Montoya earns pole for Brickyard 400

INDIANAPOLIS | Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray increased optimism that team owner Chip Ganassi could pull off the cherished trifecta of American auto racing.

Montoya won the pole at Saturday's Brickyard 400 qualifying when his No. 42 Chevrolet hit a top speed of 182.278 mph. Teammate McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 earlier this year, begins today's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway fourth after hitting 181.748.

A victory by Montoya or McMurray would make Ganassi the first team owner to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season. Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500 in May.

"We'll see what happens," said Ganassi, trying to downplay the potential achievement. "It's a long day and we have a lot of things to do yet. This is just one step in a long flight of steep stairs for the weekend."

Winning the Brickyard 400 would also serve as redemption for Montoya, who appeared to be on his way to victory in last year's race before a speeding penalty on pit road dropped him to an 11th-place finish.

"It's racing," he said. "It sucked what happened, and in my eyes I still don't think I did anything wrong. It sucks we didn't take the trophy home, but I think anybody on that team knows that we had the fastest car and pace to win the race.

"Sometimes, people get wins they lucked into and they get the trophy. We haven't had one of those," he added. "From one side it's a little frustrating, but do I feel like they owe me one? No. Do I want to win it? Yeah, of course."

Montoya, the 2000 Indy 500 winner, can become the first driver to win the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400. He finished second in the 2007 Brickyard 400, his first start in the event.

"He likes this place and that's always fun," Ganassi said. "Our team's had a good run of things here. This is just one more step, having the pole. We're pretty happy, though."

Montoya came to the Brickyard 400 last year ranked ninth in the Sprint Cup standings. He finished eighth in the 2009 Chase and entered this season expecting to contend for the championship. He currently sits 21st in the standings, 701 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.

Only two drivers have won the Brickyard 400 when starting from the pole: Harvick in 2003 and Jimmie Johnson in 2008.

"It would be really cool winning here. I'll take a win anywhere," said Montoya, still in search of his first victory this season. "I want to win, and as a team we're working really hard for it.

"In a way, being realistic, the Chase is completely out of the equation for us right now," he added. "We can really focus on making big gains with the car and taking big risks. I think now we can start taking those chances and understanding what we need to do."

McMurray, who drives the No. 1 Chevrolet, hopes to become the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year, joining Dale Jarrett (1996) and Johnson (2006).

Johnson, the two-time defending Brickyard 400 champion, begins today's race in the second position, followed by Mark Martin, McMurray and Ryan Newman.