Juan Pablo Montoya had just about everything going for him on Sunday.
He knew the racetrack, so he was familiar and comfortable.
His crew brought a strong car, which they proceeded to adjust the heck out of throughout the race. He even caught a couple of breaks, blowing a tire but not until he was already on pit road. Rupen Fofaria, ESPN.com
Aug 01
After Montoya—who raced primarily on road courses before arriving in NASCAR—had his top finish on an oval at Indy, he said he is chasing the postseason.
‘‘I tell you the truth,’’ he said, ``if you could get this type of finish the next two races, then you have a chance. If we get to next weekend and have an average weekend, then you’re out.’‘
The next few weeks might favor Montoya’s strengths. The circuit races at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on Sunday, a track that is similar to Indy in that it has varying shaped corners. SARAH ROTHSCHILD, MiamiHerald.com
July 30, 2007
It was the best oval finish of Montoya’s brief career and the best finish for a rookie at Indianapolis since stock cars began racing here 14 years ago.
“This is the most fun I’ve had so far in this,” Montoya said as he leaned against his car on pit road. “The Indy 500 was very special to me, but we really cruised to the victory. Nobody could touch us. It was by ourselves.
“Here, to get the second place, we had to fight for it. It was exciting.”
July 30, 2007
Q. Juan Pablo, how are you looking at the rest of the season right now? Is the Chase still a possibility coming off a finish like this?
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA: I tell you the truth, if you could get this kind of finish the next two races, then you have a chance. You know, if we get to next weekend, you have an average weekend, then you out.
You know, it doesn’t mean we’re going to give up. I think we’re going to go more forward to try to get wins than try to get into the Chase.
July 30, 2007
“The track, to learn, is pretty simple,” said Montoya, a top-five competitor most of the day. “I found it pretty simple when I came here the first time. I think it worked pretty good.”
Sorenson, meanwhile, relished his fourth-place finish after earning his first pole, capping a good two weeks for the second-year driver. He posted his first Busch Series victory of the season last week near St. Louis and was coming off a 12th-place in the Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway.
July 30, 2007
“I think we’re getting there,” said Montoya, who won last month’s road race at Infineon Raceway. “It shows where the team is going. It shows that the potential is there. But it’s a little bit like my season. We’re going to go to places where we’re going to still [stink] and we’re going to have places where we’re going to do really well.”
Montoya moved to 18th in the season standings and is 200 points out of the last spot for the Chase with six races left. He admits he’s a long shot to make the Chase.
By Dustin Long, The Roanoke Times
July 30, 2007
For the L?pez family, watching the Nextel Cup race from Indianapolis yesterday was all about Juan Pablo Montoya.
And when the four-hour race was over, they had reason to cheer. Montoya finished second in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
July 30, 2007
When Montoya signed up with NASCAR, Santacoloma stopped following him. And when Montoya said NASCAR is more exciting and that he would never return to Formula One, it further isolated such fans as Santacoloma.
“For us, NASCAR is not in the same category as Formula One,” he said. “For us, Montoya, instead of moving up, went down.
“It’s like [David] Beckham leaving Europe’s soccer and coming to the United States [to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy].”
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