well-honed road-racing skill to save his tires, stretch his fuel to the limit, and win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 for his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory.
Team owner Chip Ganassi, who lured Montoya back to America from Formula One, was as impressed as anyone by the win and the way Montoya did it.
“One of the nice things, working with him again, is he’s matured in a way as a race driver that you could not write in a movie,'’ said Ganassi, for whom Montoya won the 1999 CART championship and the 2000 Indianapolis 500.
“He’s a lot calmer, if you can imagine that. He actually came on the radio today and said, ‘It’s a little too early to race these guys.’ I was looking at (crew chief Donnie) Wingo and he was looking at me. Juan’s a changed man, all in a positive way.'’
