Montoya on front row for race debut

Montoya had already been among the quickest runners in the morning practice, feeling at ease in the draft and finishing fourth with a speed exceeding the 190mph barrier.

The Colombian was the 44th car on the track for the qualifying and his first lap in the No. 4 Texaco/Havoline Dodge, was already good enough for a place in the top ten of the grid.

On his second lap, Montoya broke into the 50 seconds mark, setting a lap of 50.546 seconds with a speed of 189.451mph, ending up only 0.009 seconds slower than pole-sitter Bobby Gerhart, who runs second in the ARCA RE/MAX Driver standings.

"The car worked well and everything went to plan," said Montoya. "But to be honest, at this track, having a good car helps and we have a very good one.

"I was a bit surprised at being on the front row, although we had been quick already in practice. I think we could have been on pole, but first row is fine."

Montoya downplayed, however, any expectations for the race.

"The goal? To learn," he said. "We need to make a couple of good pitstops, not make any mistakes, and bring the car in one piece to the flag.

"If I win or finish fifth or whatever doesn't matter. The goal is to learn and be as best prepared as I can for next year."

The Food World 250 ARCA RE/MAX starts on Friday at 5:30pm ET (9:30pm GMT).