(photo courtesy Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
NASCAR has just had a rare weekend off in its grinding 36 race schedule. For several teams it should have been a relaxing weekend to their grueling schedule. However, for some race teams this off week was spent stewing over their lack of performance over the first 6 races!
Among those not doing so well in the early part of this season is Juan Pablo Montoya, who made the Chase last year and fully expects to do the same in 2010. Thanks to some ill fortune, Montoya sits in 25th place in the 2010 standings.
Of course, there’s still plenty of time to move up, and Montoya can always look at what Mark Martin, one of his racing idols, did last season. Martin was 27th after the first six races, but went on a run, including four victories, that carried him to the Chase. Martin began his comeback with a win at Phoenix, which just happens to be the next race on this year’s Cup schedule as well.
But Montoya’s record on the one-mile Phoenix oval doesn’t foster great optimism about a quick turnaround. The former Indy car and Formula One star hadn’t finished better than 16th at Phoenix until he came in eighth last fall, his sixth race at the Arizona track.
And this season hasn’t done much for his spirits, either.
JPM is not alone in his struggles this season. Of the 12 drivers that made the Chase in 2009, 6 of those drivers are outside the top 12 now! So for those outside the top 12, they need to “grab a gear” and “get up on the wheel”! This week it is the first evening event of the year, The Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway.
SO IT’S TIME TO GO!
TIL THE NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
