Montoya takes full stock of situation at Sonoma

Juan Pablo Montoya is now officially one of the good ol’ boys of NASCAR.

The hard-charging Colombian, who stunned the motor sports world by joining NASCAR late last year after a celebrated career in open-wheel racing, won his first event in stock car racing’s premier Nextel Cup Series.

And Montoya said winning the Toyota/SaveMart 350 on Sunday at Infineon Raceway ranked as high as his Indianapolis 500 win in 2000 and his seven victories in Formula One.

“It’s as big as any other victory I’ve done,” said Montoya, 31, who won in his 17th Cup start. “They’re all right up there. We worked so hard.”

He became only the third foreign-born driver to win a Cup race, NASCAR said. The others were Italian-born Mario Andretti at the 1967 Daytona 500 and Canadian Earl Ross at Martinsville, Va., in 1974.

Montoya also said he was “more relieved than excited” because expectations ran high that he would excel in NASCAR, where he drives the No. 42 Dodge Avenger for the team of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

That was especially true Sunday, with Montoya’s Formula One experience making him a favorite at Infineon Raceway, a 1.99-mile twisty road course in the hilly wine country of Napa Valley.

Montoya had displayed his road-racing prowess earlier this year, winning a second-tier Busch Series race in Mexico City.

But he qualified a poor 32nd for Sunday’s Cup race and spent most of the 110-lap event climbing through the field, which used NASCAR’s new Car of Tomorrow chassis for the first time on a road course.

He became the first driver to win a Cup race at Infineon Raceway after starting further back than 13th.

Montoya’s win required not only his road-racing experience but also a fortunate fuel and pit-stop strategy that enabled him to stay out while other contenders had to make late pit stops for fuel.

Indeed, Montoya had just won a thrilling duel for the lead with the Ford Fusion of pole-sitter Jamie McMurray of Roush Fenway Racing when McMurray was forced to pit for fuel with only two laps remaining.

That allowed Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer -- all teammates at Richard Childress Racing -- to finish second, third and fourth, respectively, in Chevrolets. McMurray dropped to 37th.

“I was saving fuel and saying to myself, ‘Just be patient. Just keep it cool,’ ” Montoya said.

Indeed, many expected that Montoya also would need a late splash of fuel and surrender the lead as 102,000 watched on a breezy, postcard-perfect day.

But his crew chief, Donnie Wingo, said Montoya deftly saved fuel as the laps ticked down and he crossed the finish line with about half a gallon left in his tank.

“The [warning] light came on as I was pulling in,” Montoya said.

It was the first Cup victory since 2002 for team owner Ganassi, who also owned the car Montoya drove in his Indy 500 victory.

Coincidentally, Ganassi’s driver in that 2002 NASCAR race was McMurray, who was making his second Cup start as a substitute driver for Sterling Marlin. It has been McMurray’s only victory in the Cup series.

Ganassi said Montoya’s desire to win, regardless of what type of car he’s driving, is why he brought him to NASCAR and that the win validated the move.

“That’s what’s great about [Montoya], the fire still burns in his belly to be at the front,” Ganassi said.

But both acknowledged that Montoya still wants a victory on the oval tracks that make up most of NASCAR’s circuits.

“Tomorrow it’s going to be back to work, because we’ve got to get our act together on the ovals,” Ganassi said.

Robby Gordon of Orange, another veteran road racer and former Indy 500 driver who switched to NASCAR in 2002, had the strongest car early in the race. He led the first 34 laps and 48 overall.

But Gordon also had to pit for fuel in the latter stages, dropping his Ford to a 16th-place finish.

“It’s just disappointing that fuel strategy makes a difference of a race win or not,” he said.

Championship points leader Jeff Gordon and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, posted respectable finishes after starting in the rear because of rules violations.

Jeff Gordon, the only five-time Cup winner at Infineon Raceway, who grew up in nearby Vallejo, was seventh. Johnson finished 17th.

Their Chevrolets failed pre-qualifying inspection Friday after NASCAR ruled that they had oversized front fenders, and additional penalties are expected to be levied against the teams this week.

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Several teams used veteran road racers just for this race, with mixed results. Ron Fellows finished 15th in a Chevrolet for Hall of Fame Racing, and Terry Labonte was 35th in a Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Boris Said of Carlsbad ran in the top five for much of the race before his Ford finished ninth. David Gilliland of Riverside finished 25th in a Ford for Robert Yates Racing.

james.peltz@latimes.com

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The Chase

Nextel Cup standings through 16 of 36 races. After the 26th race of the season, all drivers in the top 12 will earn a berth in the Chase for the Cup.

*--* Pl Driver Points Behind 1. Jeff Gordon 2,538 -- 2. Denny Hamlin 2,267 271 3. Jimmie Johnson 2,172 366 4. Matt Kenseth 2,105 433 5. Jeff Burton 2,084 454 6. Tony Stewart 2,058 480 7. Carl Edwards 2,019 519 8. Kevin Harvick 1,964 574 9. Clint Bowyer 1,934 604 10. Kyle Busch 1,905 633 11. Martin Truex Jr. 1,863 675 12. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1,815 723 13. Ryan Newman 1,719 819 14. Jamie McMurray 1,686 852 15. Mark Martin 1,662 876

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