Bowyer: Montoya's "A Jackass"

Clint Bowyer’s hopes of racing for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship were dealt a major blow today, when contact with Juan Pablo Montoya sent Bowyer’s Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet into the wall at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His Richard Childress Racing team attempted to make repairs and return him to the track, but in the end, their efforts went for naught en route to a 36th place finish. Bowyer was outspoken in his criticism of Montoya after the crash, calling the former Formula One pilot “a jackass.”

“He was tight up off the corner and we fought … the whole run,” said Bowyer. “You just can’t race against around that jackass. You never can. Everybody in the sport knows what they’re up against when (Montoya) comes up. He dive-bombs the start and bullies his way up there, and before you know it, he’s in the way and wrecking with somebody. Unfortunately I was the victim this week. It’s just a shame. We’re out here racing for a spot in the Chase. He’s racing for nothing. I’m tired of it.’’
Montoya said Bowyer has only himself to blame for the crash, saying, “I was there. I think he thought I wasn’t there. A few laps before… I got inside him and he turned like I wasn’t there and we touched. He damaged my right front fender. Then the next lap, he got a run on the inside. (I went) to run the top… and he just came out (of the corner) like I’m not there. Call me whatever you want, but if I’m there, I’m there.’’

Montoya also scoffed at the notion and “give and take” between drivers, saying, “Give and take with 80 laps to go is not that. He could have closed the door and I wasn’t there and I would have gone to the bottom. But I still had my nose there. I had all the momentum. I was coming 10 mph quicker than him.’’

While Bowyer maintains a mathematical chance of making the Chase, he likely will need to win Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Richmond International Raceway and capitalize on the bad luck of others.