Race Report - Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway
Results from Daytona International Speedway
1. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota
22. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge
38. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Dodge Charger
LAP 70 INCIDENT RELEGATES MONTOYA TO A 38TH-PLACE FINISH
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 5, 2008) --- Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Dodge Charger were involved in a lap 70 incident with Greg Biffle that sent them behind the wall for repairs at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 42 team fixed the damaged car and had it back out onto the track in just 24 laps. Montoya finished the Coke Zero 400 in the 38th position and dropped to 21st in the NASCAR Sprint Cup driver standings.
Montoya and the team worked on the No. 42 Dodge Charger during the first practice session on Thursday; unfortunately rain canceled the second session before they had time to see if the changes they made would help. On Friday, Montoya was the first driver to make a qualifying run and started the 400-mile race from the 31st position.
Montoya was pleased with the handling of the No. 42 Dodge at the start of the race and told Crew Chief Brian Pattie the car was very drivable. Pattie made a slight air pressure adjustment on the team’s first stop on lap 21. Montoya was drafting mid-pack trying to figure out where his car would handle and stay out of trouble early on in the race. Unfortunately on lap 70 Biffle’s car got tight while he was racing under Montoya and drifted up into the No. 42 Dodge Charger.
Montoya drove the car behind pit wall so the No. 42 crew could assess the damage. After the team changed the right-front suspension set up, Montoya was back on the track in the 41st position and 24 laps down. He was able to gain three positions in the remaining laps as several incidents sent other cars behind the wall and out of the race.
The team heads to Chicagoland Speedway for another race under the lights in the No. 42 Dodge Charger. Montoya and the team are traveling to Chicago early to catch a Cubs game where Pattie will throw out the first pitch.
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc.
With 10 wins already in 2008, the team continues to add to its tally of 99 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 two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, one entry 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 61 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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