Formula One Toyota driver Jarno Trulli snuck into Michigan International Speedway on Sunday without the fan crush he’s accustomed to when he races in Europe. “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, an Italian, competed in the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal this month, where he finished sixth, and decided to stick around and pay a surprise visit to former F1 drivers Juan Pablo Montoya (Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates) and Scott Speed (Bill Davis Racing), who are running in NASCAR. “They were the first two people I visited with,” Trulli said. “They were surprised to see me.” 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.” Though Trulli has never raced a stock car, he drove at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., in 1994. “I competed in the Race of the Americas karting series in 1994 and 1995 on the road course at Charlotte,” Trulli recalled. “I finished first and second.”(Detroit Free Press)(6-17-2008)
