Juan Pablo Montoya pleased with team's progress this season, looking to 2010 success

By SceneDaily Staff

Friday, November 13, 2009

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya is sixth in the Chase For The Sprint Cup standings heading into Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway. (Tim Parks / NASCAR Scene)

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing's Juan Pablo Montoya is sixth in the Chase For The Sprint Cup heading into Sunday's race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Tim Parks
NASCAR Scene

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AVONDALE, Ariz. - Juan Pablo Montoya would like to get a win this season, but the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver doesn't seem overly concerned about the prospect of not having a victory this year.

As he prepares for the final two races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season, Montoya says that his team is focused primarily on maintaining the momentum it has gained since making the field for the Chase For The Sprint Cup. Montoya is sixth in the standings, 236 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, entering the final pair of races. The former Formula One and Indianapolis 500 race winner is in just his third season of stock-car competition, and he seems pleased to be where he is at this point.

Montoya has five top-five finishes in the eight Chase races. But his lone Cup win came at Infineon Raceway in California in 2007.

"We are trying to run as good as we can every week," he said Friday at Phoenix International Raceway, site of Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500. "It doesn't matter whether we are in contention or not. We've got to try to finish as high as we can, as high in points. It's been cool because, I'll be honest with you, last week … I thought we sucked, and we were running fifth.

"So if we can do that and have a good-handling car, and when it sucks [we're] fifth, we're going to give ourselves plenty of chances to try to win some races. It would be nice to try to get a win this year. It's been a great year otherwise, couldn't really ask for more. I think anybody that looked at us at the beginning of the year, they thought we were going to have a horrible year. I believed in them, and they believed in me, and we really pulled together."

It has been quite a transition for the team. Montoya debuted with Chip Ganassi Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006 and ran his first full Cup season the following year. The team merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and shifted to Chevrolets this season, and Montoya and crew chief Brian Pattie picked up significant ground.

Montoya has been as high as third in the standings during the Chase and has more than doubled his career top-five tally, to 12, with his performances this season.

He doesn't spend time looking back, however. Instead, he's enjoying his current season - and already looking toward 2010.

"It has been fun because, I can tell you, it doesn't feel like three years," he said. "It feels like we started doing this yesterday. It has been, I would say, a great three years. Made a lot of progress with the team and everybody involved with the program, and it has been exciting.

"I think the key now is try to keep that momentum going for next year. I think, if we can do that, we'll be pretty decent."