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Montoya Finishes 24th in ARCA Finale at Iowa Speedway

NEWTON, Iowa (October 15, 2006) Juan Pablo Montoya didn't waste much time at the start of the 250-lap ARCA RE/MAX Championship Series race at Iowa Speedway Sunday, negotiating traffic and taking the lead from the third starting spot on just Lap 5. The Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates pilot led the next 12 circuits of the 7/8-mile tri-oval, but contact on the frontstretch with the second-place No. 61 car on Lap 19 brought out the yellow flag and sent the Colombian behind the wall with extensive right-side damage.

After losing 40 crucial laps as a result of the incident, Montoya and the No. 4 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Charger dropped to 40th, but remained competitive and finished 24th.

"What happened today was okay because we're learning," said Montoya. "Good results just don't happen overnight, and we will stay upbeat about our progress. We are here competing in these races for experience and to get comfortable with the cars. These kinds of things are going to happen - that's just the way it is. The crew did an excellent job repairing the car, and I was able to continue and gain that valuable experience of running in traffic, passing and understanding the car."

Montoya and the Texaco/Havoline team continued the fight, albeit a number of laps down, but managed to run clean for the remainder of the 190 laps, picking up 16 spots to finish 24th.

More testing awaits Montoya as he is scheduled to get behind the wheel of one of CGRFS' NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Dodge Chargers at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 17-18. The HMS test is the final session of the NASCAR-determined testing schedule for 2006. Montoya's CGRFS teammates Casey Mears (Oct. 16-17), Reed Sorenson (Oct. 16-17) and David Stremme (Oct. 17-18) will be testing at the 1.5-mile speedway in preparation for the NEXTEL Cup Series season finale on Nov. 19.

About Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (http://www.chipganassiracing.com/), based in Concord, N.C., currently operates four full-time race teams in two of NASCAR's national touring divisions; three in the NEXTEL Cup Series with drivers Casey Mears (No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge), Reed Sorenson (No. 41 Target Dodge) and David Stremme (No. 40 Coors Light Dodge and No. 40 Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon Dodge), and one in the Busch Series with Sorenson (No. 41 Discount Tire Dodge).

-Please visit Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates at http://www.chipganassiracing.com/-
 
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