Juan Pablo Montoya utilized a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission in his #42 Dodge to claim his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series victory. Montoya passed Jamie McMurray with seven laps to go to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the 12-turn Infineon Raceway road coarse.
Montoya was one of eight drivers running the JASPER 4-Speed Transmission at Sonoma this past weekend. Also running the transmission were:
#20 – Tony Stewart;
#00 – PJ Jones;
#96 – Ron Fellows;
#55 – Terry LaBonte;
#44 – Dale Jarrett;
#40 – David Stremme; and
#41 – Reed Sorenson.
Montoya, who jumped to NASCAR from Formula 1 late last season, started the 110-lap race 32nd, and became the first Cup driver to win on the California road coarse starting further back than 13th. His first Nextel Cup win came in his 17th start.
“Sonoma is one of the toughest tracks the Nextel Cup drivers visit,” says Mark Harrah of Harrah Engineering, Ltd. “Drivers complain about transmissions when they race at Sonoma, but we received nothing but compliments about the JASPER 4-Speed.”
Already a proven winner on the race track in the NASCAR Craftsman Series Truck with Jack Sprague, along with several top-10 finishes in Truck and Busch races, this transmission, developed by JASPER, includes several patent pending improvements including the ARC input shaft design. This design allows for complete isolation of spinning transmission parts to clutch/engine components. The ARC input shaft design allows for up to .98 degrees of dynamic deflection between the engine/clutch and transmission axis.
The input drive to output shaft retains its designed axis centerline to within 0.0015” under race conditions. The entire independently aligned rotating assembly allows for nearly 99% transmission efficiency under dynamic loading.
The transmission’s sliding clutches to shift control assembly was redesigned to retain perfect alignment for reduced wear and more precise shifts.
The JASPER 4-Speed also includes an exclusive patent pending shift control design that allows for reduced ratio for detent and interlocking components which greatly improves shift reliability, quicker shifting, and virtually eliminates a missed shift. The shifter housing can be easily disassembled for service with very few tools.
Gleason Manufacturing, which manufactures premier gear cutting CNC machines, was selected as the production manufacturer of the gears and shafts for the JASPER 4-Speed. Main case rigidity is greatly improved without sacrificing weight through the use of aircraft component manufacturers. The case is designed for stand-alone mounting, which means a transmission mount is not needed with proper engine support. All mating surfaces are O-ringed for quick assembly and disassembly. JASPER then designed and manufactured a state of the art eddy current dynamometer allowing units to be tested under loads up to 10,800 RPM.
For more information on products offered by JASPER, call (800) 827-7455 or visit www.jasperengines.com.