Compton fights frustration with big-picture thinking (cont'd)

Setna said Martinsville was a huge step for Karthikeyan, who's competed 22 years in open-wheelers and sports cars.

"This is the most mentally controlled he's ever been -- he's always super-aggressive," Setna said. "That's his nature, his style -- his driving style is very aggressive.

"He really had to put a lot of mental thought into this race. He said 'I'm going to finish this race and I'm going to be smart' -- because his instinct is he wants to pass every single car that's in front of him, and if there's a safety [pace] car in front of him, he wants to pass that, too. So holding back on that was important."

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"You have to have passion," Karthikeyan said. "Sometimes in open-wheel racing, I've done a lot of big moves and they pay off. But I didn't want to come here and get a bad [reputation] from the first race. Once you know these guys -- and you respect them and they respect you, hopefully -- and that's how you need to start in America.

"It was easy to concentrate and do your own thing, but once you started racing and the trucks are slow, then you want to push more and try to pass. And that's when it gets tricky because you can lose your mind a bit and try to go for it. But I kept it calm this weekend. This is my start, so I have to be that way."

Among the people who sought Karthikeyan out to congratulate him, none were fellow drivers who were irate at anything he did on the track. In fact, Karthikeyan impressed at least one of his competitors, Martinsville race winner Kevin Harvick, whose history has shown isn't an easy guy to please -- particularly at Martinsville.

"A lot of people, the first time they're here, they don't really know where they're at on the race track, but it seemed like, for [Karthikeyan], he knew [what was going on]," Harvick said. "When people were coming that were faster, he gave them a good, clear lane and it looked like he was doing what he was supposed to do.

"He was making laps and he was very aware of where he was at on the race track, so that, to me, seemed like it was a very good start. It didn't seem like he was completely in the way, for sure, so I think he did a pretty good job and has got something to build on, going forward.

"Obviously, somebody was in his ear [who was] pretty good, but he was the one holding the wheel, and he did a good job."

Karthikeyan's next event is unknown, though the team appears to be leaning toward Kansas on May 2, the series' next event in its on-again, off-again early season schedule. He couldn't compete in Nashville due to having to travel to India to receive a Padma Shri Award on April 7.

According to an Indian government Web site, "Padma Awards are given for exceptional and distinguished service in any field, including service rendered by Government servants." Recommendations for the awards are received from a variety of government agencies and "on the basis of the recommendations of the Awards Committee, and after approval of the Home Minister, Prime Minister and President, the Padma Awards are announced on the eve of the Republic Day."

The awards are presented in three categories and in the past decade, very few sporting figures have been recognized.

"It's a very, very special award and it's the first time the government in India has recognized any form of motorsport," Karthikeyan said. "Since it's the first of its kind, hopefully motorsport will be recognized more in India by the government. It's been a long time coming and I've done a lot of winning for India, but finally the government is recognizing the sport and I'm very pleased and happy about that."

So now Karthikeyan waits for his next American outing. And while his performance on the track was notable, and far out-stripped anyone's expectations for the former open-wheeler in Martinsville's close quarters, a little vignette that occurred on pit road long after the checkers showed just how far from the typical NASCAR mentality the Indian is.

The swarm of congratulatory handshakes had diminished, Karthikeyan had debriefed with his spotter and crew chief, and virtually all his media responsibilities had been satisfied -- so all that was left was to walk around his truck, eyeballing every tire, every fender, every minor ding and scratch.

And maybe eight feet away from the front of the truck, over near the inside wall of his team's pit box, Karthikeyan found a stray, yellow-sprayed lug nut that had apparently flown there after a pit stop and been abandoned. He picked it up, walked around to the right-front tire of his truck and gently placed the lug nut next to it.

There's no way of telling what he was thinking but for sure you know that Compton and Kendrick hope Karthikeyan never gets over his thoughtful, care-taking way of getting around the race track -- and his race truck -- wherever and whenever that next event happens.