With the Busch title determined last month in Charlotte, most of the pre-race attention was on newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya, starting only his second NASCAR race in preparation for a full-time Cup ride next season.

The former Champ Car and Formula One star had a difficult but educational day on the 1.5-mile Texas oval.

He qualified 10th, but started near the rear of the 43-car field after having to make a stop during the pace laps to realign the front valance on his Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge. When the race began, he moved steadily through the pack and was up to 25th before slipping up the banking and bouncing hard off the wall.

That sent Montoya to the pits for repairs and left him 41st, two laps off the pace. Driving a damaged car that couldn’t keep up with the leaders, Montoya stayed on track to the end, finishing 28th — three laps behind Harvick.

“We had a top-10 car, but the problem at the beginning made it really hard,” said Montoya, who finished 11th in his Busch and NASCAR debut a week ago at Memphis. “It was good experience, though, and, if I had more time in the car, it could have been a little better.”

Asked about hitting the wall, the Colombian driver said, “I was trying to pass somebody on the outside. People say I give myself a lot of room out there, so I calculated how far I could go.

“I calculated about this much,” he added, holding his hands about 2 feet apart, “and the wall was there.”

Yahoo Sports

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