Montoya Settles for a 39th-Place Finish at Watkins Glen
Results from Watkins Glen International
1. Tony Stewart, No.20 Chevrolet
21. David Stremme, No. 40 Coors Light Dodge
28. Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge
39. Juan Pablo Montoya, No.42 Wrigley’s Big Red® Dodge
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (August 12, 2007)–Juan Pablo Montoya was sitting sixth in the Wrigley’s Big Red Dodge when he was hit from behind and sent spinning at Watkins Glen International with less than 20 laps remaining in the final road course race of the season. Montoya’s Dodge collected two other cars during the spin and after a brief confrontation on the track, was looked at and released from the infield care center.
The Big Red Dodge started from the 18th position after rain cancelled qualifying on Friday and the field was set by NASCAR NEXTEL Cup owner points. Montoya broke into the top 10 by lap eight just before the caution waved on lap 10. He told crew chief Donnie Wingo the car was a little tight, but felt pretty good. The team made its first pit stop of the day on lap 24 following a debris caution. The team made an air pressure adjustment before fitting the car with tires and packing it full of fuel. Seven cars elected not to pit, so Montoya took the green flag on lap 25 in the 14th spot.
The Big Red Dodge broke back into the top 10 on lap 33 and sailed around the No’s 5 and 1 cars to take over eighth on lap 37. The leader at the time, and eventual race winner, Tony Stewart spun on lap 45 but the yellow flag did not wave. Montoya’s teammate Reed Sorenson brought out the caution when he was stuck up against the wall on lap 52. Montoya pitted one lap later for tires and fuel.
Racing resumed on lap 54 with the No. 42 Dodge Avenger holding the 10th spot. He moved back up to seventh after several cars that stayed out under the last caution began to fade back into the pack. The caution flag waved again on lap 64 and Wingo told Montoya to remain on the track. Stewart passed Montoya on the restart on lap 67, but the yellow was displayed again. Montoya held the inside line on the restart on lap 72, but was hit from behind by the No. 1 car and the contact sent Montoya spinning. His car collected the No. 31 and No. 29 cars before coming to a stop on the track. Montoya and the driver of the No. 29 car exchanged views of the incident before returning to their cars.
NASCAR red flagged the race to clean up the track, and when the yellow flag was finally displayed the team attempted to repair the car. Montoya returned to the track, but could not get the clutch to work properly and retired from the race. The team was scored in the 39th position, and slipped one spot in the standings to 19th.
On Saturday, Montoya was running in the top 10 in the NASCAR Busch Series race when his car was damaged during the restart on lap 51. The team brought Montoya down pit road following the caution on lap 66 to repair the damaged car. It dropped him back to the tail end of the field when the green flag waved on lap 69. Unfortunately, the car in front of Montoya checked up during the restart. He slowed his car down but was hit from behind and the contact damaged the Big Red Dodge beyond repair. It was the final scheduled Busch race for Montoya and the No. 42 team.
CGRFS Driver Quoteboard
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA “The Wrigley’s Big Red Dodge was a pretty good car today. We had been very conservative to start with. We had a long first gear so restarts were pretty bad. On the last restart I went to the inside to defend the No. 1 car. I guess he didn’t like it that I defended him, and he just spun me. When he spun me, I went backwards into the 29. He got out of the car. I tried to tell him they hit me from behind but he didn’t want to hear my side”