Montoya and Texaco/Havoline Team Finish 21st at PIR
Results from Phoenix
1. Clint Bowyer, No. 2 Chevrolet
11. David Stremme, No. 41 Wrigley’s Winterfresh® Dodge
21. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge
MONTOYA AND TEXACO/HAVOLINE TEAM FINISH 21ST AT PIR
AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 20, 2007) --- Although the night seemed to start a little slow for Juan Pablo Montoya and his No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team, they utilized pit stop strategy, some fast foot work on pit road and overcame late-race contact from the No. 66 car to come out of Phoenix International Raceway (PIR) with a 21st-place finish, Rookie of the Race honors and another step up in the NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) owner points championship ranks. The team now stands 11th overall just five points outside the top 10.
Montoya lined up to take the green in 20th place, but battled a tight-handling condition a good portion of the night. The Texaco/Havoline pit crew worked to rectify the tight condition multiple times on pit road, tackling it on lap 95, under the fourth caution of the race. The team made air pressure and track bar adjustments during a wicked-fast four-tire stop that took Montoya from running 19th to 15th as racing resumed on lap 99.
Then, Crew Chief Brad Parrott called for a two-tire stop on lap 138 that landed Montoya in the lead on the sixth restart of the night. From there, the Texaco/Havoline team was expecting to finish the night with at least a top 10, but then the No. 66 car lost control and collected the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) Dodge in the process. Fortunately, Team Spotter Tab Boyd guided Montoya through the mishap and helped the No. 42 Dodge come out of the incident with minor damage. Unfortunately, the late-race accident did turn the CGRFS team’s top-five run into a top-25 running position as racing resumed on lap 147. With just a little more than 50 laps left to go in the 200-lap competition, Montoya and team went on to conclude the night in 21stplace. Montoya’s teammate David Stremme finished 11th.
The No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team moved up to 11th in the overall NBS owner ranks and is just five points away from the 10th spot. Montoya was the top-finishing rookie of the race, which helped him take a step up, as well, in the NBS Raybestos® Rookie of the Year standings. He is now just two points behind rookie class leader Marcos Ambrose. Montoya has now grabbed rookie of the race honors three times this year in Busch Series competition. In addition toPhoenix, he also claimed the top honor in Mexico City and Atlanta.
Up next, the NBS teams will head to Talladega Superspeedway to run the Aaron’s 312 on Saturday, April 28. The race will broadcast on ABC (LIVE, 2:30 p.m. ET).
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: "It [the car] was really bad to start with, but after like 20 laps it got going and it was fast. It was as fast as the leaders but the first few laps it was horrible."
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 50 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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