Montgomery Finishes 11th in Backup Car at Kentucky
Montgomery Finishes 11th in Backup Car at Kentucky Rookie Puts on Good Show with Race Winner SPARTA, KY (May 11, 2002) - The weekend ended better than expected for ARCA RE/MAX Series driver Chase Montgomery and the #27 Montgomery Motorsports Chevrolet Monte Carlo team. After their primary car suffered severe rear-end damage in a wreck in Friday morning's practice session, the #27 team had to resort to running their backup car. The team came to the Kentucky Speedway with high hopes after starting on the outside pole and finishing fifth overall at the 1.5-mile tri-oval last fall. This time around the team would not fair as well, as Montgomery started a disappointing 17th in Saturday's WLWT Channel 5-155. After the green flag dropped, Montgomery quickly gained five positions, running 12th. He managed to avoid several incidences that brought out five cautions during the first half of the race. However, the backup car couldn't hold off the leaders, putting the #27 a lap down. "Starting in our backup car quickly got us a lap down," Montgomery said. "The car was really tight all night. The crew worked extremely hard to get it set up the way we needed it. By the end of the race it got better, but it still wasn't where our primary car had been." The race was telecast live on Speed Channel and for the first time in the history of the Cincinnati market, the race was a 4-hour live broadcast on a local affiliate. Montgomery obliged the television audience by giving them one of the best shows of the evening. The 18-year-old rookie ran neck-and-neck with veteran driver and race winner Frank Kimmel for a few laps. The two finally made contact in Turn 3, causing Montgomery to spin. He was able to turn the #27 machine around and get it back on the track. "I felt very comfortable running that close with Frank," Montgomery said. "I feel like I've gained Frank's trust by him running that close with me. Unfortunately since the car was so tight, it caused it to push and I bumped into Frank." The incident caused Montgomery to go two laps down on the leaders. He was able to make up one lap and finish only a lap down in the 11th position. "It was disappointing that we had to settle for 11th place when our primary car was as good as every car out there," Montgomery said. Montgomery ended the evening on a high note by visiting with children from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. After the race, Montgomery visited with kids, signed autographs and posed for several pictures. "After a disappointing night, it was uplifting to see the look on the kid's faces when got to be up close with a driver who just competed on the track," Montgomery said. "It really made the night better." The next event for Montgomery and the #27 team will be at the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 100 at Lowe's Motor Speedway this Saturday May 18, beginning at 5:45 p.m. -30- For more information on Montgomery or to request digitized photos, please contact Ginger Cale at Garrett Sports Marketing at 602-885-0096.