JUAN PABLO MONTOYA :: Juan Pablo Montoya Fan Site :: View topic - #15 'Heluva Good! Dips 400', Michigan, 13th Jun

Nürburgring 24h Champion

Lets hope for a Heluva good race!

IRL Champion

Hmm...Michigan used to be a horrible track for Juan - the June 2008 race there remains the worst race I have ever seen him have - 38th through simply being way off the pace. Last year's P6 was a huge breakthrough result in comparison, even though there's nothing especially unusual about the track.

I'm worried that in recent weeks the car speed during races has been pretty mediocre and Juan has seemingly lost motivation. Disappointing as there's two road courses and Indy in the not too distant future....it just feels there's something missing at the moment.

F1 driver

Juan can't get frustrated in this race. I almost want the team to just make his car terrible in practice, so that he's happy when the race comes. Lets just keep gaining! Last week was a rare occurance, where an 8th place finish only gains you 3 points on the chase... I think the team could come 8th in every race from here to the chase and still make it, but obviously, I want a "W" right now. I care more about getting that out of the way than I do the chase. I think if Juan can win any race at all, this bickering and giving up will go away.
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Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Formula BMW Driver

Hopefully he can continue a string of good finishes. Besides Tony Stewart, I want JPM in the Chase a lot. Would be fun to watch for him to prove others wrong and make it in.
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Champ Car Champion

Just to keep the spirits a little high, this video of him in the past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25bHlzCbLuA&feature=related
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F1 driver

Michigan International Speedway Advance Notes

Race: HELUVA GOOD! SOUR CREAM DIPS 400 on Sunday, June 13
Track: Michigan International Speedway (2.0-mile oval)
Location: Brooklyn, Mich.

Earnhardt Ganassi Media Contacts at Michigan International Speedway
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS)
Shayna Keller No. 42 Target Chevrolet

NOTES

Juan Pablo Montoya and No. 42 Target Team

Michigan History: Montoya has made six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Michigan International Speedway. His average start is 18th and average finish is 26th. Montoya’s best race at the two-mile track came in this event last season when he qualified seventh and came home with a sixth- place finish. Montoya also completed all laps (400) raced in 2009 at the track.

Did You Know?: Juan Pablo Montoya is no stranger to success at Michigan International Speedway. He competed at the two-mile oval in the CART Series in 1999 where he started third, led for 28 laps and finished on the podium in second place. In the July 2000 CART race he drove to Victory Lane for Chip Ganassi Racing. Montoya started the race from the seventh position and led 39 laps before taking the checkered flag.

Last Weekend: Juan Pablo Montoya and the Target team were able to rebound and pull out a top-10 finish last Sunday in Pocono. The team overcame a rain delay, concerns about handling, and a pit road penalty to come back with a solid eighth-place finish. The top-10 finish marked the seventh of the season for the Target team.

2010 in the Numbers: The eighth-place finish at Pocono marked Montoya’s seventh top-10 finish of the 2010 season. To date Montoya and the Target team have four top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 14 races this season. He has an average starting spot of 14th and finishing position of 20th. Last year, Montoya amassed only seven top-five finishes throughout the entire 2009 season.

Michigan Native: Michigan International Speedway marks a homecoming for front-tire carrier Eric Bilyeu. Bilyeu, a native of Waterford, Mich., grew up approximately 80 miles from the track. He attended college and played Hockey at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Bilyeu got his start in NASCAR five years ago after reading a story in NASCAR Scene about the Ganassi Racing pit crews. He sent in a resume and became one of the first members of the team’s pit crew development program.

Target Commits to Learning: To help combat child hunger and its threat to K-12 education and impact on learning, this year Target is making a financial commitment of $2.3 million to Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief organization, and local hunger organizations to fund a school food pantry pilot program and its future expansion to more schools nationwide. In addition, Target is committing $1.2 million on top of the $2.3 million, to local food banks across the country to support other school-based food programs. The company also is projected to donate more than 20 million pounds of food to children and families in need in 2010.

CHASSIS INFO

No. 42 Target Chevrolet (NSCS): Chassis #1015. Crew Chief Brian Pattie will bring a brand new Chassis #1015 to Michigan International Speedway.
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Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Champ Car Champion

I thought this was noteworthy and quite honestly had forgotten:

IRL Champion

I was wondering what chassis Brian would bring since the other candidates (#819 and #906) have probably been written off after the Texas/Showdown wrecks. Let's hope this time a new car brings some good fortune...

Agree SQ about the top-5/top-10 stats....lest we forget also over the whole of 2007 and 2008 (72 races) Juan had just 5 top-5s and 9 top-10s. Just shows how painful the disaster races have been with the way the points system works.

Formula Vauxhall champion

Practice 1 is in the books JPM fastest with a very good average time too. Going out 35th in qualifying.

Nürburgring 24h Champion

IRL Champion

Rain is in the area though - I believe first practice was curtailed 20 minutes from the end. However it sounds like it should be dry for qualifying.

Formula Vauxhall champion

qualified 10 with only go or go homers left. Not terrible, but i would have liked to see something better with 1st in practice. Was he in race trim a lot for that practice?

F1 driver

F1 driver

Pitting beside the #34 and the #29. Hopefully both go a lap down early.
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Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Formula Vauxhall champion

I'm sure the 34 will but don't count on the 29 to be lapped. In other news the car was not very fast in the two practices today. Hopefully that means fast during the race since lately JPM has been fast in practice and struggled in the race.