Entering the final part of the race, the Colombian driver wanted to make an on-track statement and passed Gordon on the inside – something that most drivers would find it particularly hard to pull out – eventually clinching 3rd place. While the maneuver seemed kind of dangerous to the Hendrick Motorsport driver, Montoya insisted it was only a way of getting back at Gordon for other clashes in the past.
“It's just every time we've been around racing against him, he runs the hell out of me. He moved me out of the way before, and he was starting to do the same here today. I was running the outside of him, and every time he was just getting wider and wider,” said Montoya after the race.
This was actually more of a response to Gordon, who admitted after the race – which he eventually finished in 5th place – that he thought he did something wrong to enrage Montoya like that.
“I hope it's not something that transfers over because I don't know really what I did if I did do something,” said a disoriented Gordon after the chequered flag.
“We're good. I talked to him afterwards. It's like, 'hey, I'm here, and you're not going to push me around; you know what I mean? If you give me room, I'll give you room.' He wasn't giving me any, so I played the same game,” added the Colombian.
“It's okay. I never really had a big problem with him, but he's always so hard to race against. But he probably says the same thing against me, because he never gave me any room, why am I going to give him any? It's a vicious circle,” concluded Montoya.
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