Juan Pablo Montoya Advance
New Hampshire International Speedway
Race: New England 300 on Sunday, July 1
Track: New Hampshire International Speedway (1-mile oval)
Location: Loudon, N.H.
Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Team Facts:
Standings: Juan Pablo Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team gained two spots in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings following their victory at Infineon Raceway last Sunday. Montoya now sits 21st in the standings (tied in points with Casey Mears in 20th) heading into this weekend’s event at NHIS. Montoya and the team now sit 259 points out of 12th – the final transfer spot into the Chase for the Nextel Cup – with nine races remaining before the Chase begins.
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.
Plenty of Firsts: Last weekend’s victory for Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team was not only Montoya’s first NEXTEL Cup win, but a plethora of firsts: Montoya became the first Hispanic driver to win in NASCAR’s top touring series, he became the first rookie to win at Infineon Raceway, it was the first win for Dodge’s new Avenger, the first Cup victory for Texaco/Havoline since joining CGRFS and the first Cup win on a road course for CGRFS.
Familiar Place: Infineon Raceway has plenty of great memories for Donnie Wingo and Texaco/Havoline. The last time Wingo visited victory lane was in 1993 on the California road course with driver Geoff Bodine. Texaco/Havoline, Montoya’s primary sponsor, last visited a NEXTEL Cup Victory Lane at Sonoma with driver Ricky Rudd in 2002.
Loudon: While Montoya has never raced a stock car at Loudon, the last time the No. 42 Cup car visited victory lane before Infineon Raceway last week was with Owner Felix Sabates’ Team SABCO and driver Joe Nemechek in 1999.
Rookie Race: Montoya increased his lead significantly this weekend over David Ragan, and he now holds the top spot in the NEXTEL Cup Raybestos® Rookie standings by 15 points (180-165) with his win in Sonoma. Montoya became the first rookie to win at Infineon Raceway; the previous best finish by a rookie was ninth, shared by Ryan Newman (2002) and Kenny Irwin (1998).
Chassis: Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the Texaco/Havoline team have selected chassis #741 for the CoT race in Loudon. The team previously ran this chassis at Darlington (23rd-place finish), Richmond (26th-place finish) Bristol (32nd-place finish) and Dover (31st-place finish).
Two Close to Home: Two members of the Texaco/Havoline team will be very close to their hometowns while racing at New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend. The No. 42 Texaco/Havoline car chief Mike Brill is a Woodsville, N.H., native and Norwalk, Conn., is the hometown of Mike Bodick who serves as the team’s gas man.
