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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Montoya On The Pole At New Hampshire
Juan Pablo Montoya will start from the pole in Sunday’s Sylvania 300..
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 18, 2009   Loudon, NH
Juan Pablo Montoya qualifies first for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Juan Pablo Montoya qualifies first Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Juan Pablo Montoya got a big leg up on his hopes for a NASCAR Sprint Cup championship by claiming the pole for Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Montoya blasted around the 1.058-mile NHMS oval with a lap of 133.431 miles per hour in his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Impala SS. It was Montoya’s second career Sprint Cup pole and it came in his 100th attempt.

His pole-winning lap was nearly two-tenths of a second faster than second-qualifier Tony Stewart, who ran 132.581 mph in his Stewart-Haas Racing Chevy.

Qualifying on Row 2 were the Penske Racing Dodge Charger of Kurt Busch, who ran an identical speed to Stewart’s but will start third because of points, and Denny Hamlin. Carl Edwards was fifth in the first of the Roush Fenway Racing Fords, followed by David Stremme in a second Penske car and Martin Truex Jr. in another EGR entry. Completing the top 10 were Bobby Labonte, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon.

Among the other drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Kasey Kahne was 11th, Mark Martin 14th, Jimmie Johnson, 16th,
Ryan Newman 18th, Greg Biffle 22nd and Brian Vickers 27th.

Early on, Hamlin, the fourth of 45 drivers to set a time on the afternoon, put his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at the top of the speed charts with a lap of 132.030 mph. That time stood until Montoya went out 29th and bested him by a whopping 0.303 seconds. Subsequently, Hamlin’s time was also eclipsed by Stewart and Busch.

Although Montoya has just two top-five finishes this season, his team is ready, the Colombian-born driver said. “We’re going to be bringing our best cars every week to make sure that we don’t leave anything on the table,” said Montoya. “ … The team is incredible. They’re pumped up, they’re excited and they can see that we can do it. We’re competitive and they see that so it’s nice.”

As for Hamlin, the Virginia native believes his team can go the distance and win it all this year. “We’re racing for wins more often than what we were,” said Hamlin, who won last Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. “In years past, I’ve competed for probably five to six race wins. … Now, it’s more like every single week we’re in the top two or three cars and have a chance to win.”

And that, Hamlin said, should translate into more victories on top of the two he’s already posted this year.

“Ultimately, when you have more chances to win, you’re going to win more,” he said. “Just our opportunities, we have more chances to win. That’s why I’m confident that, hey, we can win at least one or two more races before the end of the year.”

Two drivers failed to qualify: Dexter Bean and Derrike Cope.

SYLVANIA 300 QUALIFYING RESULTS

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief 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 television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. 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




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