Juan Pablo Montoya not surprised he's in top 12 approaching halfway point

By SceneDaily Staff
Friday, July 03, 2009
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya is 12th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Saturday's race at Daytona International Speedway. (David Griffin / NASCAR Scene)

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya is 12th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Saturday's race at Daytona International Speedway.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Juan Pablo Montoya is inside the top 12 as the halfway point of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season arrives this weekend.

At this time last year? He was 20th.

So when he was asked if his cars at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing were better than the ones he had last year, Montoya didn't blink.

"Oh yeah, of course," he said, then turned the interview into a discussion of how much cars really matter in racing.

He used Formula One as an example, where last year's champion Lewis Hamilton has plummeted in the standings this year, while surprising Jenson Button has won seemingly every race.

"Do you think Lewis Hamilton that won the championship last year just forgot how to drive or do you think Jenson Button just out of the blue just learned how to drive?" Montoya said. "Drivers at this level – all the drivers are good. The good drivers are good whether they are here or Formula One, whatever, you name it.

"You need to have good equipment to win, it’s that simple. Is our equipment better than last year? Yeah, it’s a lot better. Can it be better? Yes, of course and we’re learning."

Montoya continues to points-race every week in hopes that a high average finish will be good enough to get him into the Chase For The Sprint Cup. Not many pundits viewed him as a serious contender before the season, but as Montoya said, the team is "shutting a lot of mouths that were saying that we were going to struggle and we’re going to suck.

"We’re good, you know," he said.

That swagger for a team that previously may have lacked confidence should only help carry the momentum as the Chase cutoff point looms closer, Montoya said – especially if the No. 42 car can survive this weekend's race at Daytona.

"Everybody is pumped up that we’re running well and really pumped up that we have a realistic chance of making the Chase – not by luck, but by pure speed," he said. "I think that’s very important and I think that if we can run a little bit better then people can start smelling wins. Then they are going to get even more excited.”
 

Mentioned Drivers: Juan Pablo Montoya

Comments

4 responses to "Juan Pablo Montoya not surprised he's in top 12 approaching halfway point ". Post a Comment.
  1. 1
    NickDizzle7 said:
    Jul 3, 2009 at 3:44 PM

    Pretty remarkable that he's in the Chase despite no top 5's all season. But I think he'll get one on Saturday night. He better, i'm keeping him on my fantasy team this week.

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  2. 2
    bthompson133 said:
    Jul 3, 2009 at 8:40 PM

    see jpm when you quit wrecking all the time you get points. lol

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  3. 3
    Anonymous said:
    Jul 3, 2009 at 9:37 PM

    Juan you may not be supprised that you are in the top 12, but I'm sure supprised.

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  4. 4
    LaurieW said:
    Jul 5, 2009 at 8:20 AM

    #2- that's SOOO what I was thinking!

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2009 Sprint Cup Race for the Chase Standings

Driver Standings after the AMP Energy 500

1 Jimmie Johnson 6248
2 Mark Martin -184
3 Jeff Gordon -192
4 Juan Pablo Montoya -239
5 Tony Stewart -279
6 Kurt Busch -312
7 Greg Biffle -340
8 Ryan Newman -402
9 Kasey Kahne -414
10 Carl Edwards -437
11 Denny Hamlin -448
12 Brian Vickers -556

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