On a weekend when his Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar and Grand-Am stablemates would also score victories, Juan Pablo Montoya finally broke through to score his second NASCAR Sprint Cup victory.
Saving his best for the end of Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, Montoya pulled away from Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch over the final 16 laps at Watkins Glen International to end a 113-race drought since his first Cup victory at Sonoma in June 2007. In so doing, Montoya added another success to the already magical year his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team owner has enjoyed. Jamie McMurray, who finished sixth Sunday, won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 this year, and Dario Franchitti added an Indianapolis 500 victory with Ganassi's IndyCar organization. Franchitti also won Sunday in the IZOD IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio, while Ganassi's Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype team won at Watkins Glen Saturday night with Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.
Busch passed Ambrose at the start/finish line on lap 89 of 90 to steal second place from Ambrose, who came home third. AJ Allmendinger, fresh from a contract extension with Richard Petty Motorsports, ran fourth, followed by polesitter Carl Edwards, who collected his sixth straight top-10 finish.
Montoya, however, had the field covered when it counted, leading 74 laps and crossing the stripe 4.735sec ahead of Busch.
After a disappointing run at Pocono a week earlier – during which Montoya chastised crew chief Brian Pattie and the team when the No. 42 Chevrolet lost positions on a late pit stop – Montoya, Pattie and Ganassi met Saturday at Watkins Glen to make sure they were headed in the same direction.
“I think yesterday we had a good talk with Chip,” Montoya said. “Last few weeks have been really frustrating for the whole team because we've been so close to victory. Seemed to keep slipping away. To come out here today and get the job done the way we did today, it was big. I feel more relieved than happy right now. It's been a really hard road in a way. It's been a lot of fun; it's been frustrating.
“(Saturday) it was all about making sure everybody is on the same page, everybody has to do their job, and we came out today and everybody executed. It's something Brian keeps saying, ‘Keep saving the car, keep saving the car, keep saving the car.' And it paid off.”
Ambrose, who had won Saturday's Nationwide Series race and had realistic hopes for an unprecedented weekend double at The Glen, was Montoya's equal (right) until the final pit stop for both drivers under green on lap 59.
“Something went wrong on the last pit stop,” lamented Ambrose, who had out-braked Montoya for the lead in Turn 1 on lap 41 and held the top spot for five laps thereafter. “We lost the handle on the racecar – maybe a different set of tires, slightly different spring rate in the tires.
“I had nothing for Montoya there toward the end. Congratulations to him, he drove a heck of a race. Just a lot of fun racing a guy with that much talent. He was swinging around the corners, jumping curbs, locking tires. It was just a really good battle, something I'll take away from this weekend as a memory I'll never forget.”
Montoya and Ambrose may have dominated the action at the front of the field, but what happened at the back tightened the race for the final spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Clint Bowyer broke a trailing-arm mount and spent three laps in the garage for repairs, a calamity that knocked him out of the top 12.
Bowyer finished 32nd and swapped positions in the standings with Mark Martin, who came home 19th. Now 12th, Martin is 10 points ahead of Bowyer with four races left before the Chase field is set Sept. 11 at Richmond. Montoya's teammate Jamie McMurray was sixth, making a big stride toward a possible Chase berth.
Five-time Watkins Glen winner Tony Stewart finished seventh after contact with road course ringer Boris Said, who was competing for Red Bull Racing this weekend. Kyle Busch recovered from starting last after an unscheduled stop to fix loose ballast dropped him to the rear of the field during the formation laps. Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon completed the top 10.
Reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who recovered from an unscheduled stop for a loose tire, and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin were involved in an incident on the final turn 18 laps from the end, when the Hendrick driver spun and was collected by Hamlin. While Johnson was able to rejoin, Hamlin's race was over.
Veteran Mark Martin profited from Bowyer's misfortunes as, despite a 19th-place finish, he was able to break into the top-12 in the standings. Bowyer's teammate Kevin Harvick was 11th and continues to top the driver standings with only four races left before the Chase.
Pos Driver Car Laps
1. Juan Montoya Chevrolet 90
2. Kurt Busch Dodge 90
3. Marcos Ambrose Toyota 90
4. A.J. Allmendinger Ford 90
5. Carl Edwards Ford 90
6. Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 90
7. Tony Stewart Chevrolet 90
8. Kyle Busch Toyota 90
9. Jeff Burton Chevrolet 90
10. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 90
11. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 90
12. Ryan Newman Chevrolet 90
13. Matt Kenseth Ford 90
14. Sam Hornish Jr Dodge 90
15. Martin Truex Jr Toyota 90
16. Paul Menard Ford 90
17. Kasey Kahne Ford 90
18. Andy Lally Chevrolet 90
19. Mark Martin Chevrolet 90
20. Brad Keselowski Dodge 90
21. Patrick Carpentier Ford 90
22. Max Papis Toyota 90
23. David Reutimann Toyota 90
24. Greg Biffle Ford 90
25. David Ragan Ford 90
26. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 90
27. David Gilliland Ford 90
28. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 90
29. Elliott Sadler Ford 90
30. Travis Kvapil Ford 90
31. Kevin Conway Ford 90
32. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 89
33. Joey Logano Toyota 88
34. Regan Smith Chevrolet 84
35. Bobby Labonte Chevrolet 84
36. Robby Gordon Toyota 72
37. Denny Hamlin Toyota 70
38. Boris Said Toyota 65
39. Joe Nemechek Toyota 54
40. Ron Fellows Chevrolet 46
41. P.J. Jones Toyota 36
42. Michael McDowell Toyota 35
43. Scott Speed Toyota 28