Juan Pablo Montoya NNCS
Chicagoland Advance
Race: USG Sheetrock 400, July 15
Track: Chicagoland Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Location: Joliet, Ill.
Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Wrigley’s Big Red Dodge Team Facts:
Wrigley’s Weekend: Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 Dodge Charger will look a little different this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. His Dodge will carry the colors and logo of Wrigley’s Big Red gum. It is the first of three races that Montoya will compete in the Big Red car.
One year ago…: It was one year ago this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway that Team Owner Chip Ganassi stepped into the media center to let the sporting world know he had signed Montoya to drive his No. 42 Dodge this season.
Standings: Montoya slipped two spots in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings following a 32nd-place finish at Daytona International Speedway. Montoya now sits 21st in the standings just 190 points out of 15th heading into this weekend’s race at Chicagoland Speedway. Montoya and the team have one win, two top-five and three top-10 finishes this season.
Illinois Native: Keith “Hoss” Armstrong, tire specialist for the No. 42 team, hails from Viola, Ill. Armstrong is the only person on the team that has the distinction of working with Montoya when he drove CART for Chip Ganassi Racing in 1999 and 2000. Armstrong was there for Montoya’s CART Championship, his Indy 500 victory and his first NEXTEL Cup win at Infineon Raceway.
Not quite Chicagoland… but: While Montoya has never competed at Chicagoland Speedway, he has raced in Chicago. Montoya competed in two CART races at Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Ill., in 1999 and 2000. Montoya captured one of his five oval victories for Chip Ganassi Racing’s open wheel team at the 1.029-mile track on August 22, 1999. He defeated current IndyCar Series point’s leader Dario Franchitti to the flag by .783 seconds in the inaugural event for CART at the speedway.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game: After they are done racing at Chicagoland Speedway this weekend, Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) drivers Reed Sorenson, David Stremme and Juan Pablo Montoya will head out to Wrigley Field to take part in the Chicago Cubs baseball game Monday night. Sorenson, Stremme and Montoya will roll up to the game in the No. 41 Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit® Dodge, the No. 40 Wrigley’s Winterfresh® Dodge and the No. 42 Wrigley’s Big Red® Dodge that they will drive from the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company headquarters on Michigan Avenue. Sorenson is scheduled to throw out the first pitch and then Stremme and Montoya will join him in leading the baseball crowd to the seventh inning stretch song, “Take me out to the ball game.” Game time for the Cubs is 7 p.m. ET Monday, July 16. The game will broadcast live on ESPN.
EA Sports: Last weekend, EA SPORTS™ announced Montoya will appear on the international cover of NASCAR 08, scheduled for release this summer under the EA SPORTS™ brand. Montoya becomes the first driver to be featured on the international cover.
Rookie Race: Montoya leads David Ragan in the NEXTEL Cup Raybestos® Rookie standings by 12 points after the 18th race of the 2007 NEXTEL Cup season. Montoya has captured rookie of the race honors in seven races so far this season.
Chassis: Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the Big Red team have selected chassis #706 the USG Sheetrock 400. This chassis has earned Montoya and the team two of its three top-10 finishes of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. Chassis #706 has run at Texas (eighth-place finish), Atlanta (fifth-place finish) and Pocono (20th-place finish).
Sirius-ly: Montoya and the team will be featured weekly on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Driver2Crew Chatter. Driver2Crew Chatter puts fans in the car and in the pits. Fans can listen to Montoya’s radio communication with Crew Chief Wingo, Spotter Tab Boyd and the rest of the Team on channel 119. Listen in every Monday at 5 p.m. ET on channel 128 for the “Juan Pablo Montoya Report.” Montoya provides exclusive updates on the No. 42 Team; gives post-race downloads and shares his own personal experiences on his jump full time into the NEXTEL Cup Series.
