Juan Pablo Montoya
Watkins Glen Advance
Race: Centurion Boats at The Glen on Sunday, August 12
Track: Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile road course)
Location: Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Juan Pablo Montoya and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Team Facts:
Wrigley’s Weekend: Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 Dodge Avenger in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and his No. 42 Dodge Charger in the NASCAR Busch Series will carry the colors of Wrigley’s Big Red this weekend at Watkins Glen International. This weekend marks the second time Montoya’s Cup car has carried the Big Red logo, he previously ran this paint scheme at Chicagoland. Next weekend the car returns to the black and red of Texaco/Havoline for Michigan. There is one additional race for Big Red, which is Labor Day weekend at California Speedway.
Standings: Montoya and the No. 42 team remain 18th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup standings following their 16th-place run at Pocono Raceway. Despite the top-20 finish the team now sits 267 points out of 12th, the final transfer spot into The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. Montoya is just 51 points out of 15th and has accumulated one win, three top-five and four top-10 finishes this season.
History in the Making: Montoya will look to make NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series history this Sunday at Watkins Glen International by becoming the first driver to win on three road courses in the same season. So far this year, Montoya won road-course events in the NASCAR Busch Series (Mexico City) and in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series (Infineon), becoming only the third NASCAR driver to ever post two road course wins in different series in the same year. Ernie Irvan in 1992 at Infineon, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series; Watkins Glen, NASCAR Busch Series; and Darrell Waltrip in 1986 at Riverside, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series; Road Atlanta, NASCAR Busch Series have also accomplished that feat.
Rookie Race: Montoya earned the NEXTEL Cup Raybestos® Rookie of the Race honors for the 10th time this season at Pocono Raceway. He extended his lead over David Ragan in the Raybestos® Rookie standings and now has a 26-point advantage (211-185) following his 16th-place finish last weekend. Montoya was the first rookie to win a race at the road course in Sonoma, and hopes to achieve the same feat this weekend. Ryan Newman came close when he finished second at Watkins Glen in 2002.
Chassis: Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the No. 42 team are bringing chassis #742 to Watkins Glen International. The team tested this car at VIR two weeks ago. The chassis Montoya drove to victory lane (chassis #741) will be the back-up car this weekend.
All Access: Montoya and the No. 42 team will be one of the featured teams on DIRECTV’s NASCAR Hotpass for the NEXTEL Cup race in Watkins Glen. The Hotpass subscription allows fans to follow Montoya and the team throughout the entire race with in-depth reporting, real time statistics and live race audio. Montoya will be featured on channel 795 on Sunday.
In addition, Montoya and the team will also 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 team.
Good Morning and Good Evening: Montoya and his wife Connie Montoya will be guests on ABC’s Good Morning America on Wednesday, August 15 promoting ABC’s NASCAR in Primetime Special. The ABC News crew spent weeks with Montoya at the track and obtained minute-by-minute footage of his victory in Sonoma. The program took a glimpse into the lives of several drivers including Montoya and his Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammate David Stremme. The show captured his life away from the track, on the golf course and at home in Miami with his wife and children. The six-week, six-episode program premieres Wednesday, August 15 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
