No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge Sustains Damage in Early-Race Accident, McMurray Battles to 26th-Place Finish
DOVER, Del. (June 5, 2005)
--- Loose, tight, loose/tight, anyway you want to put it and that's what Jamie McMurray experienced throughout the MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway. The No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge fired off "super loose" according to McMurray, but with each minor adjustment the car's handling would make a 180 degree swing in the other direction. It's highly probable the handling issues could be attributed to damage delivered to the front end when McMurray was collected in an accident during the opening laps. Whatever the case may be, the entire Texaco/Havoline team dealt with the adversity and fought their way to a 26th-place finish.
Shortly after the drop of the initial green flag McMurray radioed that the car was too loose for him to get back to the throttle when needed. As a result he chose to pit during the first of seven caution periods on lap 12. McMurray entered pit road in 11th, but many competitors chose to take only two tires so he would return to the track in 23rd.
Racing resumed on lap 16 and remained green until lap 34. As soon as the yellow flag flew McMurray requested to have two spring rubbers pulled from the right rear because the car was still considerably loose. The crew serviced the car and sent him back out in 24th.
The No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge came to life when the field was unleashed once again on lap 39. Unfortunately McMurray's run towards the front would come to an abrupt halt when he became victim of an accident a few laps later. Two cars got together in front of McMurray and he was basically the meat in the sandwich of two other cars trying to avoid the wreck. The Texaco/Havoline Dodge sustained some front-end fender damage, and it was later determined that the toe (alignment) was knocked out as well. The team repaired the car the best they could and McMurray returned to competition in 38th.
The car's handling became extremely tight during the extended run that followed the next green on lap 45. McMurray lost a lap to the leaders on lap 88, but became the recipient of the "Lucky Dog" pass when the fifth caution flag flew on lap 136. He commented that the car had become extremely loose again after some adjustments made during the previous stop on lap 117. The crew made air pressure and track bar adjustments and sent McMurray on his way in 22nd.
McMurray and crew fought much of the same throughout the remainder of the 400-lap event. The car's handling was very sensitive to minor changes and consequently McMurray struggled with finding the line that worked best. He and the crew kept their heads in the game, however, and they were able to maintain position in the top 20.
As the race drew to a close, McMurray and crew chief Donnie Wingo agreed to stretch the fuel mileage to hopefully catch a caution and many of the competitors a lap or two down. Unfortunately the car was using up more fuel than expected and McMurray coasted on to pit road with just 20 laps remaining. He wasn't going to make it to his pit stall, which was on the far end of pit road, so he pulled into his teammate Casey Mears stall for some fuel and a push by the Target crew. He eventually got the car started and drove to his pit for two tires. He returned to the track but was commanded by NASCAR to serve a pass-through penalty for pitting out of his box. Despite all of the late race trouble, McMurray and crew were able to take the checkered flag in 26th place.
"We struggled with the car's handling during practice yesterday so I was a little concerned heading into the race today," said McMurray. "The car started off really loose, but the guys made some great adjustments early on and we got it pretty close. After we got the damage trying to avoid the wreck though, it kind of set us back to square one and we spent most of the race trying to overcome that. The toe was knocked out and that's probably what made the car so sensitive to the adjustments we were making."
"We lost a few positions in the points today, but they are so tight that we can jump right back up there with a solid run in Pocono. We'll put this one behind us and move on to next week. There are still plenty of races left before Richmond and a lot can happen between now and then."
The Texaco/Havoline team slipped four positions in the standings to 13th, but they are only 37 points out of 10th and 70 out of fifth heading into the next event at Pocono Raceway on June 12. McMurray's Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Casey Mears and Sterling Marlin finished 24th and 32nd respectively.
View the MBNA RacePoints 400
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