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CUP: Things Will Go Bump In The Day
Written by: Jim Pedley
RacinToday.com   http://www.RacinToday.com
11/01/2009
Talladega, AL
 
Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. bump in practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ยป More Photos

Nobody bump drafts in open-wheel racing. Probably because if they did, there wouldn’t be anybody left with whom to bump draft by the end of the race as the entire field would be in the infield care center.

So, you would think that life-long open-wheeler Juan Pablo Montoya would be at a disadvantage in the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway today. And you would think the former Indy 500 winner and Formula One star would be battling the yips as the cars get ready to roll.

Well, no and no to you if that is what you would think.

The promises of bumping at 200 mph, of blocking, of flying into fences, and of Big Ones bounces right off the cool Colombian, he of the omnipresent smirk.

Just another automobile race, he said this week.

“It’s really quiet for most of the day, then, it gets really out of control the last 30 laps,” Montoya said. “It is always exciting. It is always…about picking the right people to be in line with. It is key to have fast cars in your line and people that are willing to push and go to the front. It is important to be with people that aren’t going to do anything crazy, I would say stupid. I think that you just, it gets out of hand pretty easy here and there is always a fine line on how far you can go.”

But blocking, the type which resulted in the horrific wreck at the end of the spring race at Talladega, that must be pretty frustrating, right?

No, again.

“For me, it is not an issue. It is just part of racing. I never heard anybody complain about blocking. Most of the time when somebody blocks here, something bigger happens. When you block in an open wheel car, the guy behind you needs to lift, here, when you block, it is a little bit different.”
—
Fast facts

What: Amp Energy 500
Where: Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway
When:
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
TV: ABC, noon ET
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: 2.66-mile superspeedway
Race distance: 188 laps/500 miles
Estimated pit window: 34-36 laps
Qualifying: Saturday, 12:15 p.m. ET
2008 winner: Tony Stewart
2008 polesitter: Travis Kvapil
2009 polesitter: Jimmie Johnson(based on points)
Points leaders: 1. Jimmie Johnson, 6,098; 2. Mark Martin, 5,980; 3. Jeff Gordon, 5,948; 4. Tony Stewart, 5,906; 5. Juan Pablo Montoya, 5,898; 6. Kurt Busch, 5,858; 7. Ryan Newman, 5,786; 8. Greg Biffle, 5,748; 9. Denny Hamlin, 5,746; 10. Carl Edwards , 5,685; 11. Kasey Kahne, 5,659; 12. Brian Vickers, 5,568.


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