 Montoya expected to drive third Penske car in some races UPDATE: Team Penske is
expected to announce on Wednesday that Juan Pablo Montoya will return to Sprint Cup
competition in the Brickyard 400 on July 27. However, Montoya's NASCAR homecoming
could come sooner than that. Don't be surprised if Montoya runs a third Penske Racing car
(likely the #12 Ford) at Sonoma Raceway on June 22. Montoya's first career Cup win was
earned at the track in 2007. He could also compete at Watkins Glen on August 10, the site of
his second Cup win in 2010. Both dates are open on the IndyCar calendar. Sources say
Montoya tested a Team Penske NASCAR Ford last week at Nashville Speedway. Veteran
Greg Erwin, who was retained after serving as Sam Hornish's crew chief last year, would
likely fill that role with the third Cup car.(Motorsport)(4-29-2014)
UPDATE: Team Penske announced that Juan Pablo Montoya will make two NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series starts for the team in 2014. Montoya will pilot the #12 SKF Ford Fusion at
Michigan International Speedway (MIS) on June 15 and he will also compete for Team
Penske in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) on July 27. The #12 car
sponsor for the Brickyard 400 will be announced at a later date. NASCAR veteran Greg
Erwin will work with Montoya as crew chief of the #12 Ford entry. Since joining Team
Penske in 2012, an SKF-sponsored entry has made three NASCAR Cup Series starts. SKF
earned its first NASCAR victory with Team Penske and Keselowski in the Nationwide Series
last season. In addition to the race at MIS with Montoya, the #12 SKF Ford will also compete
at Kansas on May 10 and at Talladega Superspeedway on October 19 with Team Penske
driver Ryan Blaney
 NASCAR meets with Michelin: Just days after several Sprint Cup champion contenders
had issues with where the rubber meets the road in Richmond, NASCAR officials met with
representatives from Michelin at the R&D Center in Concord, NC. The timing of the Tuesday
meeting is coincidental considering the rash of failures experienced by competitors in both
the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series last weekend. According to a Michelin source,
however, it was a "mid-level meeting" that was scheduled before the Richmond race. "It was
generally a get-acquainted and get-familiar with the tech center, and some relationship
building," said the source. It likely also involved some regional and "grassroots" possibilities
that could involve NASCAR and Michelin to partner. Michelin already supplies tires for the
NASCAR Europe series, and also is a supplier for the TUDOR United SportsCar
Championship's GT-Le Mans class. The TUDOR Championship is the NASCAR-controlled
sports car series that was formed by combining Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series.
The other three classes in the TUDOR Championship have Continental as the lone supplier.
The GT-Le Mans series competitors can run whatever tire brand they choose. At the 24
Hours of Daytona, the tire of choice was Michelin. At the 12 Hours of Sebring, the only team
that did not run Michelins was the Falken Tire-sponsored car. Michelin North America is
based Greenville, S.C., about 100 miles south of NASCAR's Research and Development
Center. Michelin reportedly is interested in bidding against Continental when the TUDOR
Championship rights expire. Continental renegotiated its contract following the merger of the
series and is in the first season of a multi-year deal. The exclusive Goodyear contract with
NASCAR's top three touring series, including Sprint Cup, runs through 2017
 Ragan to sport new sponsor at Talladega: KFC's patented Go Cup is designed for
maximum portability, fitting in the cup holders of more than 80% of cars on the road today.
On Sunday, the Go Cup will take portability to an extreme level when it goes "along for the
ride" as defending NASCAR Aaron's 499 champion David Ragan takes to the track. "It's
great to have KFC backing the team for the Talladega race," Ragan said. "We're excited
about again contending for a Talladega win, this time in the KFC Go Cup Ford Fusion. The
Go Cup is specifically designed for on-the-go consumers, and guys who race cars for a living
definitely fit into that category." Besides leading a NASCAR team respected for its growth
and accomplishments in its short history, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins is also a
KFC franchisee, operating restaurants in Kentucky, Massachusetts and New Hampshire
 Driver wins before age 25: 67 of 2,398 NASCAR Sprint Cup races for which the winner's
age is known have been won by drivers under 25. Those 17 drivers and number of wins under
25 years of age:
1. Kyle Busch, 17 [turned 25 the day after his 17th win on May 2, 2010]
2. Jeff Gordon, 15
3. Kurt Busch, 7
3. Richard Petty, 7
5. Junior Johnson, 5
6. Joey Logano, 5 [won't be 25 until May 24, 2015]
Eleven drivers with one win: Trevor Bayne [won't be 25 until February 19, 2016]; Bob
Burdick; Bobby Hillin Jr.; Parnelli Jones; John Kieper; Terry Labonte, Ryan Newman, Bill
Rexford; Fireball Roberts; Donald Thomas; Brian Vickers.
UPDATE - NASCAR Penalizes Drivers Marcos Ambrose And Casey Mears: NASCAR
has penalized drivers Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears for their involvement in a post-race
altercation in the garage area following last Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race
at Richmond International Raceway. Ambrose, driver of the #9 Ford, and Mears, driver of the
#13 Chevy, were found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car
racing), and 12-4.9 (Behavioral Penalty; involved in an altercation in the garage area after the
race) as outlined in the 2014 NASCAR rule book. As a result, Ambrose has been fined
$25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until May 28, while Mears has been fined
$15,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until May 28.
UPDATE : Marcos Ambrose accepts the penalties levied by NASCAR after his actions at
Richmond International Raceway. Ambrose will not appeal