Montoya close to first oval win

The Colombian emerged as a force to be reckoned with as the race progressed, in his fifth stock car race at one of NASCAR's premier venues, the same track where he made his first-ever race outing after leaving Formula One in 2006.

Montoya led a race for the first time this year but more importantly he survived in the heat of the pack while some of the best in the business couldn't translate their speed into a good result.

The Ganassi driver made the right moves throughout the race to stay out of trouble and put himself in position to contend for victory in the end. He says he simply loves restrictor-plate racing since he first competed at Talladega.

"I've loved restrictor-plate racing since the first time I came to Talladega, I loved it," Montoya said. "The bumping, it's tough; because of the good result today, you can finish 20th in a heartbeat or 30th.

"It's pretty exciting because it takes a lot of strategy and you always have to learn to pick the right lane, and when you pick the lane, you make sure you get enough shock to make sure the line moves.

"The problem is there's people that you bump when they brake because they don't want to - and they brake and the cars behind had enough momentum that you start sucking up and it's pretty hard."

Montoya believes he and his team are clearly making progress, despite outsiders considering them to be struggling. His second place on Sunday has given them a big push in the standings moving Montoya inside the top twelve, something he says is a big morale boost for Chip Ganassi Racing.

"You know, it's funny to say 'struggling', because you look at the two cars, the average finish is a lot better," Montoya added. "Last year we would normally finish 22nd, 24th everywhere, and you know, two or three times a year or one year a second place there and a fifth place here and the rest was 20th place.

"Now we are running 15th average every week, but we never really had a result like today. I think it really motivates everybody back in Charlotte, and hopefully, you know, it's time that we are headed in the right direction."

The former Formula One race-winner denied his recent crew chief change had anything to do with his result on Sunday. He believes his former right-hand man Donnie Wingo would've made just the same calls as his new crew chief Jimmy Elledge.

"I think here the difference between Donny and Jimmy, I don't think there's any difference," he said. "We were always in the right place at the right time today, and you know, I don't think Donnie would have done anything different."

Montoya moved up from seventeenth to twelfth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers' standing following his second place at Talladega.