Montoya completes first NASCAR season as top rookie

By SceneDaily Staff Report

Monday, November 19, 2007

JASON SMITH / GETTY IMAGES

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HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2007 Raybestos Rookie of the Year award after finishing 15th in Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The former Formula One driver earned one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes in his debut NASCAR Nextel Cup season. Driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, he finished the year 20th in the standings.

"I think it went pretty good," he said of his season. "It's a bit of everything, you know. Off and on, I think that everybody at Ganassi did an amazing job. It's one of those deals ... I think it was more ours to lose than win. So I think [it] came out pretty good.

"I think more important, we had a race win. ... For record books and stuff, it's pretty good that I won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year."

While Montoya has won the Indianapolis 500 and Formula One races, as well as rookie honors in other series, he admits it felt a little odd to come into NASCAR and be as experienced a driver as he was, but also to truly be a rookie.

"Being a rookie with the experience I had, is very different," he said. "I had no stock-car experience, but from my open-wheel background, I've raced about everything you can race in."

He says that it's important that his team improved over the course of the season and that will boost them heading in to 2008. Crew chief Donnie Wingo says that Montoya has adapted to the series quickly and has learned to drive cars that aren't handling well.

As to the team, he says that they enjoyed winning the rookie honor - again.

"It's pretty much the same group that won it with [Jamie] McMurray [in 2003], so we're still hanging in there," Wingo said with a smile.