Montoya expects tough race

Montoya set provisionally the second fastest qualifying speed as he completed his run, but the increasingly cooler track temperatures allowed speeds to improve, dropping the Colombian to ninth fastest.

"The first lap was good," Montoya said. "Maybe there was a little bit more in it but I don't know how much more. [Pole-sitter] Jeff Gordon's lap was awesome.

"I thought I could run a [39 seconds lap] flat and I did. For the experience that I have at the moment, that's pretty good. I didn't have much left in the car, maybe a tenth or so, but it was a really good lap. It was a very clean lap so it was good."

The Colombian is making a return to the track where he clinched the Champ Car title in his debut season in the series in 1999. One year later, he ran in his last race for Ganassi before going to Formula One.

Despite his experience at the two-mile oval, Montoya says driving a stock car at the same track is very different. He also claims that this will probably be his most difficult NASCAR race so far.

"I've raced here before in open wheel and it's very different. Driving a Champ Car around here was pretty easy. There is a lot of hard work in this car. This has probably been the hardest track for me so far.

"I think the guys that raced here before (in NASCAR) have got a big advantage over me in what to expect out of the car and stuff.

"As the race goes on hopefully we can improve the balance of the car and understand a bit more what I need out of it for the race."

Montoya will race on Saturday in the Busch Series race, hoping to get more track time and experience ahead of Sunday's Auto Club 500, the second round of the NASCAR Nextel Cup.