INDIANAPOLIS - Four-time champion Jeff Gordon greeted Formula One-turned-NASCAR driver Juan Pablo Montoya at a news conference by joking, "Not bad for a rookie."
The Miami resident, who has won the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, is no normal rookie. While Montoya reveled in a second-place finish in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, Gordon"s teammate, Jimmie Johnson, left Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a somber note _ he continued his free fall in the standings and escaped a fiery single-car wreck with singed eyelashes.
Montoya's performance allowed him to climb to 18th place, and he said he still is in the hunt for the 12-driver Chase for the Cup that starts next month. Johnson"s precipitous slide has resulted in him slipping to ninth. After a 39th-place finish, Johnson has dropped seven spots in seven races, and might be in danger of falling out of championship contention if he continues to be plagued by bad luck.
Brickyard winner Tony Stewart, who struggled before the races leading up to the postseason last year and consequently missed the Chase, conceded: "Somebody I feel bad for right now, honestly, is Jimmie Johnson. This guy can't buy a break."
For the second consecutive race, Johnson had a strong car, but crashes forced him to retreat to the garage early.
The reigning Cup champion, whose dream 2006 season included winning the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, is entering a critical stretch that will determine whether he can defend his title. Johnson has four wins, which would put him in second if the Chase started today, because NASCAR seeds the contenders based on wins. None of those wins would mean much though, if he fails to make the Chase.
BAD STRETCH
"It's been a steady roll of bad races for us," Johnson said. "We've got to keep fighting and make sure we stay in this Chase."
After Montoya _ who raced primarily on road courses before arriving in NASCAR _ had his top finish on an oval at Indy, he said he is chasing the postseason.
"I tell you the truth," he said, "if you could get this type of finish the next two races, then you have a chance. If we get to next weekend and have an average weekend, then you're out."
The next few weeks might favor Montoya's strengths. The circuit races at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway on Sunday, a track that is similar to Indy in that it has varying shaped corners. The next Cup race is at road-course Watkins Glen International in New York. Montoya triumphed in his first start on a Cup road course at Infineon Raceway (Sonoma, Calif.) on June 24, and is viewed as a favorite by his competitors to win at Watkins Glen.
VULNERABLE DRIVERS Montoya trails 12th-place Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 200 points. Several drivers standing between Montoya and a postseason berth have been vulnerable. Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray, who are in 14th and 15th place, both fared poorly at Indy. Greg Biffle (16th) has struggled for much of the season, and Mark Martin (17th) has performed well but runs only a partial schedule and splits time with a rookie.
Gordon gushed about Montoya's rookie campaign, saying, "It's obvious how talented he is. You look at everything he's ever driven, he's fast and he's had success. When their team steps up and gives him the car, he steps up and shows what he can do."
Montoya is vying to show improvement the second half of the season _ but the barometer won't be based on whether he makes the Chase.
"From where I thought I was going to be, I think I've got say we're way ahead," the 31-year-old said. "Where do I want to be? I think we're still behind."
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