Former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya emerged unscathed

NEW YORK, Oct 7: Former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya emerged unscathed and satisfied after his first taste of the rough and tumble of stock car racing at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

The Colombian got off to a flyer yesterday and led for several laps before a collision saw him slip back into the pack in the ARCA 250 -- a NASCAR-type race -- at the high-banked 4.2km circuit.

But Montoya, who announced in July he wanted to join the U S-based NASCAR series in 2007, came back to finish third.

''I haven't have this much fun in a race for a long time,'' Montoya said. ''I'm not saying F1 is bad or anything. I think it's great racing as well.

Montoya, who previously drove for the Mercedes-McLaren Formula One team, has been reunited with American boss Chip Ganassi, with whom he won the Indianapolis 500 IndyCar race in 2000.

''Initially I was a little bit careful. I was staying low just to get comfortable. Then we fell back.'' Montoya looked strong until he got caught up in another car's crash and fell back.

''They came straight at me, and I was pretty lucky. The car went one way and the other and for some reason the car didn't spin. I was pretty pleased with that.

''The cars are unbelievable, but I haven't had this much fun in a long time. I passed probably 40 cars today easily. It's outrageous.'' The ARCA ReMax series is a Midwest-based stock car series considered a low-level stepping stone to NASCAR's premier series, the Nextel Cup.

Montoya could start his Cup career at the prestigious Daytona 500, NASCAR's opening event, in February but needed to race a similar speedway before getting his licence.

REUTERS