JUAN PABLO MONTOYA“This racing is incredible.''

LOUDON, N.H. - To Juan Pablo Montoya, who has piloted the jewels of automobiles, the old-school Sprint Cup racecar is about as sporty as an 18-wheeler trying to pick its way around Storrow Drive.

“As a car to drive, from the things I’ve driven, it handles horrible. The old car did as well,’’ said Montoya of the Car of Tomorrow and the previous Cup vehicle.

Before his migration to NASCAR, Montoya commanded the cockpit of the multimillion-dollar BMW Williams rocket ship. When Montoya stepped on the gas, the lightweight Formula One machine sprinted with a fury. When he stomped on the brakes, the car stopped in an instant. When he turned the wheel, the car jerked to the side while its tires kept its clutches on the track.

Just about none of that stuff applies in NASCAR.

The car handles like a dump truck. It requires touch, especially at a flat track such as New Hampshire Motor Speedway, to go fast on the straightaways, slow down in the corners, rotate the car, and power through the turn. But for all those drawbacks, Montoya is having more fun in NASCAR than he ever did in F1 because of the fireworks involved in stock car racing.

“I’ve driven all the great cars,’’ Montoya said. “But the racing has always been terrible. This racing is incredible. I love it. I get a kick out of it. I had more fun in Formula One when we used to go get some rentals and go play with friends. That was more exciting. This is why I love it here. You race close to everybody. You pass cars. Cars pass you. In Formula One, nothing happens. You come in, you go, you come in, you go, and that’s it.’’

Montoya may be having more fun now that he’s in the running for the Chase for the Cup. Montoya is 12th in points, and will start in the 12th position tomorrow for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Montoya will be hustling after his fourth straight top-10 finish.

“I knew it was going to take time,’’ Montoya said of his adjustment to NASCAR. “I knew there were going to be good races. There were going to be weeks where everything clicked and we were going to run great. But there were going to be a lot of weeks where it was going to be trouble. When I came to Ganassi, the team was running OK. But it wasn’t a great team. So we’ve done a lot of work over the last couple of years to get to where we are. It’s been hard. Last year was a tough season changing crew chiefs and everything. I think the ability is there and the momentum is there. We’ve just got to keep the ball rolling.’’

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