Juan's World: Montoya's New Life

Juan Pablo Montoya, of Colombia, takes off his helmet after his qualifying run for Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas on Friday, March 9, 2007. Montoya placed fourth in qualifying. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (Jae C. Hong - AP)

LAS VEGAS -- Juan Pablo Montoya had little time to celebrate his first NASCAR victory _ the Busch Series race in Mexico City _ before traveling to Las Vegas for the Nextel Cup race.

Most drivers flock to the Strip, settling into five-star hotels before hitting the party scene. But Montoya avoided all that and instead stayed at the track in his temporary motorhome. His custom-ordered bus won't arrive until summer, but Montoya and his wife, Connie, feel right at home in the rental.

"I love motorhome living," she said from the kitchen area, where she sliced chicken breasts for a pre-race lunch. "I love the cooking and cleaning and having friends and family around. We've been to Monaco and Barcelona and done all the hotels and restaurants.

"We just want to feel like we are home."

The Montoyas are settling into the new world of NASCAR, which has embraced the former Formula One star since his defection to stock cars.

He dominated the headlines following his March 4 win in Mexico, where he came from 19th to first and bumped teammate Scott Pruett out of his way en route to the victory. The performance earned him praise in Vegas, where he saw many Cup stars for the first time since the win.

"I knew that Juan Montoya was one of the greatest drivers in the world, but boy, did he show everybody," driver Mark Martin said. "The incident that he and Pruett had, it was an unfortunate incident. It was not something that needed to take place for him to win the race. It certainly doesn't discredit the win, by any means.

"He certainly put on a driving clinic for everyone out there, and that was awesome."

Last week, Montoya tried to put Mexico in his rearview mirror and focus on Las Vegas. The challenges of the reconfigured race track were tremendous even for the Nextel Cup regulars.

He qualified fourth but fell a lap down early and finished 22nd in what he said was his toughest NASCAR race to date. He's currently 22nd in the Nextel Cup points standings and trails David Ragan by seven points in the race for rookie of the year.

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Montoya sat down for a short Q&A with AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer: