“It was just one of deals where I’m not surprised; coming from Reed I wasn’t surprised, to be honest.”
—South Florida-resident Juan Pablo Montoya, who was in contention for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup race win until late-race contact with Reed Sorenson
South Florida-resident Juan Pablo Montoya captured his first pole of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season Friday at New Hampshire in looking to make up ground in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship standings. But it was not to be, as NASCAR journeyman Reed Sorenson slid into Montoya late in the race as the two were racing side-by-side in Turn 3. The contact sent the pole-sitting No. 42 hard into the wall and out of the race.
Said Montoya: “I don’t know, they told me [Sorenson] turned right. I don’t know….It is a shame because everybody is a lap down. I am running around the outside. I’m not bumping, I’m not making it tight, and he turns right before he braked. It was just one of deals where I’m not surprised; coming from Reed I wasn’t surprised, to be honest.”
Montoya also had contact on multiple occasions with Jeff Gordon, who will be seeking his fifth Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway this fall. “The guy that really messed me up was the No. 24,” Montoya added. “…It was the end of the race, and nobody gives you any room and that is what happens….He just didn’t give me any room, he never does. He has it coming one day.”
Montoya is currently 183 points outside the Top 12 overall points cut-off to qualify for the Sprint Cup “playoffs” that culminate on his “home track” in Miami this November. He has nine races remaining to accomplish the feat. It is worth noting that one year ago, he rattled off nine Top 10s in a span of 14 races to vault from 15th to a Chase spot.
Of his chances to make the Chase, Montoya said over the weekend: “We are looking to finish as high as we can, but we have to finish. We can’t afford to get DNFs. We have really fast race cars every week. We’ve been involved in a lot of wrecks that weren’t my fault. It is part of what racing is.”
Indeed, Montoya has started all 17 races of the Sprint Cup season but has fallen victim to an inordinate amount of engine issues and on-track tangling—which makes the following stat all the more remarkable: The driver of the No. 42 has finished in the Top 10 of all but one 2010 race in which he has completed all scheduled laps. Included in that run for South Florida’s hometown’er are four Top 5s. Montoya’s next opportunity to gain points comes next weekend at Daytona—Race 18 of 36 en route to NASCAR’s series-crowning Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 19-21.