At Indy, heartbreak goes hand-in-hand with joy (cont'd)

It would be difficult to blame him for taking four, given how good his race car had been, given that Montoya was in the lead coming to pit road, and given that that they had 18 laps and more fresh rubber to make up the difference between seventh and first. "If you're the leader and you have a real balanced car, it's hard not to take four tires," said Kevin Manion, McMurray's crew chief. In truth, car owner Chip Ganassi was splitting his strategies, urging the No. 1 team to take two tires after he learned that the No. 42 was taking four. Either way, he figured, he had a chance to win.

"We'll see in about 15 or 20 minutes whether we made the right call," Montoya radioed before the restart. Soon afterward, it was calamity. "I can't do anything!" he screamed, pinned down by the turbulent air of traffic. Then he bounced off the wall near the pit-road entrance, and turned down the race track so quickly that he swept up Earnhardt in his wake.

"I don't know how he got into the fence, but I wish he could have managed to get a little further clear of everybody when he was heading to the pits," said Earnhardt, who wound up 27th. "Maybe he was, hell, I don't know. ... I didn't even see him hit the wall. He came flying across Marcos [Ambrose's] hood in a dead hurry to get the car to pit road. I didn't have nowhere to go."

So while McMurray held off Kevin Harvick for a victory that gave the Daytona 500 champion a sweep of the year's two most prominent NASCAR events, Montoya could only absorb another cruel blow in what's been a cruel season. McMurray, a big believer in fate, felt this was "Juan's weekend," given the No. 42 team's strength at the April tire test and the way Montoya performed in the course of three days. But Sunday was also another chapter in an all-too familiar story, one of crashes and breakdowns that have left one of last year's best programs 22nd in points and out of championship contention.

"For anybody that can lead that many laps of a race, they certainly had the best car," McMurray said. "But it's been their year, though. I would guess they're not shocked by what happened. Because it just seems like they've had a lot of bad luck."

Ganassi was somewhat less empathetic. "What do I say to Juan and Brian? They should have taken two [tires]," he said. "I don't know. Look, it takes a team to win in this sport. [Manion] will tell you that he and Brian Pattie are like brothers. Jamie will tell you he and Juan ... are an open book, and they help each other all weekend. This is a win for the team. ... The team wins and the team loses, and today was certainly a mixed-emotions day in that respect. But without the No. 42 team, the No. 1 car wouldn't have won, I don't think."

But it wouldn't be Indianapolis without someone going home brokenhearted, left to ponder another lost opportunity at the world's most famous race track. For every Jeff Gordon, a local product winning the inaugural Brickyard, there's a Wallace, leading 114 laps in 2000 before getting nipped by Bobby Labonte at the end. For every Buddy Lazier, winning the Indy 500 in 1996 with a broken back, there's a Ralph DePalma, leading by two laps in 1912 before his car broke and he had to be pushed across the finish line. For every McMurray there's a Montoya, his 2000 Indianapolis 500 triumph no help to him as another chance to claim that first oval-track win in a stock car gets away.

"I feel for Juan, especially since his teammate didn't have the dominant car all day," said minority car owner Felix Sabates. "[The No. 1 team] just made some good pit calls, and Jamie's kissing the bricks and Juan is kissing the window in his airplane. I feel bad for Juan. He must be devastated. But like I said, he's a professional. Once he lands in Miami [Sunday night], he'll be over it."

That's one of Montoya's greatest strengths -- he's always had an uncanny ability to let things go and move on, even bitter disappointments like his Brickyard results of the past two years. But if anything will test that, Indianapolis will. It torments people. It toys with drivers. And it brings them back year after year, looking for more.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.