Montoya Produces a Top-10 Finish at the First Road-Course Race of the Season

Sonoma, CA. (June 21, 2010) – Montoya returned to the site of his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win at Infineon Raceway over the weekend. The Target team would endure a lot of on-track beating and banging and rally back from 32nd in the closing laps of the 110 lap race to finish in the 10th position. The top-10 would mark the eighth of the season for the Target team.

In Montoya’s last three appearances at the 1.99-mile raceway, he has produced the highest average finishing position of any active driver with a 4.3 and brought home his first win in the coveted Cup Series in the 2007 event. The Target team looked to guide Montoya and the No. 42 Chevrolet back into victory lane. They unloaded a brand new chassis, the same car that was tested at Virginia International Raceway multiple times by Montoya. The No. 42 would sit in the top-15 in all practice sessions and would qualify in the 14th place position for Sunday’s 350 mile race.

In the always dramatic fashion of road-course racing, Montoya would have to contend with rising track temperatures, grip, and rising emotions throughout the race. The No. 42 was predominately displayed in the top-10 in the first half of the race and crew chief Brian Pattie frequently radioed in, “you’re the fastest car on the track”. As the laps progressed, tempers flared and Montoya found himself in the middle of multiple on-track incidents. With a mangled race car, the Target crew worked to make repairs and adjustments on pit road. Montoya rallied back from the 32nd position on a restart with 23 laps remaining to regain his position in the top-10 when the checkered flag waved. The Target Chevrolet would be credited with 10th-place.

“We worked hard for this 10th-place finish,” Montoya remarked. “When Jeff (Gordon) spun all the guys and we got hit and came into the pits- we couldn't put the left front tires on it and we ended up like 30-something towards the end. But it was fun. This Target Chevrolet was so fast and I had a blast. That's what we need to do is get good finishes and days like this when we can finish well are important."

Next up on the schedule is the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The race will air live on Sunday, June 27th at 1:00 pm (ET) on TNT and radio stations affiliated with PRN.