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