Texaco/Havoline Team Finish 28th in Marathon Race at Charlotte
Results from Lowe’s Motor Speedway
1. Casey Mears, No. 25 Chevy
4. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge
17. David Stremme, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge
28. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge
Texaco/Havoline Team Finish 28th in Marathon Race at Charlotte
CONCORD, N.C. (May 27, 2007) --- Juan Pablo Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team were in the wrong place at the wrong time in Sunday’s 600-mile event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Montoya slowed to avoid a multi-car wreck on lap 52, but was hit from behind and forced into the car in front of him. After spending 28 laps behind pit wall, Montoya returned to the track in the 38th position and gained 10 spots through attrition to finish 28th.
Montoya started the 400-lap race from the 20th position after his qualifying effort on Thursday. Shortly after the green flag dropped, Montoya told Crew Chief Donnie Wingo the Texaco/Havoline Dodge was really tight. He dropped back to 27th and was trying to get a feel for the car when the caution waved on lap 46. The team made an air pressure adjustment and changed four tires, but was blocked in the pits by the No. 21 car. It was costly for the team as they dropped back to 32nd for the restart on lap 51.
On lap 52, Jimmie Johnson had trouble with his car and started a melee on the track. Montoya slowed to avoid the crashing cars and appeared to have missed the wreck. Unfortunately, the car behind him hadn’t checked up and hit the back of the No. 42, sending Montoya into the No. 9 Dodge. Montoya had a punctured radiator and drove the car to the garage for repairs.
It took the team just 28 laps to get the car back out on the track, but Montoya was now in the 38th position. With over 300 laps remaining in the race, Wingo and the crew continued to work on the car during the cautions. Several additional incidents, as well as engine failures, moved Montoya into the 28th position when the checkered flag waved. Montoya earned Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the fifth time and now leads the standings by six points over David Ragan. The Texaco/Havoline team has been running at the finish of all 12 NEXTEL Cup points races this season.
Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline NASCAR Busch Series team were running 15th when two brushes with the wall at Lowe’s Motor Speedway forced an early departure on Saturday night. After starting 37th the Busch crew adjusted on the car throughout the race, fell on lap down on lap 65, and earned the free pass back on the lead lap on lap 129 after making the call for fuel only during a pit stop on lap 115. Montoya worked his way up to 15th when the car stepped out on him with just 52 laps remaining. The car was damaged beyond repair and Montoya was scored in the 40th position.
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA "I saw a car flying, and as soon as I saw the car flying I checked up. We actually slowed down the car and everything. The 10 car came right in behind us and just pushed us through the whole mess. It’s a little bit frustrating. Everybody on the Texaco/Havoline team has done a good job all weekend. We had a fast car. It was just a part of racing. I think we had a car to win the race today. We were very conservative to start with. We didn’t know what the condition of the car was going to be like, so we were just being careful and riding. Every time somebody got their nose in I just pointed them through. We went a little too conservative. We were too tight. That lap I made up three spots in one lap and that was pretty good. Welcome to NASCAR I guess."
About Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
Following a strong career as a driver, Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with a new sponsor, Target. Today, his teams include two IRL IndyCars, one Indy Pro Series car and along with Felix Sabates he has three cars in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, two entries in the NASCAR Busch Series and two Daytona Prototypes in the world of Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series racing. Ganassi’s IndyCar teams have amassed five Championships and 52 wins since 1994; his NASCAR teams have 10 wins and a Rookie-of-the-Year title; and the Grand American team has won two of the last three Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Championships and are the two-time defending Champions of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Chip Ganassi Racing operates out of state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis, Ind., and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa.
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