Montoya adds to positive string with top-10 at MIS

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Juan Montoya hasn't had a whole lot of reason to smile after races at Michigan International Speedway in the past, so when he climbed from the cockpit of his No. 42 Chevrolet after Sunday's LifeLock 400, the grin on his face gave an indication of the kind of day he had.

Montoya ran solidly in the top three for the first three-quarters of the race and appeared to be one of the few cars able to keep pace with Jimmie Johnson, who dominated up to that point. But a mismatched set of tires following a stop near the midway point caused a change in the handling of the car. Montoya came out of the pits sixth after his final stop and faded to eighth before Greg Biffle and Johnson both ran out of fuel on the final lap.

LifeLock 400

Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Mark Martin	Chevrolet
2.	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet
3.	Denny Hamlin	Toyota
4.	Carl Edwards	Ford
5.	Greg Biffle	Ford
6.	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet
7.	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet
8.	Kurt Busch	Dodge
9.	Brian Vickers	Toyota
10.	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet

• Results | Lap-by-Lap | Photos

Still, compared to his previous Michigan finishes of 43rd, 26th, 38th and 25th, a sixth-place finish here was a good reason to smile.

"I think we had a bad set of tires there and we made changes based on that, and we screwed up," Montoya said. "I think we had a top-five car all day and we finished sixth, so that's pretty good. It's just momentum. It's all about momentum. The Target team did an amazing job. We've just got to keep coming with those results and make the Chase."

Being 14th in the standings at the halfway point of the 26-race "regular season" has to be a welcome change for Montoya, who seemed stuck under a dark cloud all of last season, as misfortune dogged him week-in and week-out. The misfortune seems to still be there, but doesn't seem to have the same sting in 2009. Montoya credits positive momentum for the change.

"Last week was rough and we finished eighth," Montoya said. "[Sunday], I had a top-three car and finished sixth. This year, we suck and we're still good. It's all about momentum. Last year, every week it seemed something went wrong."

And sometimes it's better to be lucky and good. With a new set of tires on the final stop, Montoya's car returned to its previous raciness. But he was willing to settle for a good top-10 run when all heck broke loose at the front of the field on the final lap.

"At the end when we got it better, we were lucky to have the good fuel mileage," Montoya said. "This car is so good on fuel mileage. We ran good that whole last segment and we still made it."

Still, Montoya said there were some nervous conversations between his crew chief and spotter near the end.

"It was like, one lap, 'Drive hard!' and then the next lap, 'Save fuel!' 'Drive hard!' 'Save fuel!' Montoya said. "I said, 'You've got to make up your mind, dude.'"

With four top-10 finishes in the last six races, Montoya is on a roll. But even though he deserves much of the credit, he's more than willing to share it with the car and the team.

"A good car makes a driver good," Montoya said. "A bad car makes him really look bad. Everyone at Ganassi has done such a good job. Everybody's pumped up. Everybody's excited. It shows where the team is heading."

Infineon Raceway, a road course, is next on the schedule, and that should play right into Montoya's strengths. But when things are going this good, Montoya doesn't care if he's turning left, right or going straight. He just wants to get back behind the wheel. And somewhere under that helmet, he's probably smiling.

"Right now, I don't really care where we go," Montoya said. "We seem to run good everywhere."