Stats show Montoya better now than in previous years

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Juan Montoya stretched his consecutive top-10 finish streak to three races with a sixth-place run at Infineon Raceway this past Sunday. Not only did the finish extend his longest career top-10 streak in stock cars, but it vaulted him back into the top 12 of the Sprint Cup Series point standings.

Montoya's statistics have dramatically improved since his 2007 rookie season. Below are his numbers over the first 16 races, in the last three seasons:

Part of his success may have to do with increased aggressiveness. This season, Montoya has made 1,501 passes, 840 of which were of cars in the top 15. Last season, Montoya had only 1,304 passes through 16 races, and just 510 of them were of top-15 cars.

Montoya ranks in the top five in Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), a list that owns a combined five Sprint Cup championships (see right chart).

Whether the success continues will decide whether Montoya makes his first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The series has moved into the vital Race to the Chase phase of its season. Ten more races -- and 10 more tracks -- remain in the regular season. Over those 10 tracks, Montoya has a Driver Rating of 68.3 and an Average Running Position of 21.9. Among the current top 15 drivers, those two marks rank 14th.

First in each of those Loop Data categories is current points leader Tony Stewart, who now needs to start concentrating on potential Chase bonus points. When the Chase starts, the top 12 drivers will have their points reset to 5,000. Then, 10 bonus points will be added to that total for each victory in the first 26 races.

Stewart, with one victory this season, has 10 bonus points. Another 10 could be added this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a track at which he owns a series-high Driver Rating of 115.6.

Below is Stewart's driver log at New Hampshire since 2005