Where's Juan? Martinsville

Who says Juan Montoya might struggle with the short tracks?

In his first trip to tiny Martinsville Speedway, he proved otherwise. Montoya started 23rd and battled his way around the narrow paperclip-shaped half-mile to bring the No. 42 Dodge home in 16th. Sounds rather average, but when you consider he beat former short-track winners like Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Bobby Labonte, it wasn't a bad run.

Montoya is hoping to rekindle that again this week when he returns to Martinsville Speedway for Sunday's Subway 500 (1 p.m. ET, ABC).

The Cup Series rookie is coming off a difficult night at Charlotte that saw him head to the garage early after a blown tire and crash on Lap 279. He finished 37th. The rough ending dropped him one position to 21st in the Cup Series standings.

If the first Martinsville race is any indication, Montoya may be in line for that rebound. His team is bringing chassis No. 735 -- the same one that Montoya ran in April.