Helping Montoya connect with fans

Unless your last name is Petty, Earnhardt or Allison, it's difficult for a new race car driver to build a fan base in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Being a foreign-born, open-wheel transplant makes that task even tougher. That's the scenario that Juan Pablo Montoya faces in his second year of Cup competition.

Wrigley's, one of his sponsors, is helping him build a relationship with the fans. Prior to Sunday's LifeLock 400, Montoya traveled into the infield at Michigan International Speedway and passed out neckties with Big Red chewing gum logos on them, greeted fans, posed for pictures and signed autographs.

"It's a cool event to get closer to the fans, get to meet them and experience a little bit what they go through here," Montoya said. "The passion for the race here is incredible."

The neckties were a Father's Day promotion, but for 15 races this season, when a Wrigley's product is the main sponsor on his No. 42 Dodge Charger, Montoya will participate in this type of fan meet-and-greet. And it seems to be working out well. Accompanied by friend and fellow driver Dario Franchitti, around 50 fans swarmed the Colombian-born driver.

"It's incredible because there are a lot of Spanish-speaking fans here now, everywhere we go," he said of the broadening fan base. "And that's pretty cool to see."

Montoya joined the Cup circuit last season, became only the third non-American driver ever to win a Cup event and took home Rookie of the Year honors. He made a name for himself in open-wheel racing as the 1999 CART champion and winner of several Formula One and IndyCar races.

So how do fans of other forms of racing compare to NASCAR?

"They are probably more passionate and very loyal here to the sport and the drivers," Montoya said. "In Europe there are more fans of the car than the driver. Over here it's more driver than the car." Detroit Free Press