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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Montoya Kicks It Into High Gear
Juan Pablo Montoya is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 22, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Juan Pablo Montoya is currently fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

For Juan Pablo Montoya, it’s finally time to put the hammer down. And he’s ready for it.

Montoya, the Colombian-born former IndyCar champion and Formula 1 star, spent a frustrating second half of the summer, driving his Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Chevrolet Impala SS just hard enough to solidify a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Unlike the guys who locked themselves into the Chase early, Montoya didn’t make it in until the 26th and final race of NASCAR’s regular season at Richmond International Raceway. That meant he had to be conservative, especially over the final 10 races. He couldn’t make aggressive moves that might result him picking up a couple spots on the track, but risk knocking him back in the field if he didn’t execute properly.

All that changed last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, when the first of 10 Chase races kicked off NASCAR’s playoff round. Montoya’s Chevrolet was the fastest in all three practice rounds for the Sylvania 300, where he sat on the pole and led the most laps before getting outfoxed by Mark Martin on a late-race restart. He finished the race third behind Martin and Denny Hamlin.

And Montoya expects to race just as hard over the final nine races of the year.

“For the Chase, you know, we have to bring our A Game, and we did,” he said. “There's no holding back, nothing, we have to go. We have to try to go every week. Some weeks are going to be better than others, but time to go.”

Montoya did indeed go at New Hampshire, where he looked like he was shot out of a cannon. He clearly had the best car all weekend, as he did in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July, when he finished 11th after leading 116 of 160 laps.

A big part of the challenge for Montoya, crew chief Brian Pattie and the rest of the EGR squad will be sealing the deal on race day — making sure if they have the fastest car to put it in victory lane, something they’ve been unable to do for more than two years.


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