Juan Pablo Montoya
NNCS Daytona Advance
Race: Pepsi 400 on Saturday, July 7
Track: Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile oval)
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Team Facts:
Standings: Juan Pablo Montoya gained two spots in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver standings, while the Texaco/Havoline team gained one spot in the NEXTEL Cup owner standings following their 19th-place at Loudon last weekend. Montoya now sits 19th in the standings just 87 points out of 15th heading into Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Montoya and the team now sit 324 points out of 12th – the final transfer spot into the Chase for the Nextel Cup – with eight races remaining before the Chase begins.
Finally: The restrictor-place race this weekend at Daytona International Speedway will be the first NEXTEL Cup track that Montoya has previously competed at with his No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge. Montoya ran in the season-opening Daytona 500 in February where he started the event from the 36th starting spot and drafted his way up to 19th before the checkered flag fell.
Daytona: Montoya kicked off Texaco/Havoline’s 20th Anniversary in NASCAR with a hard fought 19th-place finish at the Daytona 500. He started from the 36th position, battled a tight race car, lost every gear except fourth and nearly missed several multi-car incidents before bringing the No. 42 Dodge Charger home in the top 20.
Rookie Race: Montoya leads David Ragan in the NEXTEL Cup Raybestos® Rookie standings by 14 points (190-176) after the 17th race of the 2007 NEXTEL Cup season. Montoya has captured rookie of the race honors in seven races so far this season. Davey Allison, driving the Texaco/Havoline car, is the only Raybestos® Rookie since 1975 to lead the most laps in the Pepsi 400. He led the 1987 event twice for 32 laps.
Chassis: Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the Texaco/Havoline team have selected chassis #603 for the third restrictor plate race of the season. The team previously ran this chassis in the Daytona 500, but did not run this car at Talladega.
Opportunity of a Lifetime: Chevron Global Marketing announced the kickoff of the Texaco 42 Days of Racing promotion with a grand prize race package featuring a trip to the final six stock car races of the 2007 season and a chance to meet Montoya. Other prizes include a 2008 Dodge Avenger R, autographed racing caps and Texaco gift cards. Race fans can enter the sweepstakes online at www.42DaysOfRacing.com. Throughout the Texaco 42 Days of Racing, which concludes July 28, customers will receive free with any gas purchase a limited edition Montoya No. 42 Texaco/Havoline race team 32-ounce collector fountain cup. The sweepstakes’ highly coveted grand prize package is a race fan’s dream, including roundtrip airfare, lodging, deluxe transportation, and two premiere tickets to each of the last six races of the 2007 stock car season.
Sirius-ly: Montoya and the team will be featured 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 Texaco/Havoline Team on channel 181. 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 Texaco/Havoline Team; gives post-race downloads and shares his own personal experiences on his jump full time into the NEXTEL Cup Series.
