Yahoo! Qualification Story – Indy

Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the most weather sensitive tracks on the circuit and that means winners can come from anywhere in the field. Pole sitters are also not always the best value as you will see in this week's Yahoo! Qualification story (.pdf).

Yahoo! Qualification Story – New Hampshire

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This week, we've added two new features: in addition to where the winner has started, you will now find a chart detailing where the pole sitter has finished. Beginning with the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, the highest qualified driver in each Group will always be detailed, so check out this week's Yahoo! Qualification story (.pdf) and let me know if the new features are helpful.

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Darlington Stripes

"The Lady in Black" continues to be "Too Tough to Tame" and the first Darlington stripe came barely five minutes into the first session. According to @NASCAR, Joey Logano was the first driver to get a stripe.
 
Our View Here is a ongoing list of who has scraped the wall so far:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (backup) and then he striped the backup as well. Practice 1
Clint Bowyer (backup) Practice 1
Scott Speed (backup) Practice 1
Greg Biffle (backup) Happy Hour
Joe Nemechek, hard crash (backup) Happy Hour
Casey Mears, hard crash (backup) Happy Hour
Marcos Ambrose, crash (backup) Happy Hour

Joey Logano Practice 1
Travis Kvapil Practice 1
Jamie McMurray Practice 1
Kyle Busch Happy Hour and qualification

Juan Montoya, very slight Practice 1
Kurt Busch, spin without contact Happy Hour

Darlington International Raceway 1950-1967



Darlington Raceway: 50th Anniversary

Montoya remains fast in Martinsville HH

Juan Montoya had the second and third quickest average times in Saturday's practice sessions with a speed of 94.323 mph during 43 laps in the morning (second best) and 94.342 during 36 laps in Happy Hour (third best).
 
Our View His biggest challenge is going to be overcoming his grid position of 22nd since the race will be started by owner points. He's experienced bad luck in the early races, but he's run much stronger than his position suggests. The bottom line is that he should be on most fantasy owners' rosters.
 
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Juan Pablo Montoya Restart

Teammates McMurray, Montoya win Martinsville P2

Jamie McMurray and Juan Montoya posted the two quickest speeds in Martinsville's practice over long runs: McMurray's speed was 94.440 mph during 41 laps; Montoya went 94.323 mph during 43 circuits.

Our View Montoya has been consistently fast all season and last week McMurray had one of his best runs on the short track of Bristol Motor Speedway, so both should be watched closely during Happy Hour.

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One of the best statistical books in print:

Montoya wins Food City 500 Happy Hour

Juan Montoya posted the quickest average speed in Food City 500's Happy Hour with a speed of 119.399 mph in 57 laps.

Our View It's still too soon to draw conclusions about Montoya's short track racing skill based on his record, but he certainly has the right attitude to beat and bang with the best stockers in the world.

If he is already on your roster, there is very little incentive to remove him considering his top-10 starting position.

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Ku Busch wins a wild one at Atlanta

Kurt Busch survived to attempts at a green-white-checkered finish and scooted away from Matt Kenseth and Juan Montoya to win the Kobalt Tools 500.

Our View Busch had one of two dominant cars along with Kasey Kahne (who finished fourth).

This race featured action at the end and retaliation between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski for an early-race incident that shuffled the finishing order—but fans' hearts got to pumping.

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Montoya fastest in Vegas practice 1

Juan Montoya posted the fastest single lap in the first practice session that is usually devoted to qualification setups. His top speed of 186.168 mph was set early in the session.

Our View Montoya has been solid on the unrestricted, intermediate speedways during the last two years, but last week's struggle at Auto Club Speedway and last year's trouble at Vegas make him a risky proposition.

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Montoya wins Auto Club practice 2

Juan Montoya posted the quickest average speed during the Saturday morning session with a 178.917 during 12 laps.

Our View His fastest lap of 180.429 wasn't bad either; that placed him sixth on the speed chart and the No. 42 could be one of the best values in the game.

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Another practice, another wreck: this time for Ku Busch

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Seconds into the second practice session, Juan Montoya hooked Kurt Busch and sent the No. 2 into the frontstretch wall. Busch will be the fifth driver forced into a backup.

Our View Kasey Kahne also sustained some nose damage, but he should not have to go to his backup.

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Several NASCAR drivers highlight Rolex 24 entry list

Six active NASCAR drivers will add some stock car spice to this weekend's Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona DP roster. Max Papis will be in Chip Ganassi's No. 01 car, DEI teammates Juan Montoya and Jamie McMurray will also team up in the Ganassi No. 02, A.J. Allmendinger will run the No. 6 Michael Shanks entry, Paul Menard is in the No. 90 Porsche Coyote and Jimmie Johnson will team with Alex Gurney and Jimmy Vasser in Wayne Taylor's No. 99.

Our View While this has no direct correlation to NASCAR races at Daytona or even on the road courses—since the Daytona Prototypes are distinct from the stock cars—track time is always helpful.

Complete Daytona Prototype entry list
Complete Grand Touring entry list

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Montoya, McMurray test at Walt Disney World

Juan Montoya and Jamie McMurray tested at Walt Disney World Speedway on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to NASCAR.com. No times were released.

Our View This gives these two drivers a chance to work on their chemistry and determine if they like the same things in cars. Whether that is the case, simply testing should make them better teammates.

They will also get a chance to race together in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

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Piquet Jr. coming to NASCAR

It appears that Nelson Piquet Jr.s Craftsman Truck Series tests have gone as planned. The former F1 driver announced via the Associated Press that he is headed to NASCAR, although no team has yet been announced.

Our View NASCAR is becoming popular with former F1 drivers thanks to Juan Montoya; their ultimate success has yet to be determined.

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Ku Busch tops Homestead practice

Kurt Busch set his fast lap late in the first session of practice with a speed of 173.433 mph, which was five-hundredths of a second faster than Juan Montoya.

Our View Busch has been hit-and-miss in five races since Homestead employed progressive banking. He's finished outside the top 35 three times and in the top five twice, which suggests he will have a great finish if he stays out of trouble.

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Montoya spins in practice 1

Juan Montoya got loose at the 23 minute mark of practice for the Ford 400 and spun out of turn four. He blew his tires, but did not do any damage to his primary car.

Our View Now Montoya knows where the edge is and he shouldn't step over it again. At the time of his spin, the No. 42 was second on the speed chart.

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Montoya wins Phoenix Happy Hour

Juan Montoya posted the quickest average speeds in Happy Hour at Phoenix, with a speed of 128.421 during 41 laps.

Our View Montoya has come on strong during the last two short, flat track races at New Hampshire and Martinsville, so he has to be considered a favorite for a top-10 at least.

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Top-10 Avg. Running Position: Talladega #NASCAR

Average Running Position
Sum of driver position on each lap - divided by the laps run in the race.
Number of Races: 9
AMP Energy 500 Pre-Race
For point-paying races in current and past four years, at this track.
Talladega Superspeedway

Rank	Driver	Average Finish	Average Place
1	Joey Logano	9.0	12.9
2	Tony Stewart	14.0	13.3
3	Denny Hamlin	18.9	13.6
4	Juan Montoya	18.6	13.6
5	Kurt Busch	11.2	14.7
6	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	21.8	15.2
7	Matt Kenseth	16.4	15.6
8	Brian Vickers	16.8	15.8
9	David Ragan	14.0	16.0
10	Elliott Sadler	20.2	16.1

Percentage Laps in top-10 and -5 at Talladega

The fewer drivers there are in front of your driver, the fewer there are to make a mistake.

Here is a list of the drivers who have spent the most time at the front of the pack:

Driver	Top-10 Laps	%	Top-5	%	Possible Laps
Dale Earnhardt Jr	585	62%	399	42%	946
Denny Hamlin	567	60%	373	39%	946
Tony Stewart	469	50%	348	37%	946
Kyle Busch	418	44%	278	29%	946
Juan Montoya	411	43%	205	22%	946
David Ragan	398	42%	172	18%	946
Brian Vickers	305	40%	152	20%	754
Joey Logano	76	40%	35	19%	188
Elliott Sadler	379	40%	163	17%	946
Kurt Busch	358	38%	175	18%	946
Jimmie Johnson	337	36%	194	21%	946
Jeff Gordon	322	34%	211	22%	946
Martin Truex Jr	309	33%	159	17%	946
Matt Kenseth	292	31%	119	13%	946
Ryan Newman	284	30%	142	15%	946
David Stremme	224	30%	93	12%	756
Brad Keselowski	53	28%	12	6%	188
Reed Sorenson	264	28%	74	8%	946
Jeff Burton	260	27%	131	14%	946
Paul Menard	243	26%	127	13%	946
David Reutimann	238	25%	97	10%	946
Casey Mears	233	25%	89	9%	946
Kasey Kahne	196	21%	83	9%	946
Jamie McMurray	188	20%	107	11%	946
Michael Waltrip	149	20%	50	7%	754
Kevin Harvick	156	16%	61	6%	946
Marcos Ambrose	29	15%	5	3%	188
Greg Biffle	129	14%	77	8%	946
Sam Hornish Jr	49	13%	17	5%	376
Clint Bowyer	122	13%	32	3%	946
Joe Nemechek	117	12%	43	5%	946
Bobby Labonte	113	12%	43	5%	946
Tony Raines	60	11%	28	5%	570
Regan Smith	77	10%	19	3%	758
Carl Edwards	84	9%	24	3%	946
Dave Blaney	29	8%	11	3%	378
Scott Speed	11	6%	6	3%	188
Michael McDowell	11	6%	0	0%	188
John Andretti	11	3%	4	1%	376
Mark Martin	5	3%	3	2%	188
Robby Gordon	19	2%	6	1%	946
A J Allmendinger	1	0%	1	0%	376
Max Papis	0	0%	0	0%	188

Hamlin wins in front of hometown crowd

Denny Hamlin held off Jimmie Johnson and Juan Montoya during a green-white-checkered finish to win his second race at Martinsville.

Our View Hamlin and Johnson have combined to win the last seven races and this spring they battled first and second with Johnson taking the victory.

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Montoya "wins" Lowe's practice 2

Juan Montoya won the second practice session with the quickest average speed at 182.509 during 17 laps.

Our View Montoya will have to come from the middle of the pack, but he has plenty of time to get it done. While the No. 42 did not run very many laps, the driver was happy with the car and that is what's most important.

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