The Nextel Cup season reached its halfway point last week at Daytona, and also a year ago from last Monday, Juan Pablo Montoya made the shock announcement that he was leaving Formula One to join his old Champ Car boss Chip Ganassi in NASCAR.
In twelve months, and 40 stock car races later between ARCA, Busch and Nextel Cup, Montoya's life has changed dramatically.
His career has gone through a very different path to the one that everyone, probably including himself, expected. From being a star in Formula One, he has switched to be a raising star in NASCAR; a rookie, as the yellow stripes on the rear bumper of his No. 42 Dodge still label him.