Race Advance - SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway

Race: SaveMart 350 on Sunday, June 22 (NSCS) (LIVE, TNT 3:30 p.m. ET)
Track: Infineon Raceway (1.99-mile road course)
Location: Sonoma, Calif.

Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge (NSCS)

• Return to Sonoma: This weekend marks the anniversary of Montoya’s historic win at Infineon Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS). Montoya drove the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge to a 4.097-second victory over Kevin Harvick in the NSCS road course race in Sonoma. It was Montoya’s first Cup victory in just his 17th start, and a first for the pairing of Texaco/Havoline and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS). Other notables:
  o Became the first rookie to win at Infineon Raceway
  o First Latino to win a race in NASCAR’s top series
  o Set a record for winning from the deepest starting spot – 32nd
  o Joined racing legends Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti as the only drivers to win races in Cup, IndyCar and Formula One
  o The Bogota, Colombia-native became just the third foreign-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup event
  
  "Last year I felt a ton of pressure heading into Infineon because everyone expected to me to run well and win because of my background,” said Montoya. “It was also the headquarters of my sponsor Texaco/Havoline. This year I don’t feel any pressure. We are focused on making our race cars and our race team better. We had a great test at VIR a couple of weeks ago and we found a few things that should help us this weekend. Our goal is to run well, and if we have a shot at the win obviously we are going to take it."


• All Access: Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline Dodge will be featured on DIRECTV’s NASCAR HotPass for the Sprint Cup race in Sonoma. The HotPass subscription allows fans to follow Montoya and the team throughout the entire race with in-depth reporting, real time statistics and live race audio. Montoya and the team will be featured on channel 798 on Sunday.


• Pattie on the Road Courses: Crew Chief Brian Pattie is no stranger to success on road courses. Pattie has three victories at Watkins Glen International (WGI) in the Nationwide Series as well as four poles positions - three at WGI and one at Mexico City. He also sat atop the pit box in one Cup race at WGI with driver Ron Fellows, the duo started seventh and finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Joe Nemechek-owned car. Pattie also competed at Infineon with Fellows in 2001. He started 13, led 20 laps but was involved in an accident that dropped him to 38th.


• Franchitti at Infineon: This weekend will mark Franchitti’s his first NASCAR Cup Series start at Infineon Raceway, although this is not Franchitti’s first time at the 1.99-mile road course. His car will feature the logos of Texaco/Havoline as well as The Hartford. Franchitti has three starts at the track in the Indy Racing League with an average starting position of ninth and an average finish of 4.3. His best start came in 2007 where he earned a pole. He scored his best finish of second at the 2006 race.


• In Preparation: Pattie, Montoya and members of the No. 42 crew tested at Virginia International Raceway on June 3 in preparation for this weekend’s road course race.


• Three to Go: Team Owner Chip Ganassi is just three wins away from reaching a milestone of 100 victories as an owner. His wins have come across a wide variety of racing series including CART, IndyCar, NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide, ARCA and Grand Am. Montoya has contributed to 15 of Ganassi’s victories over five series: 10 CART, one IndyCar, one Sprint Cup, one Nationwide and two Grand Am.


• 2008 Standings: Montoya slipped two spots in the NSCS driver standings after his second-consecutive 38th-place finish. He now sits 22nd and 276 points out of the 12th position, the cut-off for the “Chase for the Sprint Cup.”


• He’s “SIRIUS” Again: For the second year in a row, listen to SIRIUS Satellite Radio every Tuesday on channel 128 for the “Juan Pablo Montoya Report.” Montoya will provide exclusive updates on the No. 42 Team; give post-race downloads and share his thoughts on the events of the season. He will also chat with hosts David Poole and Mike Bagley on “The Morning Drive” every Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET.


• No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge (NSCS): Chassis #741. Montoya will compete in chassis #741 this weekend at Sonoma. Montoya drove this chassis to victory lane last year at Infineon Raceway and tested the car two weeks ago at VIR.
  

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