(By Greg Engle)
Posted: Tuesday,July 28th, 2009
(By Greg Engle, NDN Editor, NASCAR Examiner)
Juan Pablo Montoya was close to becoming the first racer in history to win at Indy in both an open wheel and stock car Sunday.
In fact he led the most laps and looked unbeatable. That is until lap 126 when Montoya came in for a green flag pit stop. As he exited the pits, NASCAR nailed him for speeding and forced him to serve a pass through penalty.
A caution flag shortly after gave some hope to Montoya, who didn’t lose a lap but was mired now back in 13th. It wasn’t to be however at a track were passing is at a minimum and he was only able to finish 11th.
INDIANAPOLIS - JULY 26: Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, is caught for speeding down pit road during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 26, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Montoya seemed to take all in stride after it was over. “It sucks,’ he said forcing a smile, “But it is was it is.” NASCAR director of competition echoed Robin Pemberton echoed those comments somewhat saying in effect that it was what it was and NASCAR caught him speeding and that was that.
The debate will no doubt rage for weeks though. Montoya’s penalty changed the entire complexion of the race and Jimmie Johnson was the eventual winner. Some will argue that the evil NASCAR monster stole the race from Montoya. But keep in mind that the speed traps NASCAR uses to measure speed on pit road are controlled electronically.
So was NASCAR right? Should pit road penalties have some wiggle room? Or should they just be administered fairly across the board no matter who the driver, no matter what the circumstance?
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