Talladega, Ala (October 30, 2010) – Juan Pablo Montoya put his No. 42 Target Chevrolet on the pole at Talladega Superspeedway; and with his second-place qualifying effort, Clint Bowyer, No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet, made it an all-Team Chevy front row for the 188-lap/500-mile race set for Sunday afternoon.
Juan Pablo Montoya - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR
It is Montoya’s second Talladega pole, his third of the season and the fifth pole of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career.
Jeff Burton, No. 31 Cat Financial Chevrolet, qualified fifth to give Team Chevy three of the top-five starters in the 43-car field. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 The Legend of Hallowdega AMP Energy Juice/National Guard Chevrolet, will start sixth, Dave Blaney, No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet and Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, was the eighth fastest qualifier to give Chevrolet six of the top-10 starting positions.
A total of 16 Team Chevy will start the AMP Energy Juice 500.
Kurt Busch (Dodge) and Joe Nemechek (Toyota) complete the top-five qualifiers.
The race is scheduled to start at noon CDT(1:00 p.m. EDT) Sunday with live coverage on ESPN TV, MRN Radio and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128.
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA AND CLINT BOWYER POST QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPTS
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER
PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:
CONGRATULATIONS ON SITTING ON THE POLE FOR TOMORROW’S RACE. THERE IS ONE SPECIAL PERSON WHO WOULD BE VERY PROUD OF YOU TODAY. TALK ABOUT YOUR RUN OUT THERE TODAY.
“It was a good lap. It’s been a weird day with the loss of Jim (Hunter) and I think everybody was a good friend of him and everybody is going to really miss him; I’m going to really miss him. It really sucks. But the team did an amazing. Brian always comes with really good parts here. We always have really good restrictor plate cars. It’s nice to get the pole here in his memory.”
HOW HELPFUL IS THE RUN THAT YOU HAD TODAY CAME EARLY BEFORE THE WINDS PICKED UP? DID YOU NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT WITH CONDITIONS OUT THERE? QUALIYFING WAS RAINED OUT THE LAST TWO TIMES HERE AND YOU WERE THE LAST GUY TO WIN THE POLE THEN
“Oh, yeah; somebody told me that. Yeah, I don’t know. We don’t really think about it. I think if track position at the end if there is going to be a pit stop there and it’s under caution we’re going to have a bit of an advantage and pit out, probably we’re going to pick that I would assume. Apart from that as I said, restrictor plate races, I’ll be honest with you; always the Ganassi cars are really strong. Last time we ran here we finished second and third and we’re looking forward to a good day tomorrow. We’ve got to be there at the end and always there are big wrecks and big thing happens there and hopefully you’re not in it. But it’s what happens. It’s Talladega, I guess.”
YOU ONCE PLAYED A ROUND OF GOLF WITH JIM HUNTER THAT WASN’T ABOUT THE SCORING, IT WAS ABOUT HOW MANY TIMES EITHER ONE OF YOU COULD SAY SOMETHING THE MOST TIMES. DO YOU REMEMBER THAT AND WHO WON?
“With Jim, it was always interesting playing golf with him. I used to joke around with him a lot because he’d never hit the ball that far; I mean not that far, not at all far, to be honest (laughed). But he always was very proud of trying. If you knew Jim with golf I’d say once a month we’ll have a new driver and he was always trying new irons and things and he used to joke around (and say) oh, I found five yards and I found ten yards and this and that and then we would go and play together again and he would get really mad. I could play really good golf. He had no distance but would play really good golf. I’m not joking but no distance is like no distance. But it was fun. It used to really piss him off.”
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET USED TO DRIVING A RACE CAR COMPETITIVELY HERE?
“I think here was, I don’t know if, but whatever it is, I was more comfortable here than anywhere else. From day one I’ve always been comfortable on restrictor plates. Nevermind the shoving and the pushing and the going; it’s always interesting. I think the harder thing with it is when the front of the pack starts checking up and like everybody is careful and start lifting and in the back, people are still trying to push and that’s when the big wreck happens. I’ve been involved in a couple of those. You’re on the brakes trying not to hit the guy in front too hard and the guy in the back is wide-open and he’ll push you out of the line. It happens but it’s fun.”
AS A GUY WHO IS NOT IN THE CHASE, DO YOU RESENT THE IDEA THAT ONLY THOSE 12 GUYS ARE GETTING THE ATTENTION?
“No, we get paid to do this and win races and make the Chase. Last year we made the Chase; this year we had a lot of wrecks. I think we had the speed to make the Chase, but we didn’t and it’s a bit of a shame. I think both cars have the capabilities of making it. But it’s racing. I don’t know. It is what it is right now. It’s worse. If you’re in the Chase and you’re not in the top three today, nobody even cares. And you made the Chase. It is what it is. It’s racing.”
GIVEN THE SUCCESS YOU’VE HAD WITH ECR POWER OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHAT IS YOUR REACTION ABOUT THE DISCUSSIONS WITH FORD?
“You’ve got to ask Chip (Ganassi) that, to tell you the truth. I drive the race car. I don’t get involved. Chip came by the bus today and I didn’t even ask him about it. I don’t ask at all, you know what I mean? It is what it is. If we’re staying, we’re staying. If we’re leaving, we’re leaving. I’m really happy right now with Chevy. They do an amazing job for us. And I think it’s whatever is going on, you probably know more than me. People ask me and I’m like what do I know? I just drive the car.”
CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 BB&T CHEVROLET – QUALIFIED 2ND
YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ON THE POLE, BUT STARTING SECOND ON THE OUTSIDE FRONT ROW SHOULD BE PRETTY GOOD FOR TALLADEGA
“Yeah, that’s a testament to ECR and the engine shop and the job they’ve done this year all across the board on any race track. But they take a lot of pride. Richard (Childress) has always taken a lot of pride in superspeedway and plate racing and they’ve done their homework this year and we’re all proud of them and have greatly benefitted because of them.”
DAYTONA IN JULY WAS YOUR RACE TO WIN. WE KNOW YOU CAN WIN AT A PLATE RACE. WE KNOW YOU WANT ANOTHER WIN THIS SEASON TO PROVE YOURSELVES. HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR CHANCES FOR TOMORROW?
“Yeah, you know, looking into the Chase or the start of the Chase, and probably more so after our penalty, you look at race tracks where you can win at and a way you feel like you’ve probably got as good a shot as anyplace. And this really stood out because I know the quality of our race cars and the speed in our cars and more importantly, I guess for the Chasers and the guys that are winning these races; this is a track where a lot of them have a lot to lose. I don’t have anything to lose anymore. I was looking at it (laughs) and nobody can catch me from where I’m at and I can only go forward. I don’t know what that means as far as how you race and your mentality, but I don’t have much to lose these days.”
DO YOU WANT TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 SO YOU CAN GO TO THE BANQUET IN LAS VEGAS?
“Well, yeah! Who doesn’t want to go to Vegas? Absolutely. Here’s the bummer about Vegas. You have to go regardless of whether in the top ten or not, you’ve got to go out and talk to you and all the media (laughter) and then you have to go out and do all the work and then you don’t get to participate in anything as far as the ceremonies go. So I kind of have my thoughts on that. You’re good enough to make the Chase but you’re not good enough to go across the state is kind of a very different thing but I guess I’ll go out and talk to you and when I’m done, if I’m still 12th, I have a lot of racing to do; I can still make 10th, but if I’m 12th I guess I’ll go home and laugh at you for still working.”
WHAT IS THE MARGIN OF DIFFERENCE IN GETTING A POLE AND NOT GETTING A POLE HERE TODAY?
“If you ask my spotter, Mike Dillon, he told me I pulled it up right there at the start /finish line the last five feet and that was cost it. He told me it was definitely driver error. So, we’ve all had a laugh about that already but not really, to answer your question. You do everything you can do. You hold it wide open and try to hold it as straight as possible and be as smooth as possible. There’s no question our ECR horsepower is what is sitting on the front row and that’s the reason that we’re on there. You’ve got two different, I guess you could call it chassis builders where they build their own chassis and we build our own chassis and bodies and the common thread there is the engine.”
About Chevrolet: Chevrolet is a global automotive brand, with annual sales of about 3.5 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. In the U.S., the Chevrolet portfolio includes: iconic performance cars, such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long lasting pickups and SUVs, such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers, such as Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including the Cruze Eco and Volt, both arriving in late 2010. Cruze Eco will offer up to 40 mpg highway while the Chevrolet Volt will offer up to 40 miles of electric, gas-free driving and an additional 300 miles of extended range (based on GM testing; official EPA estimates not yet available). Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security, and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response, and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models, fuel solutions, and OnStar availability can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
– Team Chevy, Press Release
