On the same weekend that Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel relinquished their hopes of becoming 2009 Formula One World Champion, Juan Pablo Montoya lost his opportunity to challenge for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. There are just four races remaining in this year’s busy NASCAR schedule and the popular Columbian entered last week’s event sitting third on points.  However, he had a disastrous race at the Banking 500 in Charlotte and after a collision with two other cars, a spin, and extensive damage that had to be repaired, he finished four laps down in 35th place. Despite a brilliant podium in yesterday’s race, Montoya now lies fifth in the championship and the title is probably beyond his reach.

Whilst Juan Pablo might de disappointed to miss out on this year’s championship he will be very pleased to have been in the hunt. 2009 has easily been his most competitive season since leaving Formula One.

Montoya entered his first stock car race just a few months after walking out on McLaren partway through 2006. Despite having to make the huge adjustment from F1, Montoya was very quick from the start. Juan Pablo finished on the podium in his first race, a small ARCA event, and was also competitive when he moved into the NASCAR junior series later that year (now known as the Nationwide Series).

However, Juan Pablo has found success a lot harder to find in NASCAR’s premier league.

Montoya struggled during his first full season of NASCAR in 2007 and finished 20th in the Nextel Cup Championship (now the Sprint Cup). Not surprisingly he was very impressive on the road courses and took victory at the Infineon Raceway after starting 32nd, but he largely struggled elsewhere as he got to grips with the machinery.

Strangely, Montoya’s second full season was less successful than his first. Although his consistency improved he finished the year down in 25th place. Again, Juan Pablo was mighty on the two road courses but the ovals remained his weak point, in particular the shorter more technical circuits.

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However 2009 has been a great season for Montoya. To date he has managed 17 finishes in the top ten, up from 3 in 2007 and 6 in 2008, and until last weekend he was a championship contender.

Montoya has always been quick on the faster larger ovals and this year took his first pole position at Talladega. He also dominated the Allstate 400 at Indianapolis where he led the most laps and looked set for an easy victory until a pitlane speeding penalty in the late stages pushed him down the order.

Juan Pablo has been finishing regularly in the top five since mid season, and he could have a few wins under his belt if not for some controversial late race incidents. It’s worth nothing the last three titles have been won with an average finishing position of tenth so fighting consistently in the top five is definitely championship material.

Montoya’s chance at the 2009 title was made possible due to the Chase for the Cup points system. Roughly two thirds into the Sprint Cup season the top twelve drivers have their points boosted so that no one below them can possibly win the series. Their points are then leveled out so that any one of the twelve can challenge for the championship. It is a bit like having a finals series, and was desgined to keep NASCAR in the sports pages during the NFL playoffs. The system almost always forces the title down to the wire.

In the first four races of this year’s chase Montoya took a pair of thirds and a pair of fourths giving him a strong place on the championship ladder. However, his awful night at Charlotte just over a week ago shattered his chances and handed the initiative to points leader Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson is NASCAR’s current version of Michael Schumacher and is now looking at his fourth consecutive championship. He made his debut in 2002 and has been champion or runner up every year since except two. Montoya would have found it difficult to beat Johnson without the drama last week but his poor result has made the title near impossible.

Although the Columbian can still mathematically take the title, NASCAR’s points system rewards consistency so it is very hard to close a big gap. You get 34 points for finishing 43rd so a low score is very costly when points are being thrown around at everyone else.

Although Juan Pablo will not take the championship this year, he put up a good fight and can now be considered one of the very best stock car drivers in the world.

Montoya’s slow rise through NASCAR, in contrast to his instant success in F1, shows how competitive and difficult the category actually is. Whilst you can argue that NASCAR is boring to watch and is biased towards entertainment instead of sport, it’s a lot harder to argue that it does not require a special talent.

It isn’t just about turning left.

The Sprint Cup cars are very heavy making them cumbersome to slow down and manoeuvre. This makes it difficult to maintain the right level of speed through the long banked corners which is crucial because losing too much speed will ruin your exit and your run down the following straight.

The car’s poor handling also makes it difficult to be precise which is important because there is a lot to gain by getting close to the walls.

One of the most incredible things about a Sprint Cup car is the power under the bonnet. They have roughly the same amount of horsepower as a Formula One car which is simply phenomenal! Unsurprisingly this makes the rear end very difficult to control under acceleration, probably the last thing you want in a car that is already handling like a shopping trolley.

Also, oval circuits are not always as easy as they look. Whilst most road courses have just one ideal racing line through a corner, ovals have many different possible lines. Different parts of the track and the different levels of banking offer varying amounts of grip. Picking the right line can actually be quite tricky and getting it wrong will ruin at least half of your lap.

The racecraft in NASCAR is also very complex. Overtaking is fairly common but there is a lot of skill in drafting and bump drafting, and knowing when to pull out of someone’s slipstream. Each team has a spotter on the pitwall who shouts instructions to the drivers since they would be lost otherwise in a sea of 42 other cars.

Juan Pablo Montoya has now mastered the skills required to conquer NASCAR but it has taken him a few years in a team built around him. He also had a lot of Indycar experience that would have been a huge assistance. Any other Formula One drivers following in his footsteps would find the transition a lot more difficult.

There could be a few on the way.

Nelson Piquet Junior recently tested a NASCAR truck, and Jarno Trulli will be testing a Sprint Cup car along with Mika Salo next month.

Piquet found his test quite difficult saying it was “not as easy as people might think it is”. Jarno Trulli is likely to feel the same way, especially since he does not perform well when his car lacks grip and predictability.

Piquet has no racing future in F1 so is trying to rebuild his career in the USA. Trulli is less likely to make the switch stateside and although he wants to race with Toyota next year, there is some indication that he will end up with Team Lotus instead. However, the Sprint Cup test in a few weeks time could be enough to open his eyes towards a NASCAR future a few years down the track.

If Jarno does make the jump to NASCAR when his time in F1 is over, he might find that Juan Pablo Montoya is the man that everyone wants to beat.