Race Report - Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway
Results from Bristol Motor Speedway
1. Carl Edwards, No.99 Ford
2. Kyle Busch, No.18 Toyota
3. Denny Hamlin, No.11 Toyota
19. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Dodge Charger
36. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Tums Quick Pack Dodge
Top-20 Finish for Montoya at Bristol Motor Speedway
BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 23, 2008) --- Juan Pablo Montoya drove his No. 42 Dodge Charger to a 19th-place finish under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. Montoya started from deep within the field to bring home the top-20 finish.
The team had trouble with the handling of the No. 42 Dodge Charger through the first practice session and qualifying at the .533-mile track. During the finial practice on Friday evening however, Montoya was pleased with the progress the team made. Despite starting from the 39th position on Saturday night, the team was confident it had a fast Dodge.
Montoya battled a tight condition at the start of the race. He barely missed the car of Jimmie Johnson on lap 25 when Johnson’s car experienced a flat tire. When the caution waved finally on lap 96, Montoya had fallen a lap down to the leader and was in the 37th position. The No. 42 crew went to work adjusting on the car during the team’s first stop on lap 100. Racing resumed on lap 103 with Montoya in 34th and only 28 cars remaining on the lead lap.
The team was able to loosen up the car for Montoya, and he was able to pass cars on the high side of the track. He was up to 24th by the midpoint of the 500-lap race. The team continued to work on the car under the caution flag on lap 290. The team boosted Montoya up to 21st for the restart on lap 294, and by lap 303 Montoya maneuvered around three cars on the track to take over 18th.
Montoya would run in the top 20 for the remainder of the event to drive the No. 42 Dodge Charger across the finish line in the 19th position. It was Montoya’s third-consecutive top-20 finish at the Tennessee short track. He remains 21st in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver standings, just 53 points behind the 20th-place driver.
Next up for the NSCS teams is 2-mile Auto Club Speedway in California. The Pepsi 500 is scheduled to go green at 8 p.m. ET with live coverage on ESPN beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
Montoya Quote:
"I thought we had a pretty good night in the No. 42 Dodge Charger. After such a bad qualifying run, we had to start so far back and that makes it hard to race here when you have to pass so many cars. Our guys did a great job all night in the pits which gave us good track position. To come out of Bristol with a top-20 finish after starting 39th is a good feeling. I’m happy for our Chip Ganassi team. We’ll take it and move on to California next weekend."
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc.
With 14 wins already in 2008, the team continues to add to its tally of 103 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 64 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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