Juan Pablo Montoya
Talladega Advance
Race:
Talladega 499 on Sunday, April 29
Track:
Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval)
Location:
Talladega, Ala.
Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge Team Facts:
Talladega: Juan Pablo Montoya made his first official start for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) stock car operation at Talladega Superspeedway last October in the ARCA race. Montoya qualified on the outside pole before experience drafting for the first time in a heavy stock car. Montoya raced several laps three wide, was involved in an incident on the track and dropped back as far as 31st before driving the No. 42 Dodge Charger across the finish line in third place. In his first NEXTEL Cup restrictor plate race in the Daytona 500, Montoya qualified 36th and finished 19th.
Standings: Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team now sit 16th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings following their 33rd-place finish on Saturday night in Phoenix. Montoya is only 90 points out of the top 10 in the driver standings following the Saturday evening race in Phoenix.
Quick stat: Montoya has completed 99.5 percent of possible laps in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series so far this season. Out of a possible 2,694 laps of racing in 2007, Montoya has completed all but 14.
Rookie Status: Montoya leads the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Raybestos Rookie standings by five points over David Ragan. Montoya earned Rookie of the Race in three of the eight races this season. In the Busch Series, Montoya sits second in the rookie standings by two points behind Marcos Ambrose. Montoya was Busch Series Rookie of the Race in Phoenix.
20th Anniversary Note: The late Davey Allison, driving a Texaco/Havoline car is the only Raybestos® Rookie to win the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. He won the 1987 event by .78 seconds over Terry Labonte. Allison also led the most laps in the race, holding the top spot six times for 108 of the 178 laps (the event was shortened by 10 laps due to darkness). Allison remains the only Rookie to lead the most laps in the spring race and holds the record for most laps led by a rookie in the spring race at Talladega.
Chassis: Crew chief Donnie Wingo and the Texaco/Havoline team are taking chassis #006 for this week’s 188-lap race in Talladega. This is not the car Montoya ran in the Daytona 500, but a rebuilt chassis out of the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger stable.
Happy Birthday: Texaco/Havoline crew member Ryan Quann will be celebrating his birthday on Sunday. Quann is pit support for Montoya on Sunday’s and hails from Richmond, Va.
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.
