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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Montoya Looking For Reversal Of Fortune
The good news for Juan Pablo Montoya is that this year he’s outshone both every former open-wheel racer in the Sprint Cup Series and his two teammates at Chip Ganassi Racing.
Tom Jensen  |  Posted April 26, 2008   Talladega, Ala.
Juan Pablo Montoya will be live on SPEED's Raceday from Talladega. (John Harrelson/Getty Images Photo)

The good news for Juan Pablo Montoya is that this year he’s outshone both every former open-wheel racer in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and his two teammates at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

For Montoya, who will be one of the live guests on SPEED’s RaceDay on Sunday, the bad news is that his season has come up well short of expectations. Yes, Montoya is 17th in points, ahead of teammates Reed Sorenson (31st) and Dario Franchitti (38th) and fellow open-wheel expatriates Sam Hornish Jr. (33rd) and Patrick Carpentier (41st).

But with nearly one fourth of the Sprint Cup season complete, Montoya hasn’t scored a single top-10 finish or a single top-10 qualifying spot. His top qualifying effort was 11th at Texas, while his best finish was 13th at Martinsville Speedway, not exactly the kind of results he or car owner Chip Ganassi envisioned.

About the only bright spot for Montoya this season is that he’s stayed out of trouble, completing 2,694 of a possible 2,699 laps this year, fifth-best in the Sprint Cup Series. And there is no question about the Colombia native’s ability behind the wheel.

Rather, the Ganassi organization as a whole has been off the pace this season, leading their team owner to launch a couple of blistering tirades in recent weeks and to flip-flop crew chiefs for Montoya and Sorenson, sending Jimmy Elledge to Montoya’s No. 42 Dodge and Donnie Wingo to Sorenson’s No. 41.

“I really feel that these changes can be instrumental in moving Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates to the next level,” Ganassi said in announcing the move last week. “I have a lot of respect for both Donnie and Jimmy and the jobs that they do, and they both agree that this move can be very beneficial to the entire organization. I have said all along that I believe us to be a championship organization and that Felix and I will do whatever we can to make us better. This is toward that end.”

Will the changes improve Montoya’s fortunes? This Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway might not be the best indicator of how the team will run in the coming weeks, but he certainly will be hoping for a good run to get things headed in the right direction.

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



SPEED will televise the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race XXIV and the NASCAR Sprint Showdown live on May 17, as well as provide more than 90 hours of support programming prior to the event. Stay tuned to SPEEDtv.com for frequent updates on the history of the event and all the details about this year’s action.
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