Ganassi impressed by the way Montoya dealt with competitors and kept their respect

[VilleneuveTracy]

NEW YORK -- Chip Ganassi was not surprised by what former open-wheel star Juan Pablo Montoya did on the track in 2006, but the NASCAR team owner says he was impressed by the way the Nextel Cup rookie of the year related to his competitors.

"I think first and foremost, he did a great job in the garage area," Ganassi said of Montoya, who won the 1999 CART championship and the 2000 Indianapolis 500 driving for Ganassi before spending several years in Formula One.

"If you look at his garage-area appeal, he started off real strong, started to go down real fast and just kept his game on," Ganassi added. "It was really amazing how other drivers reacted to him. He came in with a lot of respect, stepped on himself, but then got it back.

"And, for all the antics he and (Kevin) Harvick had all summer, it's amazing they're still buddies."

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[Speedworx]

What planet is Chip Ganassi on?

Montoya alienated every single driver in NASCAR. He's an idiot!

[Adam43]

I have come across people who do that.

However Ganassi' words are interesting if you read them. He's on the planet near NASCAR. Everyone has spats in NASCAR. Ganassi is describing how he did dip, but then regained respect.

[Craig]

Maybe certain people you encounter in real life could learn from the way Montoya regained the respect of his contemporaries after acting the fool and shooting his mouth off at times.

[muggle not]

Montoya has earned my respect and I am an "old" diehard Nascar fan. Now, lets see if he can keep it, not that I am important.

Another that has earned my respect is a driver that many simply do not like (and neither did I until recently) by the name of Robby Gordon. This guy has guts and works harder than most in the sport.

[Knowlesy]

When did he shoot his mouth off? He has generally been pretty graceful and respectful off-track (with the exception of his lack of apology for wrecking almost everyone in the "All Star" heat, for which there was no excuse).

He lost respect with the mid-season incidents primarily. There was that period of time where he just seemed to be trying to do too much with his car. The Pepsi 400 was a prime example, when he shot Harvick into the wall and ruined his race on the spot and the "All Star" heat I mentioned was a dark day. But since the incident at Watkins Glen, which wasn't really his fault, he kept his nose pretty clean and ran well and you could sense people were more comfortable running with him.

[VilleneuveTracy]

I saw JPM having a friendly chat with Stewart, J. Gordon, and Kurt Busch on the grid before the race during the pre-race show late in the season. Clearly these three top drivers respect him. Even Harvick, his biggest nemesis, is friends with him again if we are to believe Ganassi.

Everyone knew JPM has a ton of talent. What caused him trouble was his aggressive driving, which caused a lot of wrecks during the first 2/3 of the year. However, as knowsley noted, he raced pretty clean the rest of the way and I think the drivers trust him now.

[Sparky7]

JPM calmed down quite a bit during the later races in the season. I think he's very talented and he says he's having more fun now than he ever did before.