Texaco/Havoline Team Survives Bristol, Remain in Top 20 in Points
Results from Bristol Motor Speedway
1. Kyle Busch, No. 5 Chevy
13. David Stremme, No. 40 Energizer Avenger
32. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Avenger
43. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Avenger
Texaco/Havoline Team Survives Bristol, Remain in Top 20 in Points
BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 26, 2007) --- The Texaco/Havoline Team and its driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 32nd position in the first Car of Tomorrow (CoT) race of the year. Montoya spun on lap 137 after contact was made with the No. 96 car, fell three laps down trying to re-fire the car and had an issue with the wheel hub late in the race to finish the event.
Montoya started the 500-lap race from the 36th position and soon dropped to the back of the field to work on his line around the track. The car was really tight in the center of the corners, so the team worked on the handling of the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. He fell a lap down to the leader on lap 97, riding in the 35th position. The caution flag waved on lap 120 after Montoya made contact with the No. 6 car. Just 17 laps later, the No. 96 car and Montoya collided sending the No. 42 Dodge Avenger into the inside barrier. It took Montoya three laps to get the car started and down onto pit road.
Montoya returned to the track in the 38th position, three laps down. Although the team was out of contention, they continued to work on the CoT, making several major adjustments to the car. Montoya continued to gain valuable experience on the half-mile track and was working on passing cars as the team improved the handling of the car. Montoya, with the help of spotter Tab Boyd, was able to avoid several multi-car incidents and looked poised for a top-30 finish. Unfortunately, Montoya radioed in on lap 435 to say the tires were chattering and he thought he had a flat tire. He brought the Texaco/Havoline Dodge down pit road for right-side tires under the green-flag condition. He lost another three laps to finish the race 32nd, six laps down.
Montoya and the team remain in the top 20 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points just 88 points out of 10th, and are tied for first in the Rookie of the Year standings. The team heads to Martinsville Speedway next weekend for the sixth race of the 2007 season.
Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline NASCAR Busch Series team fared better at the bullring than the Cup team. Montoya and the crew, led by Brad Parrott, started the race from the 34th spot, and moved up 20 spots to finish 14th on Saturday. Montoya now sits sixth in the driver standing and leads the rookie standings for the second-straight week.
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA "It was good race today. The Texaco/Havoline Dodge was a pretty decent car. We didn’t have a really fast car but we had a decent car. We were running at the bottom of the track and one of the guys came down on me and spun me out completely. I lost three laps trying just to get it started. Then we had a vibration in one of the tires but overall today, we were good. We got the car home and scored some more points. Now its time to focus and just go to the next race in Martinsville."
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, two Indy Pro Series cars and along with Felix Sabates he has three cars in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, a Daytona Prototype in the world of Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series racing and two entries in the NASCAR Busch Series. Ganassi’s IndyCar teams have amassed five Championships and 51 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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