Full Throttle

Anyone attending the Sprint Cup event at MIS Sunday spot a strange but vaguely, very vaguely familiar figure talking to Juan Montoya during pre-race festivities?

No?

Guess that’s understandable, unless you’re also an F1 fan. Then you may have caught a glimpse of Toyota’s F1 driver Jarno Trulli talking up his former F1 grid-mates Montoya and Scott Speed. “They were the first two people I visited with,” Trulli said. “They were surprised to see me.” said Trulli who stayed over an extra week after finishing sixth in Montreal.

“A few people asked me for autographs when I first arrived but it basically cooled down,” Trulli said. “In Italy or France, you would basically be surrounded.”

Trulli, eighth in F1 points, said he watches NASCAR on television, but Sunday’s was the first stock car race he’d attended. Would he take a crack at ovals if given a chance?

“Maybe one day — a test or something,” said Trulli, who began his F1 career with Minardi in 1997. “I like the U.S. and having another (racing) experience would be good.” “It’s not so easy as people think,” said Trulli, 33. “Juan is having a bit of a hard time. The racing is very tough.”

Jarno Trulli, a NASCAR fan, who’d a thunk it!

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