Finally victory for Montoya!

He had been waiting for it for a long time. The driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet had come very close to the feat on several occasions, without ever managing to achieve his performances. This Sunday, he returned to victory on the Watkins Glen road circuit in New York State, winning ahead of Kurt Busch (Penske Racing) and Marcos Ambrose (JTG Daugherty Racing), winner of the race. on the same Nationwide circuit, which was his biggest rival of the weekend.

Dès les premiers tours, une lutte se dessine entre la Chevrolet n°42 et la Toyota n°47. L?ancien pilote de F1 took the lead of the race, pursued like his shadow by the Australian who then managed to overtake him. The Toyota clearly seemed to be the fastest car in the field but Juan Pablo Montoya still remained in contact with Marcos Ambrose and managed to regain the upper hand at refueling and restarts.

Marcos Ambrose lost the race at the final yellow flag. The restart that followed was poorly managed by the Australian who let the Colombian get ahead of the rest of the pack. He will even be passed in the last lap by an opportunistic Kurt Busch, who ensures a good result in view of the Chase which will begin in four races.

If, for the winner, a place in the Chase is almost impossible to obtain (Juan Pablo Montoya is 21st in the ranking), his victory is a deliverance, after all his disappointments. “ These last few weeks have been really frustrating for the whole team because we were often close to victory“, declared the Colombian. “ I feel more relieved than happy. It was a long and difficult road. Friendly but frustrating? »

His relationship with his crew chief Brian Pattie will only get better, after the latter made two bad strategic choices, removing all hope of victory for the Colombian. “ It is enormous », commented the crew chief of the Colombian. “ I always want to win on an oval. It was my fault for the Brickyard race (Montoya won the race but changed four tires instead of two, editor's note). But the trophies finally bring the expected reward. »

Clint Bowyer (Richard Childress Racing) drops out of the top twelve in the general classification, allowing Mark Martin (Hendrick Motorsports) to regain his position. The fight for twelfth place in the standings, synonymous with last place for the Chase, will now be the primary objective for the drivers close to the area, which still promises great fights in the races to come.