“I battled really strong and hard with Juan Pablo, and it’s just a sign of how they’ve turned their program around.”
–Jeff Gordon, four-time Sprint Cup Champion, on South Florida-resident Juan Pablo Montoya, who will start 22nd for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race after today’s qualifying session was rained out
With rain washing out today’s qualifying session for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville, South Florida resident Juan Pablo Montoya will start 22nd, per the points standings. Sunday’s competition is Race 6 of the 2010 Sprint Cup season, which culminates at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Ford Championship Weekend (Nov. 19-21). Kevin Harvick is on the pole at Martinsville.
When asked who might be most disappointed by today’s rain cancelling qualifying, four-time Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon didn’t hesitate: “I’ll tell you, Juan Pablo was really strong here the last time, and he looked good in practice today. I expect if anybody is disappointed with qualifying [getting cancelled], it’s probably him….He’s strong, and I think he had a shot at qualifying up front and running good here.
“He’s still going to be tough in the race,” Gordon continued. “But I would say that he’s probably toward the top of the list….I just know the last time I battled really strong and hard with Juan Pablo, and it’s just a sign of how they’ve turned their program around and how he’s really learned the tracks on the circuit.”
Sunday’s race at Martinsville begins at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on FOX TV.