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Juan Pablo Montoya's comfort level racing on road courses is one of the key reasons why he is the driver to beat in Sunday's Nextel Cup event at the Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Internatonal, writes Johnny Benson of MSNBC.com.

Johnny Benson

The Car of Tomorrow competes on a road course for the second time on Sunday when the Nextel Cup Series makes a stop at Watkins Glen (N.Y.)International, where Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Juan Pablo Montoya are the drivers with the best shots at winning.

Montoya rates a slight edge with his having won two road-course events this year, one in the Cup Series and one in the Busch Series.

Working in Montoya's favor
Montoya has a very successful history in Formula 1 racing which included significant road- course success. He will be looking to make Nextel Cup Series history on Sunday by becoming the first driver to win on three road courses in the same season.

Earlier this year Montoya won a Busch Series road-course event in Mexico City and a Cup Series road test at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., becoming only the third NASCAR driver to ever post two road-course wins in different series in the same year. The others are Ernie Irvan in 1992 at Infineon in the Cup Series and Watkins Glen in the Busch Series, and Darrell Waltrip in 1986 at Riverside in the Cup Series and Atlanta on the Busch circuit.

At Watkins Glen Montoya will run in both the Busch Series race on Saturday and the Cup event on Sunday. And he'll have some momentum going for him. His season has gotten better of late with finishes of 15th, 2nd, and 16th in his last three races.

Montoya has done well in his first year on the Cup circuit. He's done better than some expected since there were skeptics who didn't see him even lasting out the season in NASCAR. He's got a lot of talent and he's with a top-notch organization in Chip Ganassi Racing.

His lack of experience in stock cars may have hindered his chances a bit, but he's proven to be a quick learner. Montoya's rookie season in Cup racing must be considered a success. He and his team are working hard at gaining consistency.

Other drivers to watch
Gordon, who leads in points, tops the Cup career road-course wins list with nine. Four of those victories have come at Watkins Glen, where he also has two poles, six top-fives and seven top-10s. He has an average start of 7.4, and an average finish of 12.6.

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Gordon has done well in his COT races, with an average finish of 3.6 including two of his four wins on this season. The four-time Cup champion will be in the COT chassis that he used to pick up 34 positions en route to a seventh-place finish at Infineon in June.

Gordon has had such a strong season that he makes the Chase by simply starting the five events leading up to the cutoff for qualifying for the 10-race playoff. In fact, if Gordon finishes 12th or better at Watkins Glen, he will clinch a spot in the 12-driver Chase.

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If it's not Montoya or Gordon in Victory Lane, the next best bet to pull of that feat is Stewart, a three-time winner at Watkins Glen (2005, 2004, and 2002). Stewart, who has won two of the last three Cup races, is a great road-course racer. He's won five road-course events, tying him for sixth place among active and retired Cup drivers. At Watkins Glen to go along with his three victories Stewart has a pole, four top-fives, and six top-10s. His average start is 5.1 and his average finish is 6.8.

Jimmie Johnson will be running for just the sixth time at Watkins Glen, where he has one pole, two top-fives, and two top-10s. The defending Cup champion loves road-course racing and he's been working hard at getting better at it. Keep an eye on his No. 48 Chevrolet on Sunday.

Kevin Harvick won this event a year ago. He's a solid road-course racer who should run strong. He could post a top-10 finish as could Dale Earnhardt Jr.