Stewart, Montoya make nice

Bygones are bygones, as far as Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya are concerned.

Though the two drivers knocked each other around in the season finale November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway - with Stewart bumping Montoya into the wall and Montoya spinning Stewart down the frontstretch in retaliation - the drivers had settled their differences by the time Montoya appeared on Stewart's 'Stewie Awards' show on Sirius/XM Radio last week at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

Montoya received his Stewie for Best Driver-to-Crew-Chief Radio Chatter for his over-the-top reaction to the speeding penalty that ruined his chance to win at Indianapolis in July.

About his run-in with Stewart, Montoya was glib and matter-of-fact.

"It's funny," Montoya said Thursday before the Myers Brothers awards ceremonies at the Venetian Showroom. "Actually, I was talking with Tony (Wednesday), and we were laughing about it. It's crazy. You guys (reporters) make a big deal out of nothing. It's not the first time we got together.

"The last time we saw each other in qualifying afterwards, and we were laughing about it - after Texas my first year (2007) - and here we saw each other and it was like, when it happened, he knew it was coming. It wasn't a surprise - come on!"

by Reid Spencer / Sporting News