Montoya's Crash Course

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Despite commonly held opinion, NASCAR, apparently, isn't all that easy.

Montoya is taking a crash course

Harvick says the Colombian, who is 19th in points in his first year in the series, 'drives like he doesn't know what he's doing.'

By Jim Peltz

August 19, 2007

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Is Juan Pablo Montoya too aggressive for NASCAR?

Kevin Harvick thinks so. After the two Nextel Cup drivers collided last Sunday at Watkins Glen, N.Y., Harvick climbed from his car and gave Montoya a few choice words that nearly brought them to blows.

"It just seems like [Montoya] runs over somebody every week," Harvick fumed.

Harvick was angry then, but his opinion hasn't changed as the stock-car racing series resumes today with the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Montoya "drives like he doesn't know what he's doing," Harvick said Friday before practice. "It's a common opinion in the garage. Everybody's tired of tearing their stuff up for no reason."

Indeed, some other top Cup drivers agreed that Montoya -- the Colombian open-wheel racing star who migrated to NASCAR this year to drive the No. 42 Dodge -- is increasingly making enemies on the track.

"A lot of guys we race against are give-and-take guys, but he's more of a take-take guy," said Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Dodge for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

"He is a great guy off the track," Sadler said. "He's great for our sport. But on the track he's not learned to give-and-take yet like the rest of us."

It's a perception that's spread in the garage "since like the third or fourth race of the year," he said.

But Montoya - who starts 26th in the 43-car field today, and who scored his first Cup victory in June at Sonoma - is unmoved by the criticism.

"I've been very conscious about the give-and-take on the racetrack," he said. "I've been really careful this year in trying not to pick any fights, I think we've raced really smart, made a lot of friends.

"When it's been my fault before I say, 'Hey, I'm sorry.' Things like that will happen, it's racing," he said.

Cup points leader Jeff Gordon starts on the pole for today's 200-lap race at the two-mile Michigan oval. Montoya starts directly in front of Harvick, who qualified 28th. Weather could be a problem; there is a 60% chance of at least light rain.

Not everyone sees Montoya as any more aggressive than other top drivers and said that, after all, auto racing isn't for the timid.

They also noted that the late Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Cup champion still revered by NASCAR fans, was known for aggressive racing that routinely angered rivals.

"I personally haven't had any issues with [Montoya]," said Matt Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion with Roush Fenway Racing. "I've enjoyed racing with him. I've never had a problem."

Montoya, 31, won the Indianapolis 500 in his first try in 2000 for owner Chip Ganassi before moving to the international Formula One series, where he won seven times and also was known for aggressive driving.

Late last year, he joined the NASCAR team owned by Ganassi and Felix Sabates. No one doubted his abilities as a driver, but many wondered how long it would take Montoya to adapt to the rough-and-tumble of NASCAR racing.

Through 22 races, Montoya has three top-five finishes, which included the victory at Sonoma, which was Ganassi's first Cup win in five years. Montoya is 19th in points.

Jeff Burton, a Harvick teammate at Richard Childress Racing who's considered one of the "cleanest" drivers in the series, said Montoya is making the transition to stock cars quickly but that he has "put himself in many situations that someone else has come out the loser."

"I can't fault him for it, I'm not saying he's wrong," Burton said. "It's just a matter of his getting the experience to go along with the ability he has. But he's been involved in more [incidents] than the average driver."

Montoya's aggressiveness was evident early in the year at a Busch Series race in Mexico City. Running second behind teammate Scott Pruett, Montoya bumped Pruett and sent him into a spin late in the race, enabling Montoya to grab the victory. Pruett was livid and publicly chastised Montoya after the race.

At Watkins Glen, it appeared Montoya ran into Harvick in the first turn because Montoya had been bumped from behind by Martin Truex Jr.

But some drivers said Montoya started the chain reaction by aggressively pinching Truex in the corner.

"It was 100% Juan Montoya's fault, that wreck," Sadler said. "He turned right to block Martin Truex but he just tried to block him too late. These cars don't stop on a dime."

Montoya disputed that, and said he's not trying to crash competitors to win. "Being myself a rookie I want people to know if they're passing me I'll give them the space," he said.

Kurt Busch, the Penske Racing driver and 2004 Cup champion, said he sees the griping about Montoya in "the same way I was perceived when I came in" to the Cup series in 2001.

"He's done an incredible job to be able to adapt to these stock cars" in his first year, Busch said. "He's a hard-charger who doesn't step down from a challenge."

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