Miami’s Juan Pablo Montoya and his team needed some time to get up to full speed Friday. When they did, they ended up winning the pole for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race Saturday night at Richmond. Montoya has two pole position starts this sesason, a good sign for the Miami resident looking to be racing for the Sprint Cup Championship on his home track Nov. 20.
“It’s exciting. We unloaded this morning and it was a bit of a headache getting the car to run at the beginning,” Montoya said after turning a fast lap at 128.639 mph.”To come here and get it done is exciting.”
Montoya earned his second No. 1 starting spot of the season, his seventh overall and the first of his career on a track shorter than a mile.
The good fortune came to an end for Montoya in the race.“Boys Have at It” hasn’t really been a part of the 2011 season as much as it was last year. But Ryan Newman and Montoya changed that Saturday night. The two have been feuding since last season’s Championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway and after Newman made contact with Montoya early in the race the favor was returned – in kind – later. The battle continued on pit road and in a war of words over the radio and after the race. Although it’s been a pretty competitive season, a dash of bad blood will keep things interesting on road to the South Florida Championship finale Nov. 20.
The incident between Montoya and Newman on Lap 238 of 400 spoiled a possible Top10 finish for both drivers. Newman was running in eighth place at the time of the wreck and limped home to a 20th-place finish. Montoya finished 29th but remains in the Top 12 in the Sprint Cup Series standings.
After the race Newman went to discuss the situation with Montoya but the two never did meet face to face. While Newman walked toward his hauler, Montoya left the infield on a golf cart.
“We were running solidly in the top 10, but when Ryan got hit that doomed any chance of a top-10 or top-five finish,” said crew chief Tony Gibson. “It was an unnecessary hit and we’re not happy about what happened. We will battle on and get the results that we deserve for our Army Strong Soldiers.”
Gibson and Newman voluntarily went to the NASCAR trailer after the race to discuss the incident with NASCAR officials.
“I was intentionally crashed and it ruined our day,” said a frustrated Newman to a gathering of media as he was leaving the NASCAR trailer.
The 20th-place finish resulted in Newman dropping one spot — from seventh to eighth — in the Sprint Cup Series Championship standings which will culminate at Homestead-Miami Speedway Nov. 20.
Richmond had its version of “The Big One” on Lap 301 when a multi-car accident broke out after Clint Bowyer clipped Matt Kenseth and then set off a chain reaction that swept up several others including four-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Jeff Gordon who slid and made hard contact with the inside retaining wall on the backstretch.
“It knocked the wind out of me,” Gordon said. “With 100 to go, everyone is losing their patience — including me.
Kyle Busch scored his third straight spring race victory at Richmond International Raceway with a dominating performance.
Busch outran his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin to the checkered flag to score his second win of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season and 21st of his career.
“This is pretty awesome,” Busch said. “Man, it’s so fun to win the Sprint Cup races. This race tonight was a good one.
“We had a really, really good car. We knew if we could get through traffic better than (Hamlin) than I knew we could win. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going.”
Hamlin was closing in the final laps but was also in danger of running out of fuel.
“It’s tough when you share notebooks,” said Hamlin, who won his late model charity event on Thursday night as well as Friday’s Nationwide Series race. “Every trick in the book, you know they’ve got it, too.
Homestead-Miami Speedway
