CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Juan Pablo Montoya capped his first full season in American stock-car racing with a quiet 15th-place run at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The finish locked up rookie of the year honors in the top tier of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) circuit for the former Formula One driver and Indianapolis 500 winner, and secured him 20th-place in the final season standings. More important, it closed out one of the most fulfilling years of the Colombian's life.

From the time he stunned Formula One last summer by signing with Chip Ganassi Racing for a career in American stock cars, Montoya has never looked back and never doubted his decision.

He won a second-tier Busch Series race in Mexico and the top-tier Nextel Cup event at Sonoma, butted heads with other drivers and settled nicely into the NASCAR community.

``I really do feel part of the community,'' he said. ``I really like to embrace the entire experience because it's so cool. It's so different from any other series I've ever been in, but it's so cool and something I tell people you've got to come and see for yourself.

``You see those ads, `People say NASCAR is not a sport. It's a way of life.' Those ads are right. We spend 40 weeks of the year with the same people around, and you just build up really great relationships along the way.''

On the track, Montoya believes he's gotten the hang of stock cars despite the ups and downs of adjusting to the full cars and the give-and-take mentality of NASCAR racing.

``We had a bit of everything,'' he said. ``It was up and down. I think, more important, is how the performance of the team came up through the whole year. Where we started and where we finished is a big difference.''