DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Juan Pablo Montoya officially kicked off his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup rookie season by getting quickly up to speed in Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway.
Montoya took to the high banks of Daytona in his No. 42 Dodge shortly after 10:45 a.m. (ET) to begin an extended test session after rain delayed the start.
In his first day back in the car in 2007, Montoya went out and posted the sixth fastest lap at 184.570 mph.
“From what I hear we’ve stepped it up from where we were last year,” Montoya said. “It’s still very early. It’s my first test this year, so we’ll take it step by step."
Montoya and the others in the Dodge camp will be working with a new Charger nose this year, along with the implementation of the Car of Tomorrow Avenger model starting a Bristol.
“I think the new nose should help the car a lot,” Montoya said. “We’ve done a lot of work with the Car of Tomorrow. I think we’ll be competitive.”
David Gilliland put Robert Yates Racing at the top of the charts for the second consecutive session following Ricky Rudd’s Thursday’s speed of 186.405 mph. Gilliland's No. 38, which was the only Ford in the top 10, was the only car to eclipse the 185 mph barrier in single car runs today with a lap of 185.090 mph.
Jeremy Mayfield continued Bill Davis Racing's success in testing after notching the second fastest lap (184.854 mph) in his No. 36 Toyota on his last of 40 circuits.
Jeff Gordon (184.744 mph) and Montoya's teammate David Stremme (184.729 mph) were third and fourth, respectively, and tops among their manufacturers Chevrolet and Dodge.
Regan Smith rounded out the top five in his No. 39 Ginn Racing Chevrolet at 184.581 mph. Smith, who will co-drive the No. 01 Chevrolet with Mark Martin, will attempt to qualify the 39 in the Daytona 500.
Clint Bowyer (184.434 mph), Denny Hamlin (184.385 mph), J.J Yeley (184.226 mph) and Elliott Sadler (184.143 mph) rounded out the top 10.
AJ Allmendinger, who like Montoya will make the move from open wheel to NASCAR, was 34th fastest in his No. 84B Toyota.
Testing continues on Tuesday with another pair of morning and afternoon sessions on tap.
