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Texaco/Havoline Team Finishes 26th at California Speedway
FONTANA, CA (February 25, 2007) --- Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team battled a tight-handling race car and an inopportune yellow flag to finish the Auto Club 500 in 26th.
Montoya began the 250-lap race from the ninth position after his qualifying effort on Friday. He began to drop back in the field after the green flag flew due to the handling of the car, but the team adjusted on the car throughout the race. On lap 51 the team made its first of several green-flag pit stops. Unfortunately the caution fell just two laps later before the entire field had pitted. The Texaco/Havoline Dodge was now on the tail end of the lead lap with the front runner just two cars back.
Montoya was eventually passed by the leader and fell a lap down. He was still struggling with the handling of the car, but was running comparative times with the drivers in the top 10. It appeared Montoya and the team would get a break in the race when they made what they thought would be their final pit stop on lap 204 under green-flag conditions. The car was running in the 25th position while most of the field would still have to pit again for fuel. The Texaco/Havoline Dodge had enough fuel to make it to the end of the race with two laps of fuel to spare, and would gain a number of spots as cars would have to pit. Again, lady luck was not on the team's side as NASCAR threw the yellow flag for debris on lap 225.
The race was red flagged on lap 242 after a multi-car incident, and the team pitted for tires and fuel. The cooler conditions and cold track tightened up the Texaco/Havoline Dodge significantly. Montoya crossed the stripe in the 26th position. He avoided the incidents throughout the day and ran a clean race and gaining invaluable time on a track he hasn't seen since his days in CART in 2000. Montoya and the team now sit 20th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings after the first two races of the 36-race season.
On Saturday, Montoya was involved in a three-car wreck on lap 87 which ended the day for the Texaco/Havoline Busch Series team. Montoya ran as high as 13th before his day ended early.
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