Backstretch Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 25, 2009) – Juan Pablo Montoya stretched his consecutive top-10 finish streak to three races with a sixth-place run at Infineon Raceway this past Sunday. Not only did the finish extend his longest career top-10 streak in stock cars, but it vaulted him back into the top 12 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings.

Montoya’s statistics have dramatically improved since his 2007 rookie season. Below are his numbers over the first 16 races, in the last three seasons:

Juan Pablo Montoya After 16 Races (Career)
Avg.
Year Rk Finish ARP FLR LT15% Led DR
2007 21 23.9 22.8 55 19.7 7 62.5
2008 19 22.8 20.7 21 36.0 1 69.4
2009 12 17.6 15.2 70 48.5 11 84.1
ARP: Average Running Position
FLR: Fastest Laps Run
LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15
DR: Driver Rating

Quality Passes

Driver QP
1. Kurt Busch 917
2. Jimmie Johnson 855
3. Juan Pablo Montoya 840
4. Matt Kenseth 804
5. Denny Hamlin

Whether the success continues will decide whether Montoya makes his first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The series has moved into the vital “Race to the Chase” phase of its season. Ten more races – and 10 more tracks – remain in the “regular season.” Over those 10 tracks, Montoya has a Driver Rating of 68.3 and an Average Running Position of 21.9. Among the current top 15 drivers, those two marks rank 14th.

First in each of those Loop Data categories is current points leader Tony Stewart, who now needs to start concentrating on potential Chase bonus points. When the Chase starts, the top 12 drivers will have their points reset to 5,000. Then, 10 bonus points will be added to that total for each victory in the first 26 races.

Stewart, with one victory this season, has 10 bonus points. Another 10 could be added this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track at with he owns a series-high Driver Rating of 115.6.
Below is Stewart’s driver log at New Hampshire since 2005

Tony Stewart at New Hampshire (2005-08)
Date Finish ARP FLR LT15% DR Led
7/05 1 2.2 80 100 149.2 232
9/05 2 2.9 71 97.7 143 173
7/06 37 29.2 8 29.2 89.9 28
9/06 2 9.2 9 85.3 109.5 0
7/07 12 10.4 5 87 92.9 0
9/07 3 3.7 16 99.3 122.8 39
6/08 13 6.5 34 84.5 123.2 132
9/08 8 15.4 12 48.3 94.3 1
Total 9.8 9.9 235 78.7 115.6 605
ARP: Average Running Position
FLR: Fastest Laps Run
LT15%: Percentage of Laps in the Top 15
DR: Driver Rating