TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Juan Montoya will tell you he likes the bumpin' and beatin' of restrictor-plate racing, he's just never had the finishes to suggest he was enjoying himself.

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Last year we would have a second-place here and a fifth-place there and the rest was 20th place. Now we are running 15th every week, but we never really had a result like [Sunday].

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JUAN MONTOYA

That all changed Sunday in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway as the second-year driver hung in the top 20 all day, even led a lap for the first time at Talladega, and brought home his No. 42 Dodge in second, his highest finish of 2008 and his best result at a superspeedway.

"I've loved restrictor-plate racing since the first time I came to Talladega," Montoya said. "The bumping, it's tough. You can finish 20th in a heartbeat -- or 30th. It's pretty exciting because it takes a lot of strategy and you always have to pick the right lane.

"I really helped [winner] Kyle [Busch]. I managed to get on his bumper, and when you can get on somebody's bumper you can actually push them all the way around the corner. I made up a bunch of ground and it was good, and I got up to second and then dropped to fifth and got up to second again. It was a pretty cool, interesting race."

The finish was the highest for Chip Ganassi Racing at the 2.66-mile track, a highlight in what could be considered a tough weekend for the organization.

Reed Sorenson's engine gave out four laps into Sunday's race, forcing the driver to a 43rd-place finish and dropping him to 32nd in the standings.

On Saturday in the Nationwide Series race, Dario Franchitti broke his ankle after being involved in a hard crash on Lap 11, forcing the team to find a backup driver for Sunday's Cup race (read more). Franchitti could miss upcoming races as well.

The answer to Franchitti's absence Sunday came in the form of an ex-Ganassi driver, David Stremme, who stepped into the No. 40. He moved his car from the rear of the field to the lead on Lap 138 of the 188-lap event.

When the caution came out on Lap 173 due to a multi-car crash, Montoya and Stremme were comfortably in the top five. But only one would end up there at the end.

The two have different explanations of what happened, but the duo got separated from each other and Montoya was able to drive to the front while Stremme was punted to the back and ended up being one of 13 cars involved in the crash on the final lap, turning a top-five into a 28th-place finish.

"I was put in bad positions -- [Montoya] left me hangin' when I pushed him so I couldn't do much," Stremme said. "The 55 [Michael Waltrip] was blowing up and then they started wreckin' and I ended up with nowhere to go. [Jamie McMurray] blew a tire and it wrecked a bunch of us, so not much we could do."

Montoya says he feels bad Stremme was collected in that final crash, but added the separation between the two was just a racing thing.

"I was a couple places behind [Stremme] on the restart, the 24 [Jeff Gordon] came with a hell of a run. They split one way and then the other and I tried to block them," Montoya said. "I slowed them down a little bit and got a bit of momentum and when they all came down I had a hole, I went down and it worked.

"It's just one of those things that is pure luck. I picked the right lane and it worked out. It's frustrating to see the 40 get a bad result after how good they ran all day."

Montoya earned his second-place finish with a new crew chief for the first time in his Cup Series career. Two weeks ago, Chip Ganassi swapped chiefs for the Nos. 41 and 42 teams, putting Jimmy Elledge with Montoya and moving Donnie Wingo to Sorenson.

The swap didn't have much to do with the finish, according to Montoya, who says more time is needed before they can assess the change.

"I think here the difference between Donnie and Jimmy -- I don't think there's any difference," Montoya said. "We were always in the right place at the right time [Sunday], and I don't think Donnie would have done anything different.

"We had good calls all day and I think we need to get more into the season and see what happens."

The finish moves Montoya into the top 12 in points and puts an end to what some were calling a slump, although Montoya says if you compare this season to last, it shows tremendous improvement and gives the 42 team hope heading into May.

"It's funny to say 'struggling' because you look at last year and the average finish is a lot better," Montoya said. "Last year we would have a second-place here and a fifth-place there and the rest was 20th place. Now we are running 15th every week, but we never really had a result like [Sunday].

"I think it really motivates everybody back in Charlotte, and hopefully it's time that we are headed in the right direction."