Race Report - Best Buy 400 at Dover International Speedway
Results from Dover International Speedway
1. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota
12. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge
25. Jeremy Mayfield, No. 40 Target Dodge
26. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge
MONTOYA EARNS TOP-15 FINISH AT DOVER
DOVER, Del. (June 1, 2008) --- Juan Pablo Montoya earned his third top-15 finish of the season at Dover International Speedway on Sunday when he drove his Texaco/Havoline Dodge to a 12th-place finish. It was his second-best finish of the season in just his second start with Crew Chief Brian Pattie at the helm. It also marked Montoya’s 50th start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
The team was optimistic after practice on Friday, however qualified a disappointing 35th. The team worked hard on Saturday in the rain shortened practice sessions and developed a plan for the race on Sunday. The green flag waved for the 400-lap event and Montoya began to make up some ground. On lap 17 an eight-car melee broke out as spotter Tab Boyd was trying to help Montoya maneuver his Texaco/Havoline Dodge through the blocked race track. NASCAR red flagged the race to clean up the track, and the team pitted when the caution flag was displayed again. Pattie called for a four-tire stop with an air pressure adjustment and fuel. Racing resumed on lap 26 with the No. 42 Dodge up to the 20th position.
Montoya remained in the top 20 and was sitting 16th when the first round of green-flag stops began on lap 146. He drove down pit road on lap 146 for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment to help with handling on the car. He fell one lap down to the leader, but soon received NASCAR’s free pass back onto the lead lap when the caution flag waved on lap 153. With only 16 cars now on the lead lap, the team took its time on the pit stop. At the midpoint of the race, Montoya was 15th.
Green-flag stops began again on lap 228 as the leader continued to set a fast pace. Montoya pitted on lap 234 and fell a lap down again in 13th. The team received another lucky break when the caution waved on lap 242 and it was in position for the free pass again. Racing resumed on lap 247 with just 13 cars on the lead lap. Most of the remaining laps were run under green-flag conditions, as did another round of pit stops. Race winner Kyle Busch took the checkered flag at lap 400 with just six cars left on the lead lap and Montoya in 12th, one lap down.
Montoya remains 17th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver standings following the 13th race of the 2008 season. He gained several points on the 12th-place driver, as he now sits 134 points out of the "Chase for the Sprint Cup." Montoya and the No. 42 team will test at the road course of Virginia International Raceway on Tuesday in preparation for the June 22 race at Infineon Raceway where Montoya will defend his 2007 race win.
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc.
With six wins already in 2008, the team continues to add to its tally of 95 trips to victory lane. 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, and along with Felix Sabates he has three cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, two entries in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and a Daytona Prototype in the world of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series racing. Ganassi’s IndyCar teams have amassed five Championships and 59 wins since 1994; his NASCAR teams have 12 wins and two Rookie-of-the-Year titles; and the Grand American team has won two Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Championships and are the three-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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