Results from Auto Club Speedway
37.  Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet

Engine Trouble Cuts the Day Short for Montoya in California

 Fontana, Cal. (February 22, 2010) – A promising day for Juan Pablo Montoya suddenly took a turn for the worse on lap 140 when engine woes hit the No. 42 Target Chevrolet and the team was forced back to the garage. The DNF (did not finish) is the first for the Target team since moving to Chevrolet at the beginning of the 2009 season.

 Montoya and teammate Jamie McMurray came out in full force at Auto Club Speedway as the duo lined up on the front row for Sunday’s race. Montoya started in the second position and took the lead on the very first lap of the 250 lap event. The No. 42 Target Chevrolet went on to dominate the first 29 laps. On lap 2, Montoya was clocked at 181.164 mph, He was the quickest of all cars for the entire race earning him the Goodyear "Gatorback Fastest Lap" award. A tight handling condition pushed him back in the field a bit as the laps progressed. Montoya visited pit road a total of five times for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments.

 A pit road penalty would force Montoya to the back of the field on lap 94 and within 20 laps the Target machine was back up in the top-15. As the charge to the front continued, Montoya radioed in some troublesome news on lap 140. The No. 42 Target Chevrolet was experiencing engine trouble and the car was no longer running. The No. 42 was pushed back to the garage area and the team was forced to call it an early day.

 The west coast “swing” continues as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 3:00 pm (ET). The Shelby American will air on FOX and radio stations affiliated with PRN.

http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2010/post_race/highlights/02/21/cup_fon_high_two.nascar/

Auto Club Speedway Advance Notes

Race:  Auto Club 500 on Sunday, February 21
Track:  Auto Club Speedway (2 miles)

Location:      Fontana, Calif.

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team

MEDIA ALERT:  Juan Pablo Montoya will be available in the driver’s meeting room for a brief media Q&A session on Friday, Feb. 19 at 10:45 a.m. ET

California History: Juan Pablo Montoya will be making his seventh NSCS start at the Auto Club Speedway on Sunday afternoon.  Montoya is coming off a track-best finish from the final visit in 2009 where he started fourth and led for 78 laps before finishing third.  He had previously only led for one lap with a best finish of 11th in the first event of 2009.

Last week in Daytona: After a strong performance in the Gatorade Dual, Montoya placed the No. 42 Target machine in the eighth position for the start of the Daytona 500. He would go on to lead two laps and run up in the top-10 for the majority of the 200 lap race. In a wild green/white/checker finish, the Target Chevrolet would finish the day in the 10th position.

Ticket Package: Auto Club Speedway and Montoya have teamed up for a special ticket package for the Auto Club 500 race.  In honor of Juan’s foundation, $42 will go toward Formula Smiles. For $142, the package includes a ticket to the race on Sunday, pre-race pit pass, a Montoya gift and an exclusive Q&A session with the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet.  For more information go to www.autoclubspeedway.com/juanpablo

Team Recognition: Juan Pablo Montoya’s over-the-wall crew won the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award after the Daytona 500.  Montoya’s No. 42 Target Chevrolet spent the least amount of time on pit road at Daytona International Speedway. The outstanding effort contributed to Montoya's top-10 finish in the Sprint Cup season-opener.

West-Coast Natives:  One member of the Target team calls California his home state. Mechanic J.D. Frey grew up in Ferndale, (260 miles north of San Francisco) and has been involved in racing for the last 12 years.

Special Guests:  Extreme Makeover – Home Edition cast members John Littlefield and Ed Sanders will get some track time this weekend as they will be guests of the No. 42 Target team.

CHASSIS INFO

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #906 Pattie and the No. 42 Target team are bringing chassis #906 Auto Club Speedway this weekend. This is a brand new chassis.

TEAM ROSTER

Tony Glover – Team Manager

Steve Hmiel – Director of Competition

No. 42 (NSCS)

Crew Chief:  Brian Pattie, Zephyrhills, FL

Rear Tire Changer:  Chris McMullen, Troutman, NC

Chief Mechanic:  Heath Silver, Asheville, NC

Rear Tire Carrier:  Chip Goode, Statesville, NC

Front Tire Changer:  Trevor Lysne, Fergus Falls, MN

Gas Man:  Mike Bodick, Norwalk, CT

Front Tire Carrier:  Eric Bilyeu, Waterford, MI

Catch Can:  Heath Silver, Asheville, NC

Jack Man:  TJ Ford, Charlotte, NC

Spotter:  Tab Boyd, Pensacola, FL

Daytona 500 Official press release

Results from Daytona International Speedway

1.    Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet

2.    Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet

3.    Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford

10.  Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet

Montoya Kicks Off the 2010 Season with a Top-10 Finish

Daytona Beach, FL. (February 15, 2010) – The “Great American Race” marked the official kick off of the 2010 season for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. After a strong performance in the Gatorade Dual, Montoya placed the No. 42 Target machine in the eighth position for the start of the Daytona 500. He would go on to lead two laps and run up in the top-10 for the majority of the 200 lap race. In a wild green/white/checker finish the Target Chevrolet would finish the day in the 10th position.

43 drivers took to the high banks of Daytona Sunday afternoon in pursuit of the Harley J. Earl trophy. Montoya, looking for his first oval track win, was poised to be a top contender for the victory. The No. 42 lined up in the fourth row and was displayed as the lap leader by lap 13. As cars began to shuffle in and out of the draft, Montoya stayed in the mix throughout the race. The No. 42 Target Chevrolet visited pit road a total of four times for minor adjustments, four tires and fuel.

The closing laps of the Daytona 500 would result in three caution flags, three green/white/checker opportunities, and a wild shootout in the final lap. The final caution waved on lap 204 and Montoya sat in the 12th position on the restart. The No. 42 Target Chevrolet was able to gain two spots and give the team a top-10 finish in the first point’s race of the season. Montoya’s teammate, Jamie McMurray, would go on to win the race and give co-owner Chip Ganassi his first Daytona 500 win.

"It was a great day for the team with Jamie (McMurray) winning; that was huge,” Montoya remarked. “We both had good cars and good opportunities. I just got stuck on the bottom when I was running up front and lost a lot of ground. But overall, this is big. Starting the season like this is what we need."

NASCAR heads out west next week to compete at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. The Auto Club 500 will take place Sunday, February 21st at 3:00 pm (ET). The race will air live on FOX and radio stations affiliated with MRN.

It's all in the (NASCAR) family

With Sunday's Daytona 500 kicking off the season, NASCAR dads and their kids recall special moments.

When it comes to the Daytona 500, Michael Waltrip is a two-time champion. But while competing in a Pinewood Derby with his daughter Macy, 12, he's just another clueless dad.

"I thought we had a really hot car," recalls Waltrip, taking a break during a USA WEEKEND Magazine cover shoot with Macy. "But I thought I'd make it faster by shaving the tires a bit. I heard it helped."

"But it didn't, Dad," Macy says. "It was a really slow car."

"Yeah, it was," Waltrip says, with a sheepish grin. "It went right down the race ramp and came to a complete stop halfway through the course."

Waltrip and Macy, as well as our other featured NASCAR dads and kids -- Juan Pablo Montoya and his children, Sebastian, 4, and Paulina, 3; and Jeff Burton and his kids, Paige, 14, and Harrison, 9 -- present a convincing case that NASCAR may be the most family-friendly sport in America. Sure, generations of fathers and their kids have played other pro sports. But in NASCAR, families of the drivers, pit crews and other racing community members travel from track to track, with children enjoying the many "cool" factors of their parents' lifestyle. And, often, those children carry on in the tradition when they get older: Harrison already is experiencing success racing quarter midget cars. And despite being preschool age, Sebastian is a NASCAR expert. "He's so excited to come to the track," Montoya says. "He knows the drivers I race with and all about the car itself. It's amazing to see how much he has soaked in."

All three drivers say the best moments are when a hard-sought win is shared in victory circle with their children. Now that he may be racing in his last Daytona 500, Waltrip is more sentimental than ever about his two wins in that race, the last in 2003. "That moment with her is more important to me now than it was then," he says of Macy. "I had no idea seven years would go by so fast."

NASCAR families try to maintain as much of a sense of normalcy as possible, given the circumstances. The Burton children, for example, go to a local school in North Carolina, where they live and take part in activities with other kids. Paige is a competitive horse rider. She's also a vegetarian, which isn't easy on track weekends, given the wealth of burger and turkey leg stands at the venues. "That's why I take part in the grocery shopping," Paige says. "We buy food and have home-cooked meals in the trailer."

And is Dad also a committed vegetarian?

"No," Paige says, laughing. "I tried to come up with some tofu recipes for him. He tried it for a week. It didn't work out too well."

Cover and photographs for poster montage by Peter Gregoire for USA WEEKEND

http://www.usaweekend.com/article/20100212/ENTERTAINMENT07/100211003/It-s-all-in-the-NASCAR-family