Juan Pablo Montoya is Raybestos Rookie of the Year 2007

The Raybestos Rookie of the Year title goes to immensely talented Colombian race car driver Juan Pablo Montoya. He joins the likes of the late Davey Allison (1987), the late Kenny Irwin (1998) and Jamie McMurray (2003) as a Rookie of the Year hall of famer. He is also the fourth driver of the Texaco � Havoline race team to have won rookie of the year honors.

Montoya is a seasoned race car driver who has had a couple of championships safely tucked under his belt. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 1999 and was once a seven � time winner in the Formula One Series. Despite his acheivements, Montoya thinks that he is still a rookie in many ways to the world of NASCAR Racing. Quoting the Rookie of the Year himself, �When I first came here, they told me I was running for Raybestos Rookie of the Year, and I was like, 'you've got to be kidding me. I thought I would be an exception or something. In a lot of ways, I really was a rookie. Do I have a lot of experience as a racing driver? Yes, but I've never been in a stock car before, so coming here and getting into it was a big deal. We had a lot of fun.�

Aside from the prestige of winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award, Montoya will also be receiving financial honors. He will receive $ 65, 00 in prize money from the Raybestos program, $ 24 000 from winning Rookie of the Race honors and $ 17, 500 for being the top rookie finisher in the Magnificent Seven bonus races this season. All in all, Montoya will receive a record � breaking amount of $106,500.

But for Montoya, the greatest pay �off from this year�s NASCAR season wasn�t the awards he had received but the realizations that he had learned. Montoya says, �It's been an exciting year for me. Coming to NASCAR was a big deal for me, and I wanted to go back and enjoy racing, and I think I achieved that here. The cars are a handful, and it's been a really hard transition. I learned a lot, and I would like to thank everyone at Raybestos for all they've done for us.�

Sources: Montoya pleased with winning rookie year , Montoya honored as 2007 Raybestos Rookie of Year