Montoya call right choice, just didn't work out

1. Did Juan Montoya and crew chief Brian Pattie make the wrong call by taking four tires on the final pit stop at Indianapolis?

Joe Menzer: Duh. Obviously. Even team owner Chip Ganassi admitted as much when he was asked in the post-race media roundup what he would tell the obviously disappointed pair. He said, "I would tell them they should have taken two."

Duane Cross: Of course, in hindsight -- but I couldn't argue the call at the time. Who knew you could hold off the pack on two tires at that distance? I'm sure Brian slept well, knowing he made the four-tire call with the info he had at hand.

David Caraviello: It's easy to say yes, given the outcome, and that teammate Jamie McMurray won by taking two. But in that situation, how can you not take four tires? You're leading the race, you've got the best car, and it's not exactly a sprint to the finish. Like a baseball manager, the No. 42 team went with the book. They became the proverbial sitting duck as a result. But that doesn't mean the thinking behind the call was incorrect.

Joe Menzer: I really thought they were going to be OK. There were, what, 19 laps still to go? And he came out in seventh, with the six cars in front of him on two tires. I thought he would have plenty of time to make up the ground, but he almost immediately started struggling and going backward instead of marching to the front like I thought he would.

David Caraviello: Brian was crushed. He's usually among the most accessible crew chiefs in the garage area, and for him to issue just a three-sentence statement spoke volumes about how badly he was beating himself up. But there were plenty of laps left. I can't believe they didn't think they could get back up front. Of course, they probably also didn't expect so many teams just to take two.

Duane Cross: If Juan had won, the talk would be, 'What a call the 42 team made!' Amazing how the media works at times. And, with the way Juan likes to drive the wheels off a car, no one would have made the two-tire call with him in the driver's seat.

David Caraviello: I can't disagree there, Duane. You look at what's happened to this team the past two years, though -- the car is untouchable up front, struggles in traffic. I have no idea how you try to improve that, or if you even can, given that I don't think you can replicate Indy traffic conditions on a seven-post or in a wind tunnel. One of those things where you don't know how your car is going to react until it's there.

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Joe Menzer: Well, we can sit here and say we don't blame them for making the wrong call all we want. But the fact is, in this situation, it obviously turned out to be the wrong call. I think it's another example of how track position is everything, especially at a place like Indy where it's hard to pass. It should be duly noted that Greg Biffle also took four tires, and he was able to at least work his way back up to third.

David Caraviello: Of course, Greg didn't hit the wall trying too hard. And really, third for Montoya would probably have been about as unfulfilling as where they ended up. That was a win-or-bust effort there Sunday afternoon.

Joe Menzer: Then I would argue that he should have taken two and made certain he stayed out front.

Duane Cross: No doubt JPM, Brian and everyone on the team was cussing that ol' track on Sunday night. That's two years in a row he's seemingly had the field covered only to lose it on pit road. This year, four tires was the call -- but, like Joe said, it didn't help in passing back to the front.

David Caraviello: I know crew chiefs scan radios in that situation trying to guess what everybody else is going to do, but really, the leader is in a no-win situation at that point. Not even two tires would have necessarily guaranteed them anything. You're playing a hunch at that point, and Pattie had to look at how good his car was on four tires and go with that call. It's really hard to disagree with him there.

Duane Cross: And that's the bottom line, David -- Brian knew how good the car was on four tires and he figured there were enough laps to make up the difference on the drivers who took two tires.

Joe Menzer: Well, of course there are no guarantees. There never are in racing -- and you're absolutely right that the leader is in virtually a no-win situation there. If they had taken two and someone behind them had taken four and they had lost, we'd be having a debate about that, too. But in retrospect, they simply made the wrong call this time.

David Caraviello: And how about Chip Ganassi, splitting his strategies there, playing his two cars against one another to try and guarantee himself a win? Sly. Though you wonder how the 42 team feels about that.

Joe Menzer: McMurray took two and took off, and then held everyone else off. End of story. He made the right call, the 42 team made the wrong one. No matter how it may have seemed at the time.

David Caraviello: That Menzer is a heck of a crew chief -- when it comes to the Windstar.

Joe Menzer: With a cracked windshield, no less.

David Caraviello: Ouch. That can't help the aerodynamics. Get that thing in the wind tunnel and have a look at it.

Duane Cross: Joe Menzer, crew chief of the 20/20 Hindsight Chevrolet! (Continued)