There were a number of questions surrounding the merger of Chip Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. during the off-season, but judging by the first two events of 2009 it seems things have come together quicker than expected.

Martin Truex Jr. started the year off right when he put the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet on the pole for the Daytona 500. Yet it has been Juan Pablo Montoya who has quietly carried the torch for this organization at start of the 2009 season.

The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet has not scored a top-10 so far in 2009, but has been the most consistent of the EGR drivers and is currently tenth in the series standings. With an average start of 11.5 and an average finish of 12.5, Montoya is starting to show he has finally found a combination of teammates and management that is finally starting to show results.

A 14th in Daytona followed up by a 10th at the Auto Club Speedway, Montoya is confident in himself and his teammates and how they stack up against the competition. Focusing on the big picture, Montoya knows the season is long and realizes a positive start needs to carry through the entire season.

"It is all about 26 races," Montoya said. "We will see what happens. In a way, it has been weird year because in Daytona, we actually had a really fast car, we just ran out of time. We had a couple of bad spots, run in the back. Got tires, picked up a ton of places, but it was pretty late. California was an ok race. We normally struggle there and we ran pretty decent. We ran between eighth and 14th most of the day and it was ok. Here, we seemed ok again. We are close, we are very close. But we aren't there yet. In a way it is very exciting. Being with Target again, for me has been a big deal. Run the Chevy and now running for Chevy has been really good. Our performance has improved so I am very happy."

Starting 23rd for Sunday's Shelby 427 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Montoya has his sights sets on his biggest competition - Hendrick and Roush. Understanding these two teams - and their affiliates - take up majority of the field, the Columbian-born driver knows breaking the stronghold of the top two teams is no simple task.

"I feel that we have the potential to start getting in there and having several wins and running better," Montoya said of his organization. "One team on the one side has four cars, plus two, you look at Stewart as being pretty much a full Hendrick deal so that makes six cars. You look at the other side Roush has five cars plus another two, the Yates deal. You know, if all those cars finish ahead of you, you are already 16th. If you just put the Hendrick and the Roush and you finish right behind them, you are 10th. So it makes it hard but I think we are doing the job we have to."

Now in his third full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the former open-wheel sensation feels more comfortable than ever at his chances. Hoping to break the stronghold of the biggest organizations, Montoya knows EGR has more work to do but sees the early season progress as a sign of good things to come.

"I think the performance is getting better. I think we are decent everywhere. I think we can run top-10 now every week, it feels like we are right there," Montoya added. "We just need a little bit more speed out of the car. It is not much. I think we are in position, we need a little bit more to run top-five. We don't really need that much. It is like you can run with them, but you have to have better pit stops, everything has got to work together just a little bit better. Last week our pit stops hurt us a little bit but we are working really hard to make that better."

There is no doubt this team has stepped up their game and Juan Pablo Montoya is hungry to win. The 1999 CART Series champion, 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner, 2003 Monaco Grand Prix winner, 2007 Cup Series Rookie of the Year and two-time overall winner of the 24 Hours at Daytona has yet to find the amount of success on the ovals of NASCAR. A winner on the road course, Montoya is eager to shake off the road course ringer image and finally make his mark in the toughest racing in the world.