History is no stranger to Montoya

            DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Juan Pablo Montoya’s climb through the NASCAR ranks hasn’t been effortless. It’s taken him far longer to adjust to stock car racing’s premier series than Formula One or Indy cars.

            But he’s just about there, and a victory in the Daytona 500 would signal an arrival. Montoya, 34, isn’t unfamiliar with mountaintops and thrones.

“I don't do it for anybody else,” he said. “I do this for myself.”

            Montoya said it doesn’t matter to him whether or not his racing make him a hero in his native Colombia.

“They didn't (seem to realize it was a big deal) when I won Indy (500),” he said, “and they didn't when I won Monaco and they probably wouldn't (appreciate a Daytona victory), either,” he said. “I don't know. I don't really care

“If they appreciate what I do, great. If they don't, well, I'm having a great time here. … If somebody doesn't want to pay attention, it's their miss, not mine. I can't do anything about that.”

NASCAR has been tougher for Montoya than either IndyCar or Formula One. In five full F1 seasons, he never finished outside the top six in driver points. In three previous NASCAR seasons, he has been 20^th, 25^th and eighth. Last year, though, he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup, nearly won the Allstate 400 at Indy and finished in the top five seven times.

As he enters his fourth season – and fourth Daytona 500 – the respect accorded him exceeds the actual numbers of his career. Montoya’s only victory was in 2007, at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., but he never really quieted his detractors until a six-week stretch last year in which he finished fourth or better five times: third in New Hampshire, fourth at Dover and in Kansas, third in Fontana and in Martinsville.

Montoya said a victory in the Daytona 500 today would be as important as his open-wheel victories at Indy and Monte Carlo.

“It would be as high as the other ones,” he said. “It would be cool to win them all, but right now, I don't think about it. I didn't think about it when I won Indy or Monaco. Afterwards, you go, oh, wow, I won this.

“But you ask me today and you've got to take it like any other race. You've got to make your pit stops and make sure you have a good balance, and keep the car in one piece for when it counts.”

This is NASCAR’s biggest race, but Montoya’s aspirations run higher. He’s talking championship.

“Whatever happens here doesn't mean anything for the rest of the season,” he said. “This is a restrictor plate race. We do three pre-Chase and one in the Chase. It's still points, it's still racing but it doesn't really show the true performance of the cars.”

What winning today would do for Montoya is make him a winner of three of the world’s four most famous automobile races (the fourth being the 24 Hours of Le Mans). No one has ever pulled off that particular “triple.”

You may contact Monte Dutton at mdutton@gastongazette.com.