Juan Pablo Montoya moving past Daytona 500 jet dryer crash and disappointing 2012 season

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Juan Pablo Montoya, of Colombia, talks with crew members in his garage during the final practice for the NASCAR Daytona 500 Sprint Cup Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Forgive Juan Pablo Montoya if he doesn't find the fireball jokes very funny. He's just totally over them a year after crashing into a jet dryer during the Daytona 500.

The wreck in last year's race caused a raging inferno that stopped the event for two hours, and made Montoya an instant punch-line.

"People are dumb enough to think I hit the thing on purpose, like I really want to try and kill myself," said Montoya, who has a short fuse when asked about the crash that occurred when something broke on his car as he raced around the track under caution.

"That was a freak accident, and in a way, I was very, very lucky to walk away from that one. Not only myself, but the guy driving the jet dryer. To walk away with nothing out of that it was a miracle. I was glad it was over."

But it set the tone for yet another disappointing season that Montoya is eager to put behind him. Montoya finished 22nd in points last year with only two top-10 finishes all season, and since leaving Formula One midway through 2006, he's yet to find the success he'd been accustomed to his entire career.

The Colombian driver has had no consistency whatsoever in NASCAR. He's got just two Sprint Cup Series victories, both on road courses, and his 2009 berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship is his only appearance.

"It is not humbling. It sucks," he said. "It's not about humbling. I've won at everything I have been in, and I came to NASCAR and I've been good. I know I can do it. To run where we've run, it hasn't been fun."

It's been a constant battle at Chip Ganassi Racing to get Montoya and teammate Jamie McMurray running up front, and the team owner made wholesale behind the scenes changes before the 2012 season. But the performance never improved for either driver, and both Montoya and McMurray insisted change wasn't going to happen overnight.

After a full year, though, Montoya is determined to do his part off the track. He's working out harder than he ever did in F1, he said, and looks considerably slimmer. And he's clearly buoyed by driving the closing stint in the Ganassi team's win last month in the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race.

Although it was Montoya's third Rolex win, he'd never before closed the race.

That was a confidence booster for a driver who perhaps has been tested by this rash of mediocrity.

"You always wonder 'Can I do anything different?' But even when you run good, you think about how you can make it better," he said. "It is hard. When the cars don't have enough speed, you can compensate for a little bit, but if they aren't good, they aren't good. I was telling someone the other day, we are not miracle workers. So you start trying different things, and sometimes you make more damage than help by trying different things.

"I think I'm a lot better driver than I was four or five years ago. I have not only the open-wheel experience, but the stock car experience. I understand how the races work. How everything is done."

Montoya is entering a critical year in his contract with Ganassi, whom he teamed with to win the 1999 CART championship and the 2000 Indianapolis 500. The owner holds an option on next season for Montoya, and it's possible their long relationship could be coming to an end.

But Montoya is adamant he wants to be with Ganassi, with sponsor Target and in NASCAR.

"I am committed to Chip and to Target. And, we are committed to make this work," Montoya said. "We're going to try to make this work. Chip is committed to it. He fired everybody ... he didn't think that was working and he needed new people, he hired new people. As everybody starts coming together, you kind of expect everybody to work perfect side-by-side from day one. But they have to understand, and understand the problem. One you understand the problems, then you can find solutions.

"The racing is still amazing. I still love it. I still love being here. But, when you're not running good, it's not fun. I don't think it is fun for anybody."