Juan Pablo Montoya
Pocono Raceway Advance
Race: Pocono 500 on Sunday, June 10, 2007
Track: Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile oval)
Location: Long Pond, Pa.
Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Team Facts:
Standings: Juan Pablo Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team held fast to the 22nd spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings following their 31st-place finish in Dover. It was Montoya’s first trip to the 1-mile track known at the “Monster Mile.” Montoya is only 38 points out of 20th and 206 points out of 12th – the final transfer position for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup.
Running on Dirt: Montoya will participate in his first dirt race on Wednesday at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The NEXTEL Prelude to the Dream will feature not only Montoya, but racing icons Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin, Bobby Labonte and others competing in 2,300-pound dirt late model stock cars. Montoya’s late model will carry the colors and logos of his primary NASCAR sponsor Texaco/Havoline and associate sponsor Wrigley’s Big Red. The race will be broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View with the proceeds from the groundbreaking telecast going to support the Victory Junction Gang Camp and the Tony Stewart Foundation. The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. ET.
Chassis: Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the Texaco/Havoline team have selected chassis #706 for this weekend’s Pocono 500. This chassis has earned Montoya and the team its two top-10 finishes of the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season. Chassis #706 has run at Texas (eighth-place finish) and Atlanta (fifth-place finish).
Another First: Just like last weekend at Dover, Montoya will face Pocono Raceway for the first time on Friday when he takes to the track for his first NEXTEL Cup practice. The 2.5-mile track is one of the most unique on the circuits. Last year, Denny Hamlin became the first rookie to ever win at Pocono and only two other rookies have ever earned a top-five finish. He was however, not the only rookie to ever win the pole position.
He’s Leading What?: Montoya, the 2007 Rolex 24 At Daytona Champion for CGRFS, is still the laps led leader for the season in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series. Montoya competed in just one event, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, in 2007. He led for 170 laps during the endurance race. Sitting second in laps led is CGRFS pilot and driver championship points leader Scott Pruett with 162.
Rookie Race: Montoya’s 31st-place finish at Dover on Monday kept him atop the rookie points. He leads David Ragan by five points (141-136) in the Raybestos® Rookie standings. Montoya is currently second in the NASCAR Busch Series rookie standings, just two points behind Ragan and Marcus Ambrose who are tied with 139 points each.
Don’t forget Hamlin: Kevin Hamlin will pilot the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Busch car this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. It is his second race in the No. 42 Dodge. Hamlin also drove at Nashville earlier this season where he finished the event in 28th. The NASCAR Busch Series race will air on ESPN2 and MRN Radio live on Saturday, June 9 at 7 p.m. ET.
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 Xpress Lube and Texaco service stations along the way to make planning their trip to see Montoya easier.
