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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
SPENCER: Montoya’s Mistake
Montoya made a mistake … a monumental one that probably cost him a Brickyard 400 win...
Jimmy Spencer  |  Posted July 30, 2009  
Jimmy Spencer calls it like he sees it on SPEED. (Photo: SPEED)
I don’t pull for any particular driver but I was devastated to see Juan Pablo Montoya nabbed for speeding Sunday in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard after dominating most of the race.

But Montoya made a mistake … a monumental one that probably cost him a Brickyard 400 win.

Screw-ups are an inherent component of racing, especially this season when NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers with the fewest number of mistakes will be the ones who qualify for the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup, which is shaping up to feature a bizarre and unexpected line-up.

Montoya doesn’t falter very often but I partially fault his team for Sunday’s debacle. I was listening to Montoya’s radio transmission and the team didn’t update him on the number of seconds lead he had on the nearest competitor. They should have relayed to Montoya during that last pit stop that he had at least a four-second cushion on the second-place guy, to take it easy and watch his speed. But all I heard was “We can get him – go, go, go.” It only takes one mile-per-hour to lose the Brickyard. Sure, Montoya was the one mashing the gas, but I also blame the crew.

The good news for Montoya is that he salvaged an 11th-place finish and remains in Chase contention in 10th. Errors like his often spell disaster for teams but the No. 42 Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing organization recovered nicely. However, too many more incidents such as this and Montoya will find himself on the outside looking in. As tight as the points battle is from about fifth on back to 15th place, teams must minimize or completely eliminate any flubs to make the Chase. Whoever thought Kyle Busch, with three wins, would be in 14th place, currently out of the Chase? With six races remaining until the field is set for the championship battle, teams must execute trouble-free races.

At this point, we’re looking at the best pool of drivers and teams eligible for the championship battle that we’ve seen in years. The diversification of winners, teams and first-time winners is awesome. We’ve got guys in there we never dreamed would contend and we’ve seen some fall out that we thought were a shoe-in, and gaffes played a role in many of these outcomes.


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