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CART: Montoya puts Toyota on front row at Rio

30 April 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

- Juan Montoya's second in qualifying today marks the fifth straight race that a Toyota has qualified on the front row (Scott Pruett on pole last season at Fontana; Montoya was second at Homestead, Montoya on the pole at Nazareth, Jimmy Vasser second at Long Beach);

- Montoya has yet to qualify below third this season. The front row qualifying spot is Montoya's third in four races this year. He also had a second at Homestead and a third at Long Beach to go along with his Nazareth pole.

- It also marks the sixth consecutive race overall straight CART race that a Toyota has qualified in the top three, as Pruett also qualified third in last year's Surfers Paradise penultimate round before Fontana.

- A Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry has qualified on the front row in each of the four races with Toyota power.

- With a 14th-place qualifying result today, Oriol Servia earned his best Champ Car start of his rookie season. The 1999 Indy Lights champion is coming off a career-best sixth-place finish at Long Beach.

- Montoya will be looking for his second straight Rio 200 victory tomorrow.

- Three Toyota Atlantic grads qualified in the top 11 today, including pole-sitter Alexandre Tagliani. He's joined by Jimmy Vasser in sixth and Memo Gidley in 11th.

Toyota Provisional Qualifiers:

#1 Juan Montoya 2nd
#12 Jimmy Vasser 6th
#96 Oriol Servia 14th
#97 Cristiano da Matta 17th
#10 Norberto Fontana 18th

Text provided by Toyota

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