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Texaco/Havoline Team Survives Bristol,
Remains in Top 20 in Points
BRISTOL, TN (March 25, 2007)—The Texaco/Havoline Team and its driver Juan Pablo Montoya finished the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 32nd position in the first Car of Tomorrow (CoT) race of the year. Montoya spun on lap 137 after contact was made with the No. 96 car, fell three laps down trying to re-fire the car and had an issue with the wheel hub late in the race to finish the event.
Montoya started the 500-lap race from the 36th position and soon dropped to the back of the field to work on his line around the track. The car was really tight in the center of the corners, so the team worked on the handling of the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. He fell a lap down to the leader on lap 97, riding in the 35th position. The caution flag waved on lap 120 after Montoya made contact with the No. 6 car. Just 17 laps later, the No. 96 car and Montoya collided, sending the No. 42 Dodge Avenger into the inside barrier. It took Montoya three laps to get the car started and down onto pit road.
Montoya returned to the track in the 38th position, three laps down. Although the team was out of contention, they continued to work on the CoT, making several major adjustments to the car. Montoya continued to gain valuable experience on the half-mile track and was working on passing cars as the team improved the handling of the car. Montoya, with the help of spotter Tab Boyd, was able to avoid several multi-car incidents and looked poised for a top-30 finish. Unfortunately, Montoya radioed in on lap 435 to say the tires were chattering and he thought he had a flat tire. He brought the Texaco/Havoline Dodge down pit road for right-side tires under the green-flag condition. He lost another three laps to finish the race 32nd, six laps down.
Montoya and the team remain in the top 20 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points just 88 points out of 10th, and are tied for first in the Rookie of the Year standings. The team heads to Martinsville Speedway next weekend for the sixth race of the 2007 season.
Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline NASCAR Busch Series team fared better at the bullring than the Cup team. Montoya and the crew, led by Brad Parrott, started the race from the 34th spot, and moved up 20 spots to finish 14th on Saturday. Montoya now sits sixth in the driver standing and leads the rookie standings for the second straight week.
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