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Montoya Turns Overall Tight-Handling Run into Top-15 Finish at Chicagoland
JOLIET, CHI (July 15, 2007)—A tight-handling No. 42 Wrigley’s Big Red® Dodge seemed to hamper a good portion of Juan Pablo Montoya's run Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway in the USG Sheetrock 400. One of the first words Montoya used to describe his race car was "tight," and that word continued to be repeated throughout the 400-mile race as restarts were tough and long runs were where the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) driver and team seemed to find their strength. By the end of their run, the Wrigley's Big Red driver and pit crew capitalized on fast pit stops and on-track maneuvering to close out the weekend effort with a 15th-place finish.
Just five laps into his run, Montoya could tell his race car was a little too tight and he told his team exactly that. Still, he managed to improve his track position, moving from 30th to 20th by lap 73.
Crew chief Donnie Wingo called for multiple adjustments throughout the day to try to shake the tight-handling condition. The team made a combination of air pressure, wedge and track bar adjustments to try to find a better balance between the 1.5-mile speedway and the Wrigley's Big Red Dodge.
Just as the field was approaching the closing 100 circuits of the 267-lap competition, Montoya and team managed to overcome a one-lap deficit and began to seriously contend for a top-15 finish. The car lacked its punch on restarts but once it had more mileage on its tires the No. 42 CGRFS Dodge seemed to take a liking to the Illinois track.
The Wrigley's Big Red Dodge lingered around the top 15 the last quarter of the race and then locked onto a top-15 position in the last 10 laps to call it a day just the same—in 15th place. Montoya's teammates Reed Sorenson and David Stremme finished 12th and 34th respectively.
The No. 42 CGRFS team broke back inside the top 20 of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup owner standings, where it is now listed in 20th place with a running tally of 1,847 points. The team is just 227 points outside the top 15.
Montoya's top-15 finish made him the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race, which marks the seventh time this season he has been the top finishing rookie in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup competition.
The NEXTEL Cup Series will take next weekend off, and will then return to action Sunday, July 29, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to run the Brickyard 400. The race will be broadcast on ESPN, with pre-race coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET.
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