Juan Pablo Montoya doesn’t need to be in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet to see red — but it helps.
Ryan Newman had a top-10 car in Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway before tangling with Montoya — first on Lap 104 when the two made contact after the No. 39 squeezed the No. 42, and again on Lap 237 in Turn 3. The second altercation foiled any shot Newman had at a competitive finish.
Newman, whose first on-track altercation with Montoya dates back to November 2006 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, could not understand why the sanctioning body had not black-flagged Montoya for aggressive driving. He insisted over the radio, "I'll take care of this after the race." NASCAR did, however, speak to the No. 42 team and relayed the message to "stay clean the rest of the night or we'll put him on the trailer."
Both teams worked frantically to repair the cars so the drivers could continue racing after their second collision. Although Montoya initially refused to pit to make a point of riding Newman’s rear around the track, he finally returned so the team could finish its work. In the closing laps, Montoya remained in Newman’s rearview mirror while the No. 39’s spotter Jimmy Kitchens kept his driver apprised of the No. 42’s location.
Newman finished 20th, two laps down, and dropped to eighth in the point standings. When he climbed from his car, Newman told reporters he was “headed to the NASCAR hauler to see how this situation is going to be handled." Newman added he hoped the result would be “fair.”
“I don't know that you can have that. I mean, I know that (Montoya) ran up on me off of (Turn) 2 there and I clipped him; I mean I'm not going to try to dump myself into the wall. But to retaliate the way he did just didn't show much class."
When asked about the history between the two drivers, Newman replied, "I don't know if he could even remember back that far. But I'm just proud to represent the U.S. Army and we'll see what we can do with him."
Montoya, who started from the pole position, led 25 laps before the first incident. After the team worked on the car, Montoya radioed, “We just have to keep our heads up and keep on going.” He added that the goal should be to “score some points” but Montoya dropped three positions in the standings to 12th after he was scored 29th. Montoya left the track without comment.
Denny Hamlin, who finished second, did not miss an opportunity to comment on Montoya‘s style.
“I watch the screen (at the racetrack), I don’t like it,” Hamlin said. “Every time Montoya has damage, you see who did it, they end up getting wrecked. You usually know it’s coming.
“You have to realize, I like Montoya. I think he’s a hell of a driver. But you can’t wreck everyone every time you get into an accident. Accidents happen. Guys make mistakes. Why hold grudges? Makes it tough to get in the Chase (for the Sprint Cup), too.”
