Juan Pablo Montoya
Bristol Advance
Race:
Food City 500 on Sunday, March 25
Track:
Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)
Location:
Bristol, Tenn.
Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Team Facts:
Bristol: Juan Pablo Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team face the first Car of Tomorrow (CoT) race of the season this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Montoya and the team participated in the open NASCAR test in preparation for this week’s 500-lap race. This will be his first race on the 0.533 bullring in the mountains of Tennessee.
Standings: Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team gained seven positions in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings following their fifth-place finish on Sunday in Atlanta. The team is only 28 points out of the top 10 following four of 36 point events.
Rookie Status: Montoya currently sits atop the Raybestos Rookie standings following his run last weekend. He took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the second consecutive race and for the second time this season. He sits one point ahead of David Ragan in the standings. Montoya could become the fourth driver for Texaco/Havoline to earn the Rookie-of –the-Year honor (Davey Allison, Kenny Irwin and Jamie McMurray). Montoya is the only driver to simultaneously lead the Raybestos® Rookie standings in both the NEXTEL Cup Series and the Busch Series since the rookie program was created in Busch in 1989.
Speaking Engagement: Montoya be the featured guest for an exclusive one-on-one interview on opening day of the 2007 World Congress of Sports in New York City this Wednesday. One of the largest gatherings of senior executives in sports business, the World Congress of Sports features panel discussion on critical topics with the sports industry’s most important leaders. Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig is the one-on-one guest for the closing day of the event.
It takes one to know Juan: Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team have completed 99.6 percent of the total laps in the NEXTEL Cup events this season. The rookie Montoya has run 1,040 of 1,044 laps in the first four races. He earned his first top-five finish in NASCAR’s top series in just his fifth start.
Tennessee Tony: Tony Glover—a Kingsport, Tenn., native—is the team manager at the CGRFS Concord, N.C. race shop. He has been going racing for 34 years and throughout his career Glover has built the reputation as one of the top mechanical minds in motorsports. In addition, Glover has a knack for developing drivers and winning big races. Under his guidance, Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek captured their first NASCAR Cup wins.
Chassis: Crew chief Donnie Wingo and the Texaco/Havoline team have chosen chassis #731 for Montoya’s first CoT race. This is one of the two chassis the team took to the test at Bristol at the end of February.
Road Trip: Texaco/Havoline has just made traveling to the race track easier for race fans. Fans can go to www.texacohavoline42.com, click on the link for the road trip and enter their starting location and race destination. In addition to receiving the best route to the track, fans will also get directions to the nearest Express Lube and Texaco filling stations along the way to make planning their trip to see Montoya easier.
Updated site: The fan and media site at www.texacohavoline42.com has been revamped for the 2007 season. Media and fans can get up-to-date information on the team, Montoya as well as special features like an exclusive blog from Montoya’s spotter Tab Boyd.
