Folding chair in hand, driver shows new side

Fontana, Calif.

Go to a pro wrestling match? Juan Pablo Montoya, a Formula One winner and Indianapolis 500 champion?

"You crazy?" Montoya said.

You can hit one of the wrestlers over the head with a chair, he's told. So there Montoya was earlier this month, a celebrity cornerman during a TNA wrestling event when chaos, as so often happens, ensued.

That Montoya was in the middle of this concocted confrontation shows how well he has adapted to NASCAR. Racing matters - it's why Montoya runs hard and has been criticized by some competitors - but entertainment has become paramount. Driver personalities, engaging commercials and unique personal appearances bolster a driver's popularity.

Montoya's appearance at the event shows he's willing to display a side fans didn't see when he raced overseas. Personal appearances in Formula One, Montoya says, mainly were visits to a suite to greet corporate executives - not standing face to face with an angry man more than a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier.

That's where Montoya found himself during the TNA wrestling event. Lance Hoyt, otherwise known as "The Ticked Off Texan," was on the loose. Montoya had a metal folding chair.

Former driver Hermie Sadler ran between Hoyt and Montoya. Hoyt shoved Sadler to the ground. Montoya - say what you want about how real wrestling is - reared the chair back and slammed Hoyt's head with it.

"He said it hurt a lot worse than it sounded - and it sounded pretty bad," said Reed Sorenson, who joined Montoya on the appearance but didn't get to hit anyone with a chair.

Such appearances can be vital to drivers, Kenny Wallace says. While he competes in Nationwide races and was in last week's Daytona 500, Wallace is nearly as well known for his TV work. He says Montoya's willingness to do the wrestling event, along with some new TV commercials, could help Montoya's image.

"Dale Jarrett was a very serious individual and then those UPS commercials just made me laugh," Wallace said. "I think that changed Dale Jarrett's persona. I think the same thing can happen with Juan Pablo, if he allows it to happen."

Winning also helps. Much is expected from Montoya this season after winning Rookie of the Year honors and a Cup race last year. Car owner Chip Ganassi made his expectations for Montoya clear at the end of last year, "I don't want to say Chase or bust, but... Chase or bust."

Ganassi hasn't backed off those comments. A series of changes have reshaped his team; if that is enough will be seen in the next few weeks. Ganassi added new management personnel, including John Fernandez, who once led Dodge's Cup program. Fernandez revived the organization's test team and hired Steve Hmiel, former technical director at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

The team was good at Daytona. Sorenson ran well during Speedweeks and finished fifth in the Daytona 500. Montoya ran near the front late in the race before his tap sent Clint Bowyer spinning as Bowyer led. Bowyer fumed on the radio but said nothing after the race. Asked about the tap this week, Bowyer downplayed the situation and said, "I shouldn't have been in that situation."

Other drivers were more vocal about Montoya's driving last season, even as he earned praise from some for a season when he would finish 20th in points. Former champions Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch, along with Kevin Harvick, criticized Montoya's aggressiveness. One of the sport's lasting images from a year ago was the shoving match between Harvick and Montoya after a wreck at Watkins Glen.

Montoya could change the image some have of him with his wrestling appearance and two recent commercials for sponsors Juicy Fruit and Big Red gum. In both ads, he explains how he can't be bought as he walks by parts of a home decorated in the logos of each gum.

He ends one spot saying, "Juan Pablo Montoya was put on earth to drive race cars - not to be some corporate puppet."

Maybe so, but he's learning how to balance both.