Montoya earns six contingency awards at the Glen

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Using road-course prowess, raw horsepower and strategic calls in a dominating performance in Sunday's Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, Juan Montoya and the No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team visited Victory Lane for the first time this season, picking up the race win and six post-race contingency awards.

Montoya, who manhandled the 2.45-mile road course all day, pulled away from Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch during the final 16 laps at Watkins Glen International to notch his second career Cup Series victory, and add yet another trophy to the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team stable.

Montoya

Montoya, who has seven top-10 finishes in eight career road-course races, gave Earnhardt Ganassi Racing its third victory of the 2010 season (Jamie McMurray: Daytona and Indianapolis) and first at Watkins Glen.

Adding to the victory, Montoya, crew chief Brian Pattie and the No. 42 Target team also picked up the DirecTV Crew Chief of the Race, Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap of the Race, MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race, Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race, Sunoco Diamond Performance, and WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race awards.

The awards are part of the NASCAR Prize Money and Decal program, also referred to as the Contingency program, which provide teams prize money and weekly awards based on performance in several categories.

Montoya, who led the most laps (74) during the 90-lap event, captured his third WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race award of 2010. Upon turning the fastest lap of the race while leading (122.196 mph on Lap 80), Montoya locked up the Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap of Race award, also his third of the year. As the race winner, Montoya also secured the Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race award, as well as the Sunoco Diamond Performance award as the highest finishing eligible driver.

"To come out and get the job done the way we did, it was big," Montoya said. "I feel more relieved than happy right now. I think getting the first win [this season] is a big boost for the whole team. We just have to keep doing our job."

The win marked crew chief Brian Pattie's first career victory in the Cup Series. In addition to the victory, Pattie also picked up the DirecTV Crew Chief of the Race award for best qualifying and race effort based on the average of starting and finishing position during the weekend.

"Couldn't happen at a better place for me personally," Pattie said. "[(Watkins Glen] is my favorite track. I just feel comfortable here."

With a powerful engine under the hood of the No. 42 Chevrolet, Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines was awarded the MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race award. ECR Engines, who builds powerplants for Montoya and McMurray at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and for Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer at Richard Childress Racing, is having a dream season. They've captured wins in the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, finished second with McMurray in the Southern 500 at Darlington and Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and won at Talladega with Harvick this season. ECR Engines currently leads the MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year competition with 206 points.

Heading into Sunday's CARFAX 400 at Michigan, Montoya and the No. 42 team have five top-five and nine top-10 finishes this season, and currently sit 19th in the Cup Series standings.

For a complete list of Watkins Glen contingency winners, click here.