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View Full Version : Former Indy 500 winner Montoya wins Brickyard pole position



KIDWCKED
07-24-2010, 08:39 PM
c/p from tsn by the a/p
INDIANAPOLIS -- Juan Pablo Montoya is in a familiar spot at Indianapolis Motor Speedway -- out front.
A year after a late speeding penalty denied him a victory at the Brickyard, he's hoping it sticks this time.
Montoya has steadfastly denied any lingering bitterness from last year's near-miss, or any notion that the Brickyard owes him one. Instead, the pole-sitter for Sunday's race is treating this visit as an entirely new opportunity.
"It's given me a lot, so I don't complain," said Montoya, who won the Indianapolis 500 for team owner Chip Ganassi in 2000.
So far this weekend, he's had little to gripe about.
His No. 42 Chevrolet was the fastest of 13 cars at an April tire test here, and Montoya paced both of Friday's practice sessions. Then he turned a lap at 182.278 m.p.h. on Saturday morning to take the top starting spot at the Brickyard.
Four-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson, who won his third Brickyard last season in part because of Montoya's gaffe, qualified second with a lap at 182.142. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin qualified third and was followed by Jamie McMurray, Montoya's teammate, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer, as Chevrolets took the top six qualifying spots.
Greg Biffle was the highest qualifying Ford at sixth, Brad Keselowski was the best Dodge at 11th and Martin Truex Jr. led the Toyota effort at 12th.
Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve of Iberville, Que., like Montoya also an Indianapolis 500 winner, qualified for his first Sprint Cup race since 2007 and will start last in the 43-car field. Four drivers failed to make the race: David Gilliland, Casey Mears -- nephew of four-time Indy 500 winner Rick Mears -- David Stremme and J.J. Yeley.
Attention will likely be on Montoya, who has already had a busy week. His wife, Connie, on Monday gave birth to the couple's third child, a daughter named Manuela, and Thursday was a trip to the emergency room for middle child Paulina.
"Her brother practised his golf swing on her head," Montoya said with raised eyebrows.
So getting on track provided some relief from the madness, even though this weekend comes with raised expectations.