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There weren't that many bad calls on timing and pitstops.
Montoya patiently works way to fourth-place finish
By SceneDaily Staff
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Jeff Zelevansky
Getty Images for NASCAR
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Juan Pablo Montoya felt that he had a car capable of winning Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International. But after a string of setbacks this season, he didn't want to push too hard and risk ending his run in a crash.
So he patiently worked with his Chip Ganassi Racing crew chief Brian Pattie, climbing through traffic and finishing fourth. While there might have been some frustration in that finish, the fact of the matter is that Montoya needed a solid finish - and he knew it.
He started 25th in the Centurion Boats at The Glen, endured a setback on pit road when he says he lost some spots not in the stop, but on pit lane, and then moved into the top five.
He says that patience wasn't hard to come by in the road-course event, especially not when most people were racing so cleanly. The race was only halted four times for cautions, with two of those for debris and one for a single-car spin. The fourth and final caution was for a major nine-car pileup.
That happened behind Montoya, so he felt he enjoyed a fairly uneventful outing – and one that accomplished his goal.
"I really wanted to win, but my main focus was to get a good result," he said. "We’ve had so many problems the last few races that we needed to get a good race and try to gain in the driver point standings.”
Two of his four races leading into Watkins Glen ended in accidents and another in an engine failure. Those setbacks had dropped Montoya to 25th in the standings, but he recovered three spots with Sunday's performance.
His crew chief said the top-five was a credit to his group.
"To start 25th here and get a top-five finish is a credit to Juan and the entire team," Pattie said. "We had a fast enough car to win the race, it’s just a little frustrating that we came up a bit short. I love road racing and we have worked really hard to get this team better at it. The guys did a great job building this car and put us in position to win a race.”
Mentioned Drivers: Juan Pablo Montoya
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