Andretti says Montoya can do well in NASCAR

Mario Andretti hasn't driven in NASCAR since racing at Riverside in 1969 and his only victory came in the 1967 Daytona 500, but you might be surprised to know he keeps a close eye on what's going on in Nextel Cup, especially with drivers like Juan Montoya giving stock cars a try.

So as the only driver to win the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Formula One championship, what kind of advice would he offer Montoya about making the transition to heavier stock cars?

"I don't think Juan Montoya needs any of my advice," Andretti said. "He's with a great team and they're really well-prepared."

Communication is critical in NASCAR -- because the team that wins is usually the team which makes the correct adjustments to its car during the race. Andretti said Montoya has proven to be excellent at that in the past.

"It's all about testing, finding out about the car and just developing that relationship that's so important with your crew chief," Andretti said. "It's all about knowing what you need with the car.

"The secret is in any NASCAR race, because they're marathons, to be able to chase the conditions, keep adjusting the car so it's at its very best. It's as simple -- and complicated -- as that."

So why hasn't there been more crossover between open-wheel and stock cars in the past few decades?

"If you could sum it up in one word -- it's commercialism," Andretti said. "It's a lot more commercialized and you have probably an excellent chance of running into a conflict of interest with the sponsors you have. It becomes a complicated matter.

"Also, the level of compensation is so much greater today, when you have these multi-million dollar contracts, they want your skin. They want to own you. And so there are a lot of factors in play compared to in the days when A.J. [Foyt] and myself used to move around."

Andretti mentioned Ken Schrader and Tony Stewart specifically as drivers who have shown the ability to make a smooth transition between disciplines. But with so many Nextel Cup races, he's amazed that drivers would want to race on their off-weekends.

"In NASCAR, you have 36 races today," Andretti said. " I'm not sure except for somebody like Schrader and a couple of other guys who fill in their off-weekends, these guys have about as much as you can handle on your plate, to begin with."

Andretti was in the Atlanta area recently to promote Smart Auto Management, a self-service vehicle diagnostic tool that scans, analyzes and reports important vehicle information. It's expected to be unveiled later this year in five markets.

"You take the car of today -- everything is in codes and it's not for the public to really understand," Andretti said. "In today's world, you can find out everything you need to know about your car in just a few minutes just by pulling up [to the kiosk] -- and it's in plain English."