Juan Pablo Montoya suffers another heartbreaking loss in Brickyard 400
Juan Pablo Montoya heads to the garage after a late-race wreck at Indy. // LaDon George, NASCAR Illustrated
INDIANAPOLIS – Juan Pablo Montoya was a bit frantic as he restarted seventh with 18 laps remaining in the Brickyard 400 Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Montoya had led 86 laps but the choice to take four tires while others took two on the final round of pit stops resulted in him restarting seventh. Having run first or second virtually the entire race, Montoya wasn’t used to running in traffic.
“I can’t do anything,” Montoya screamed on his radio. “I can’t do anything!”
A lap later, he spun on his own while trying to pass Carl Edwards and crashed into the wall. And moments after that, Dale Earnhardt Jr. hit him from behind and, just like that, Montoya’s quest for his first Cup win in more than three years and first ever on an oval was over.
“I hit a ton,” Montoya said. “It just sucks up there [in the high groove].”
Montoya took his car to the garage with 15 laps remaining and left the track without talking to reporters. He was credited with a 32nd-place finish and his seventh DNF of the season.
“I know he’s mad,” said team owner Chip Ganassi, who did not talk to Montoya after the race. “I’m sure he’s mad, but he’s over it. It’s racing. This is what he does for a living.”
It was the second consecutive heartbreaking finish at Indy for Montoya, who led 116 laps last year but a late speeding penalty resulted in an 11th-place finish.
This year’s disappointment probably was much more difficult to take. If only he had taken two tires on his last pit stop, he likely would have come out with the lead.
“Bad call,” crew chief Brian Pattie said. “Crew chief error. We should have taken two tires.”
The only consolation for the No. 42 team was that their teammate, Jamie McMurray, won the race.
“I would guess that they’re not shocked by what’s happened today because it seems like they’ve had a lot of bad luck,” McMurray said. “I don’t know what happened to him. Honestly, I didn’t even know he was involved in a wreck until under that caution I saw him walking out of his car.”
