'Loose cannon' or 'crazy,' Montoya pushing patiently

Jeff Gordon likes to say that striking the right balance between aggressiveness and patience is the key to becoming a great driver.

Juan Pablo Montoya – the driver who still occasionally refers to himself as “that crazy Colombian” – has started to find that balance.

Montoya sits in third place in the Chase for the Sprint Cup entering Saturday night's NASCAR Banking 500. In the four playoff races thus far, he has finished third or fourth in all of them.

Just as importantly, he has finished all 30 Cup races this season. In 2008, Montoya posted nine DNFs – racing shorthand for “did not finish” – and those ultimately killed any chance he had to make the Chase.

This season, Montoya can make other drivers nervous with his reputation for swapping paint too eagerly. Sports Illustrated recently called him “NASCAR's loosest cannon.”

But he is also picking his spots better, which can keep his competitors uncertain.

“I think it's good that they're not sure what's going to happen with me,” Montoya said. “When I need to drive conservative and smart, I can do that. When I need to go all-out, I can.”

It sounds a bit like Dale Earnhardt Sr., doesn't it? Montoya doesn't have anywhere near the results of Earnhardt, but his style feels similar.

Montoya stands as the biggest surprise in the points standings. The Bogota, Colombia native lives in Miami with his wife and two children. He describes the current Cup standings like this: “It is two Hendrick cars, myself and then two more Hendrick cars.”

That's basically true. Car owner Rick Hendrick has a strong connection to every car in the top five except Montoya's, either through ownership or supplied equipment. Montoya drives a Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and his car is owned by Teresa Earnhardt.

Montoya, 34, is shorter than you would think (he's listed at 5-foot-7) and more personable, too. He does interviews and Twitters in English and Spanish.

If he were to overtake Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin and win the 2009 championship, the victory would obviously resonate in many places where NASCAR has made few inroads.

Would it also make some longtime NASCAR fans uncomfortable to have a foreign-born champion? Undoubtedly it would, including many of the same people who didn't want Toyota in the sport.

Somehow, though, NASCAR would survive – and actually be better for it.

Montoya used to be a star in open-wheel racing. He won the Indy 500 in 2000 and won seven Formula One races before deciding to wrestle the bigger stock cars full time in 2007.

“They weigh so much,” Montoya said of the cars he drives now. “There's so much inertia. So much momentum. They're very different to drive. I still have to figure a lot of things out about them.”

While Montoya has figured out a lot in this breakthrough season, he hasn't figured out how to win. His only Cup victory came in his rookie season of 2007. He's had six Top 5 finishes this season, but no victories.

“I was happy last year when I was finishing 15th,” Montoya said. “Now I'm finishing third and I'm (ticked) off.”

Why?

“Last year we had a lot of changes in the team – a lot of bad things happened in the team (he had three crew chiefs in 2008) – so it was a struggle,” Montoya said. “So when we could get from the 20s to the teens, that was big for us. We've been very close to winning a race this year, and it gets frustrating when you don't.”

When Montoya gets frustrated, watch out. He can rant with the best of them during a race.

But this year, he has smoothed down his edges just enough to be a serious title threat.

“I'm racing a lot smarter,” Montoya said. “But if it comes down to it, I'm going to do whatever I need to do to win.”

Scott Fowler: 704-358-5140; sfowler@charlotteobserver.com.

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