Juan Pablo Montoya 2010 Preview, Predictions & Odds

With the NASCAR season underway, we are providing season previews for the top 30 drivers to give you the betting edge. Follow the best NASCAR Handicappers as they analyze their drivers in this 2010 season preview. Use our comprehensive and insider info to bet successfully on NASCAR in our recommend sportsbooks. View the rest of our 2010 NASCAR Season Previews here.

Juan Pablo Montoya 2009 Stats

Juan Pablo Montoya 2009 Recap & Review

After the first four races of 2009, thoughts of Juan Pablo Montoya making the Chase were laughable at best. He came out of the gate slowly (zero top 10s in four starts), but a surprising ninth place finish at Bristol for the road course expert seemed to be the catalyst for the No. 42 Target team. He scored his second top 10 of the year two races later at Texas before really turning things up on Memorial Day weekend.

No longer racing in the Indy 500 that Sunday, the 2000 winner used the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte to spark a streak of four top 10s in five races. That put Montoya into the top 12 in points, a position he would not relinquish. Indianapolis Motor Speedway played a crucial role again later that summer, as Montoya looked to make history as the first driver to score career wins in the Indy 500 and the Brickyard 400. Leading 116 laps, he was dominant until an ill-timed speeding penalty on pit road took him out of contention.

But the Indy misfortune didn’t deter Montoya from his postseason goal, as he collected three additional top 10s in the last six races to earn his first playoff bid. In the first four races of the Chase, he took off, the only driver collecting four top-5 finishes as he closed within 58 points of leader Jimmie Johnson. But a chain reaction restart incident at Charlotte saw the Cinderella slipper finally falloff. Three finishes of 35th or worse in the last six races, all due to wrecks, dropped Montoya to eighth in points after Homestead. While disappointing, that still left him as NASCAR’s Most Improved Driver, jumping 17 spots in the standings while collecting career highs in top 5s (seven), top lOs (18), and laps led (388).

Juan Pablo Montoya 2010 Preview & Prediction

It seems like every season, there is one surprise that nobody saw coming. In 2009, the surprise came from Juan Pablo Montoya, who made the Chase in only his third season in the Sprint Cup Series and was one of the last drivers standing who had a chance to break the Hendrick Motorsports grip on the championship. The fact that Montoya finally found his footing in stock cars isn’t surprising; what is noteworthy is how soon he became a weekly threat, overcoming an offseason merger that caused major changes within his organization to pull off a breakout performance.

Before the cars took the track, Montoya found his team merged into newly formed Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, giving him a new teammate in Martin Truex Jr. and prompting a manufacturer switch from Dodge to Chevy. But the Colombian quickly showed that he was able to adapt to the changes, and other than being shut out of Victory Lane, he came up with the best statistical season of his short NASCAR career.

And Montoya will enjoy plenty of stability and consistency this season. Talks about merging with Joe Gibbs Racing and a possible switch to Toyota were put to rest toward the end of 2009, and no other changes are planned. The only change Montoya will have to deal with is a new teammate in Jamie McMurray following Truex’s departure.

But Pattie’s return is the best news for the No. 42 team, as his calm, guiding hand in the face of a temperamental driver has convinced Montoya to tone things down on-track. Balancing the driver’s emotions proves critical during the Chase, as incidents like an on-track shoving match with Tony Stewart at Homestead (ruining the day for both drivers) will cause his championship hopes to self-destruct in 2010.

At the same time, Montoya’s aggression is an asset few other drivers have, with the guts to do something like physically push around Jimmie Johnson on the track to score a win. That’s the type of move that could finally take the champs out of their comfort zone during a postseason format they’ve dominated for years.

But can this team run well enough during the regular season to be a factor in crunch time? Considering how Montoya ran leading up to and through the middle portion of the Chase, it’s apparent this team has a formula to make the postseason and stay competitive once it starts. But the trick will be to maintain momentum and keep its postseason spot amongst an onslaught of bigger teams with better resources.

Juan Pablo Montoya 2010 Predictions

We predict that Juan Pablo Montoya will finish 12th in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Juan Pablo Montoya Betting & Odds

Juan Pablo Montoya NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Odds: +1500

Juan Pablo Montoya Betting Trends & Situations

• after finishing worse than 15th, average finish is 11.5
• when racing in February, average finish is 21.1

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