Lanzara como una chica?

Montoya laughed after being asked if he threw like a girl.

"I never played baseball in my life," Montoya said in defense. "I probably played once in school, but it's not something that you grow up in Colombia doing. I never played it. It's really funny because when I won the Indy 500, in (Yankee Stadium) they made me throw the first pitch, and it would have gone over that net, I think.

"I had plenty of boos then."

About 90 minutes before the game, the team gathered in front of the Cubs' iconic sign that reads: "WRIGLEY FIELD, HOME OF CHICAGO CUBS" as the marquee flashed "Juan Pablo Montoya, Driver of the Juicy Fruit Dodge."

Montoya and Pattie were wearing the home team jerseys as the team posed for a group shot. Suddenly, a model dressed as the St. Pauli girl attempted to crash the photo op. She was quickly escorted from the shot as the crew regrouped.

But it was Pattie who could barely contain his excitement, with the prospect of throwing out the first pitch at a major league baseball game. Few people ever have the opportunity to step foot on the field at a hallowed venue like Wrigley, let alone hurl a baseball from the pitcher's mound. When Pattie was promoted to the crew chief's role in May, it was never mentioned as a perk of the job.

"I was actually a bat boy for the Reds at spring training when I was growing up in Plant City, Fla.," Pattie said. "I played little league and pitched in high school through my sophomore year — until I discovered racing.

"I really don't get to watch a lot of baseball these days, since my kids usually have the TV tuned to Nickelodeon. I do keep up my golf — just so I can beat (Montoya)."

The Montoya family (Juan, wife Connie and son Sebastian) and Pattie were escorted through the VIP entrance to the field, while the entourage took a more circuitous route through the club seats between the backstop and the Cubs' dugout. The crew moved the car to the Sheffield outfield entrance, where it will be rolled out onto the warning track as part of the pre-game ceremonies.

Once everyone met up back on the field, Montoya conducted one-on-one interviews with various outlets — WGN Radio, FOX Sports Net and TNT take turns trying to capture the experience.

However, it's not Montoya's first trip to Wrigley, his first trip to the pitcher's mound or his first time singing "Take me out to the ballgame."

"I came here in '99 after the (U.S.) Grand Prix and 2000, both years; the Monday after they raced it," Montoya said. "It was cool. The first year I was actually at one of those buildings outside. A radio station invited me out there to watch it. It was pretty cool. It was cool to watch. Just like it's cool to watch basketball.

"Yankee Stadium was the other first pitch. I didn't even want to do it. I didn't even stay for the game. When you win Indy, they make you do so much PR work that week. Come here, throw the first pitch, say hi to a couple of guys that were really cool, and then we left."

And the singing?

"I thought it was going to be really stressful last year, but it was actually pretty cool," Montoya said. "It was pretty relaxed. You sing, get over it and finish the game."

With the Montoya's crazy Sprint Cup schedule, they "really don't follow anything" with the exception of motorsports and the Miami Heat, "when they were doing really good." Montoya played a little soccer but his preference growing up was "anything with an engine." And like Pattie, with two young children, Montoya's TV viewing centers around cartoons.

The more time spent around Montoya and Pattie, it became clear that the pair's common threads are racing and family. But racing is really what drives the two competitors.

"You know, it's funny," Montoya said. "I was really partial (to Jimmy Elledge) because you don't want more changes. You want stability. But it's been really good. He's got a temper like me. I've noticed if I'm really mad, he's pretty calm. If I'm pretty calm, he's mad.

"We challenge ourselves a lot. We both want to win so badly. He will take the team to a different level with me. I think it's going to be good."

The bond was apparent as Montoya and Pattie tossed a baseball with Sebastian to kill time. They next moved down to the dugout, where a Cubs' rep introduced the pair to pitcher Bob Howry and Mike Fontenot.

With less than 30 minutes to game time, the crew rolled out the car onto the right-field warning track. It was an incredibly proud moment for tire specialist Keith "Hoss" Armstrong, a lifelong Cubs fan from Viola, Ill., who donned a bright yellow Juicy Fruit cape for the event.

Armstrong, another high school baseball player, worked with Montoya during his Ganassi open-wheel days in Indianapolis before moving to North Carolina.

But as a boy coming to Wrigley Field, did he ever picture himself on the field?

"Absolutely not," Armstrong said. "Only in my dreams. As a kid watching the games, everyone dreams about playing on the field. But to be down here and wearing the cape, it's just cool. This is like being home."

Pattie proceeded to the pitcher's mound, with Montoya in tow for support. It's apparent that many in the stick-and-ball crowd support Montoya. The enthusiasm appeared to have picked up, particularly with the Kyle Busch scrapple from New Hampshire two weeks earlier.

Montoya said it all comes down to respect.

"I like Kyle a lot, and we get along OK," Montoya said. "We laughed about it in Daytona, about the deal. But it's about how much you're going to take. You've got to stand up for yourself. I don't like taking (expletive) from anybody, and I think he knows that.

"It was actually pretty funny. They told me in the NASCAR hauler they were going to penalize me two laps, and I told 'em, 'I think that's fair.' I told 'em, 'I know what I did was wrong, but I need to defend myself.'"

Pattie fired his best pitch into Fontenot's glove and was nearly floating when he returned to the on-deck circle.

"That was cool, way cool," Pattie said. "The only thing that would be better would be to play at Augusta."

Montoya and Pattie were whisked through the executive offices of Wrigley and passed Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 crew on the way to the backstairs that led to the luxury suites. The team was already enjoying a hot dog and deli buffet when the pair returned.

It's a new era for this crew, and the camaraderie could be felt throughout the party room on a perfect night for baseball. Montoya firmly believed that shutting down the No. 40 team will not only strengthen the No. 42 Dodge, but the entire organization.

"If the 40 team was fully funded, then you wouldn't need to close it," Montoya said. "But the way we were going, I think it was bringing the whole team down in a way — that they were always so concerned making sure that car made the race that performance (for) everybody else wasn't an issue.

"I think the whole company was about making that car making the races, and they were forgetting that we needed to run better every week. I think people are starting to understand that. I'm starting to test again, Reed's starting to test, and things are getting better."

As the innings wound down, it was time for Montoya's close-up for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch. The broadcast duo of Bob Brenly and Len Kasper kept Montoya in the booth until the eighth inning.

Montoya returned to the suite long enough to retrieve his wife and son to beat the throngs of Cub fans that soon filed out onto Clark and Addison.

With eight races before the Chase, the 21st-place racer needs every opportunity to improve his position before the postseason begins at New Hampshire.

Nine races ago, Montoya finished second at Talladega Speedway and he was 12th in the standings. It would take a solid stretch for the No. 42 team to climb back into contention and a lot of bad luck for the drivers ahead of Montoya.

But stranger things have happened — like the Cubs winning again that night to maintain the NL's best record. - foxsports.com

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