Oct 20 2008  Montoya Leads Dodge Charge at Martinsville, Finishes 14th
Results from Martinsville Speedway
1.  Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet
2.  Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet
3.  Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford
14.  Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Big Red® Slim Pack™ Dodge
35.  Reed Sorenson, No. 41 Target Dodge
 
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 19, 2008) – Juan Pablo Montoya drove his No. 42 Big Red Slim Pack Dodge to a 14th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday.  Montoya has finished in the top 20 in each of his four starts at the Virginia short track and averages a 13th-place finish.  He remains 23rd in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but has gained ground on the cars in front of him.  He sits just 124 points out of 20th.

Rain canceled qualifying for the 10th time this season, so the Big Red Slim Pack Dodge lined up 24th on the starting grid.  Montoya was quick in Saturday’s practice sessions, but would be marred in traffic at the start of the race.  The team worked on the car during a pit stop on lap 30 that helped the handling on the No. 42 Dodge and Montoya began to work his way through the field from the 24th position.  When the yellow flag waved at lap 60, he was up to the 17th spot.

Montoya broke into the top 10 on lap 131 and would continue to run in the top 20 as different pit strategies shuffled the field through the first half of the race.  Montoya began to complain about the brakes around lap 231 and dropped back to 27th.  The leader was just two cars back at the midpoint of the race, but the caution waved six laps later keeping Montoya on the lead lap.  Racing resumed on lap 267 and Montoya again drove up through the field from 24th.  By lap 363, Montoya was running 17th with the leader in his rear view mirror.  Eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson got around Montoya five laps later to put the No. 42 Dodge down a lap.

Despite being in position to get his lap back on several occasions, the caution flag never waved in Montoya’s favor.  Montoya was still running in the top 20 in the Big Red Slim Pack Dodge, and was 16th with 50 laps to go.  There were just 13 cars remaining on the lead lap when the final caution waved on lap 497 setting up a green-white-checkered finish.  Montoya was able to overtake the No. 10 car in the final two laps to bring his car home in the 14th position.

Montoya and the crew head to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend for the Pep Boys Auto 500 on Sunday, Oct. 26 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC.
Montoya Quote:  “We were really good on short runs.  On long runs, we struggled just a bit with all the traffic.  That’s what really hurt us.  The car was fast at times; other times it was just really tough to pass.  Not a bad day for our Big Red Slim Pack Dodge though.”