Juan Pablo Montoya
Daytona International Speedway Advance Notes
Race: Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 17
Track: Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile superspeedway)
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Team (NSCS)
NOTES
Daytona: Montoya will make his third NASCAR Sprint Cup start at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday for the Daytona 500. Montoya qualified 42nd and will participate in the first Duel race on Thursday night to determine his starting sport for the 50th running of the Great American Race. Montoya finished 20th last year in his inaugural 500. The last time Montoya raced at DIS, he earned his second-consecutive Rolex 24 At Daytona victory with Sprint Cup teammate Dario Franchitti, and Grand American drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.
Pit Stop: Texaco/Havoline®, sponsor for Montoya and the No. 42 race team, provided race fans the opportunity to meet its driver and crew at a local Orlando area Texaco station. Montoya and the team pumped fuel and checked tire pressures for patrons at the Texaco fuel stop on 4115 Town Center Blvd., in Orlando, Fla.
Fans also had the opportunity to win various prizes including: gift cards, autographed Montoya photographs, hats, t-shirts and numerous other Texaco/Havoline No. 42 race team merchandise.
Happy Birthday: Montoya’s crew chief Donnie Wingo celebrated his birthday on Wednesday at Daytona. Wingo and several of his team members spent two days with Montoya and his family at Universal Studios on Monday and Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on Tuesday.
Montoya vs. Sorenson: Montoya and teammate Reed Sorenson each managed a tag team pair for a Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling match on Monday, Feb. 11. Montoya and Sorenson, along with Hermie Sadler and Jimmie Spencer headed to Universal Studios for the television taping for TNA iMPACT!, which will air Thursday, Feb. 14, on Spike TV (9 p.m. ET). Montoya teamed with LAX (the Latin America Exchange) and had a surprise impact on the outcome of the match.
QUOTES
Your thoughts on the season-opener at Daytona and your outlook for the 2008 season…
Juan Pablo Montoya: “It’s really hard to say that we’re going to have a great Daytona 500 or we’re going to struggle at it in the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. Hopefully we have a good race and everything goes really smooth and well. At the same time some things in these races are completely out of your hands. That is part of the excitement of it, you just don’t know what will happen.
“The Daytona 500 is way up there on the list of important races to me. It’s always a big race. There are maybe three or four races in the world and you always want to be in them. I’ve always run pretty well in those pressure-filled, high-profile races and I hope I can make something happen here.
“I think the Daytona 500 is a really cool race. The fans make it what it is more than the drivers do, and that is what’s so great about this sport.”
CHASSIS INFO
No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge (NSCS): Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team brought chassis #750 to Daytona International Speedway for the first race at the 2.5-mile track in the CoT. Montoya piloted this chassis last season at Talladega Superspeedway where he finished the 188-lap contest in the 15th position. Montoya and the team also tested this chassis in February, and while it wasn’t the quicker of the two cars they brought to Florida, it was the most stable and drafted the best.
