“…He nearly wrecked me, and I nearly wrecked him in the process—we both lost.”
–South Florida-resident Juan Pablo Montoya, on tangling with NASCAR’s Mark Martin on the last lap at Chicagoland Saturday night
In his bid to make the Sprint Cup Chase playoffs for a second consecutive year, Juan Pablo Montoya had a frustrating 16th-place finish last night at Chicagoland Speedway—Race 19 of 36 en route to NASCAR’s series-crowning Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 19-21.
The South Florida resident tangled late with fan-favorite Mark Martin, and after the race the No. 5 of Hendrick Motorsports parked his car adjacent to Montoya’s Earnhardt Ganassi Racing hauler. The two drivers had words, with Montoya reportedly offering the driver of the No. 5—he of the 40 career Sprint Cup victories—driving lessons.
“I gave him room out of [Turn] 4, and we got into Turn 1 and he got into my door and he nearly wrecked me, and I nearly wrecked him in the process—we both lost,” said Montoya. “I don’t understand. He just ran the [expletive] out of me on the last lap running for [expletive] 15th place.
“We’ve been pretty good there in the past, and we needed a good performance,” Montoya said of racing in the Windy City.
Due to an inordinate amount of on-track issues, Montoya finds himself 242 points out of the coveted 12th spot for NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup. He has seven races to make up that deficit and be in the field that qualifies to contend for the 2010 Sprint Cup Championship on Nov. 21 at Montoya’s “home track” of Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is worth noting that at this time last year, he rattled off nine Top 10s in a span of 14 races to vault from 15th to a Chase spot.
Montoya has started all 19 of the Sprint Cup races this season but has fallen victim to engine woes 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 two 2010 races 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 at Indianapolis on July 25 (12 noon ET, TNT-TV, MRN Radio)—Race 20 of 36 en route to NASCAR’s series-crowning Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 19-21.