Brake issues haunt Carpentier at Loudon

Jun 30, 2008 - 7:04 PM LOUDON, New Hampshire (Ticker) -- Patrick Carpentier's day at New Hampshire started a lot better than it finished.

After capturing his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole for Sunday's Lenox Tools 301, the Canadian led the first four laps before relinquishing the lead to Kevin Harvick.

Carpentier remained among the lead pack early in the race until his first pit stop at lap 65. But as he rejoined the race, he was unable to keep pace with the lead drivers, suffering with chronic brake problems.

"We just lost the brakes. We were running really well. I was really happy," Carpentier said. "We had really good power. The pedal went soft and that was it. Most of the race, we had no brakes.

"At the end, it (pedal) was all the way to the floor, just bouncing up a little bit. I was lifting before the start-finish line and coasting. It's too bad."

Carpentier finished in 32nd place, one spot behind his teammate Kasey Kahne. But NASCAR officials announced that Juan Pablo Montoya was penalized two places for reckless driving, which resulted in a 31st for Carpentier.

The result dropped Carpentier one spot to 38th in the standings, 284 points behind Scott Riggs for the 35th and final spot that guarantees drivers a spot in the starting grid.

The rookie has missed three races this season, his first in the No. 10 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge after replacing Riggs. His best finish of the season is 24th at Chicago on June 15.