FORT WORTH, Texas -- The crew of the No. 42 is starting to realize anything is possible with Juan Montoya behind the wheel.

Every time his red and black Dodge rolls off the truck, according to those around him, the Colombian is capable of winning, despite his rookie status and lack of stock-car rearing. He's not just riding around acquiring valuable "seat time" as some rookies admittedly do.

"Any race the man gets in is his to win," said Keith "Hoss" Armstrong, longtime friend from the Indy Racing League and now Cup crew member for Montoya. "I mean anytime he gets in the seat he could win. The man is capable of doing anything."

And Montoya, who starts third in Sunday's Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway, would do anything to win on an oval before season's end. He has two road-course wins, at Mexico City in the Busch Series and at Sonoma in Cup, already in his back pocket and has come to close to grabbing the pole three times this season.

"My crew knows how badly I want this and how important it is," said Montoya after final Cup practice Saturday where the No. 42 Dodge struggled and finished 21st fastest. "We brought a different car this time. In practice we struggled with it a little bit and made some changes. We did two race runs and it was terrible, so we said lets go to qualifying trim and work on that a little bit more and I think that helped. Even like that it wasn't great."

Nevertheless, Armstrong said his driver will win on an oval before the end of the season. The odds are in his favor this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, where Montoya finished eighth in the spring.

"He's been in a good mood all weekend and this is a good track for him; he's adapted well to tracks similar to Texas," Armstrong said.

Last weekend in Atlanta, Montoya was running in the top 15 until he blew a right-front tire, damaging his fender and dropping him to a 34th-place finish.

But the weekend before, in Martinsville, Montoya finished eighth and even led for nine laps. Montoya's performance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was arguably the most impressive -- he started second and finished second.

Still, a win on an oval is what he is searching for to roll into his 2008 season.

"We've been running better, but you just never know where the cars are going to be," Montoya said. "It's not easy."

If it was easy, everyone would be racecar drivers and not even most racecar drivers can do what Montoya has done.

A longtime open wheeler with wins in Formula One, a Rolex 24 at Daytona championship and an Indianapolis 500 championship, Montoya is in the company of racing greats.

He is believed to be the third driver to win a U.S.-based series open wheel race, an F1 race and a Cup race in a career, joining Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney.

On top of his first Cup victory on the road course in Sonoma, Montoya has finished in the top 10 five times. Six times, he has started in the top five.

The key to his success, according to Armstrong is confidence. The confidence Montoya displays on the track and amongst his crew is contagious.

"His confidence gives everyone confidence," he said. "I think that's why we have found success this season."

But if you ask Montoya's critics, they would say his confidence is pure arrogance, a trait some say has led to trouble on the track.

He has had run-ins with Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Tony Raines to name a few. Drivers have criticized the rookie for a lack of give and take on the track.

In an all-American sport rooted in Southern traditions, some old-school drivers are of the opinion newcomers like Montoya should earn their racing stripes, take their licks so to speak.

Montoya isn't here to make anyone's Christmas card list; he's here to win.

Armstrong has seen the same racing magic Montoya made in the Indy Racing League -- conquering the Indy 500 in his first time out -- here in NASCAR and feels an oval victory is just around the corner.

"When you see the man do the impossible," Armstrong said, "you expect the impossible. He'll win on an oval before the season is up"