I spent last weekend at Watkins Glen reporting a piece for SI about Juan Pablo Montoya. Even though the No. 42 Dodge didn't reach Victory Lane, the trip was eventful nonetheless. Tony Stewart was the winner, but the race will long be remembered for the confrontation between Montoya and Kevin Harvick after the two wrecked on lap 73. I had planned to write about the progress of Montoya's Nextel-Cup education. Instead, I wound up writing about his penchant for aggressive driving (though he wasn't at fault in the wreck that angered Harvick).

Montoya's paint-trading style has distracted from the solid progress he's made this season in learning to drive stock cars. Because of his experience driving (and winning) in Formula 1 machines, he's been excellent on road courses this season. But his performance on oval tracks -- the kind that make up the bulk of the Nextel Cup schedule -- has been another story. A few hours before the race last Sunday, he told me that prior to coming to NASCAR, he'd driven on oval racecourses only about 15 times in his life. "Basically, I had no experience on them whatsoever," he said.

In order to keep Montoya under control earlier in the year, his crew chief, Donnie Wingo, intentionally sent him out to race in tight, or understeering, racecars. Gradually, beginning with Montoya's second-place run at Atlanta back in March, Wingo has been loosening up the setup of the No. 42 Dodge, making it faster by allowing the back end to swing out through corners. He says that Montoya is gradually learning how to handle a loose racecar, and points to the driver's 15th-place finish at Chicagoland, as well as to his second-place run at Indy, last month as evidence.

Both men told me that the Montoya's big challenge has been figuring out what his car needs to feel like at the beginning of a run (when he has a full tank of gas) in order for it to be fast at the end of a run (when the tank is nearly empty). This is the challenge that every driver must master, and the only way to learn it is with experience.

"The problem here is that the cars change balance through the run because the fuel tank is in the back," said Montoya. "In a[n] F1 car (where the tank is in the center of the car) the balance is the same through the whole run. Here, if you start good, you're going to be so tight at the end of the race that it's crazy."

Remember, Montoya hasn't even visited every track on the Nextel Cup schedule. I think his upside is huge -- he's already earned strong results on ovals despite his learning curve. He's an immense talent, and once he starts winning races, I think that his aggressive driving will stop rubbing so many people the wrong way. He should be a favorite to make the Chase in 2008.

J.J. Yeley talks about why drivers love racing at Michigan:

"To me, it's because Michigan is so wide. It's got more banking than California [Speedway]. It's just a racier track. The groove is five grooves wide. When you got to California, you [don't] always see that. There are still enough bumps in the racetrack to give it enough character that some drivers prefer the bottom and some guys prefer the top, and having that variety makes for good racing."

• 100:Points separating 12th-place Kurt Busch and 14th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the NextelCup standings.

• 100.1:Busch's driver rating at Michigan.

• 99.0:Earnhardt's driver rating at Michigan.

• 5:Top-10 finishes at Michigan (in six starts) by Carl Edwards.

This is getting too easy. The ol' meter is once again pointing way up in the wake of the set-to between Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya, which saw ... actual physical contact! The only way the pro-wrestling experience could have been more complete was if the two had engaged in fisticuffs ... or if one or both had been outfitted with capes and elf slippers.

A few weeks ago, my sister came to visit me in New York with her two kids, and as we always do, we headed over to the Toys 'R' Us at Times Square. We found this display in the Barbie section, where the toys appeared to be a featured item in some sort of clearance sale. I think we can all agree that this might not be one of Jeff Gordon's proudest moments.

August 19, 1979: Richard Petty wins his third race of the season (he would go on to win twice more) en route to the seventh and last Cup championship of his career.