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Montoya Manages 22nd-Place Finish and
Top Rookie at Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, NV (March 11, 2007)—Juan Pablo Montoya and the No.42 Texaco/Havoline team had three unfortunate issues that relegated them to a 22nd-place finish. Despite winning Rookie of the Race, Montoya was blocked in his pits during his first stop, received damage from the No.38 car, and had a piece of debris push in the front grill that upset the handling of his Dodge Charger.
Montoya and the team began the day with high hopes after qualifying fourth for the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. The team's first issue came on lap 10 when Montoya pitted under caution for fuel and a trackbar adjustment and the No.96 car blocked him in the pits. Instead of returning to the track in 10th, Montoya found himself 25th for the restart.
Montoya was eventually passed by the leader and fell a lap down following a green-flag pit stop on lap 83. As he was trying to catch the leader, the No.38 car came down and damaged the right-front fender on lap 91. Luckily the caution flag waved on lap 106 and Montoya was the recipient of NASCAR's free pass back onto the lead lap.
The Texaco/Havoline Dodge got loose on Montoya and he struggled with the handling through another round of green-flag stops. He slipped back to 23rd and fell a lap down again on lap 174. He radioed to tell crew chief Donnie Wingo a piece of debris bounced in front of the car. What Montoya and the team didn't realize is the debris hit the front of the car and pushed in the grill. It wasn't until the team pitted under green on lap 200–because Montoya thought he had a flat–that the team noticed the damage. Montoya struggled with the car and slipped to two laps down.
The team repaired the grill following the caution flag on lap 225. Montoya was quickly back up to speed and commented on the car. He told Wingo and the team the car was much better and as good as it was at the start of the race. Although he returned to the track in 29th, he picked up seven spots over the final 35 laps to finish 22nd. Montoya and the team slipped two spots to 22nd in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings, but sit just 54 points out of the top 10.
On Saturday, Montoya struggled with the car and had a right-front flat tire which forced the team to pit under green. Montoya, with the help of his spotter, was able to maneuver through several multi-car wrecks to finish the day in the 20th spot.
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