Montoya backs Villeneuve's move

Villeneuve himself had backed Montoya's move to NASCAR when he learned about it last year, showing since then that he has interest in the series.

"I think it's cool," Montoya said about Villeneuve's move. "I think it's nice to see Jacques and hopefully he does well. If I can help in any way I will. He's a nice guy.

"He was a little bit like me. You know, he likes racing and he's an aggressive guy and I think he'll like it. I'm sure he will like it. We both run hard and people don't like that. I guess people here like it. Some do, some don't but I think the fans love it."

Montoya said he expects Villeneuve to adapt to NASCAR quickly, although he advised the Canadian should learn to be patient for good results to come his way given the very competitive nature of the series.

"For me, I think he'll adjust pretty quickly," Montoya added. "Hopefully he does. He's going to have a bit of a shock his first few races but when he gets used to it, he'll like it.

"You've got to be patient. There's going to be weeks where you're going to run bad and you've got to learn that that's all you can do."

The Colombian believes his shock move from Formula One last year has paved the way for others like Villeneuve to make the jump from the world's top open-wheel categories into NASCAR.

"I think I opened the door for a lot more people, not from Formula One but people that are afraid coming to NASCAR because they thought 'Aw, it's so much different nobody can do it'," Montoya added.

"Myself being competitive I think people are saying 'Man, this is the sport to be in' and I think in a way it's good for NASCAR because it's going to become the sport to be in and I think it is.

"I think I was smart enough to come here early enough."