Montoya's win stirs vivid memories for Earl Ross (cont'd)

How many wins do you think Juan Montoya will tally in his entire NASCAR career?

A. 1-5
B. 6-10
C. More than 10

I'll hold off my comments on this one so I don't influence the voting, but I will remind you once again that if you read the column last week I went out on an island and picked JPM in Sonoma (breaking my arm patting myself on the back) so perhaps that gives you an indication of the esteem I hold the driver of the 42 car in.

Last Week's Question of the Week
Pandora's Box has nothing on the can of worms I opened up last week. Remember, I asked you to tell me who you thought was the most naturally talented driver on the Nextel Cup circuit and also to explain to me how you determine the talent of a driver. The results were both surprising and overwhelming.

First I'll deal with the poll results. I'm only going to name the top five because there were several drivers that wouldn't have made more than 1 percentage point in the poll.

For instance, of the hundreds of votes I received, Ward Burton was selected once and the person actually made a very compelling argument regarding Ward's skills.

The envelope please ... (the ellipsis in this case indicates a drum roll)

1. Jeff Gordon 45.8%
2. Tony Stewart 40%
3. Jimmie Johnson 5.5%
4. Matt Kenseth 4.7%
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3.6%

First let me say that I am stunned by the great disparity between the numbers of Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart versus the rest of the drivers in NASCAR. I can't tell you how many e-mails I received that said roughly, "You can't tell anyone I said this because I'm a huge Junior fan, but I must admit the argument comes down to Tony and Jeff."

Moreover, I had several votes that had to be thrown out because the respondent couldn't decide between Jeff and Tony.

One thing is now clear to me: If the people that read and respond to my column are in any way representative of NASCAR, then NASCAR Nation clearly believes that the men manning the controls of the 20 and 24 cars bring way more to the table than anyone else. This caught me completely off guard.

Also, this week I really had to eliminate some compelling and rich arguments regarding the determining factors in driver talent. So, here now are this week's e-mail champions ...

Regarding talent ... Talent should be based on the following:

1. The ability to race numerous venues and classes of auto racing
2. The ability to avoid wrecks
3. The ability to perform "saves" when the car is seemingly out of control
4. Can take risks on the track that other drivers would not try
5. Operating efficiently on pit road (not wrecking or speeding)
6. The ability to communicate correctly the symptoms when his car is not operating properly to his crew chief
7. The ability to drive from the rear of the field to the front during a race

My vote for the most talented is Tony Stewart.
-- Alan from Blaine, Minn.

This was the most clear and concise explanation that I received. I really like the inclusion of Nos. 4 and 7. (Continued)