McMurray Finishes 13th at Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 19, 2005)
--- The Batman Begins 400 at Michigan Int'l Speedway was altogether uneventful, and the same held true for Jamie McMurray and the No. 42 Home123/Texaco/Havoline Team. Other than contending with a slightly loose race car for a majority of the 200-lap event, McMurray was able to maintain position in the top 15 throughout the race. The No. 42 Home123 Dodge crept up as high as seventh by lap 62 of the race, but after what McMurray felt may have been a bad set of tires after a pit stop on lap 88, the team struggled to get the handling back. All in all, however, it was a solid effort for the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Team.
"I'm pretty pleased with our effort today," said McMurray. "The car was loose early in the race, so we adjusted on it during our first stop. We got it a lot better and then I think we put on a bad set of tires during one of the stops because the car got way too tight. We over adjusted because of that and the next run it was super loose. From there we were playing catch up and there just weren't enough cautions for us to get it back where it was."
McMurray took the initial green flag in 24th, and by lap 27 he cracked into the top 15 for the first time. He would go on to race up to 10th and just before he was scheduled to make a green flag stop, the first caution of the race came out on lap 41. The No. 42 team caught a lucky break, because many teams were caught a lap down as a result of pitting prior to the caution.
"It's primarily loose off Donnie (Wingo)," McMurray stated before bringing his car onto pit road. "Let's take a pound out of the right rear and a half pound out of the others."
As the No. 42 came to a stop, the over-the-wall crew hurled themselves into position and quickly began servicing the car with four new tires and fuel. They railed off a 14.1 sec. stop and sent McMurray back into competition in ninth.
Racing resumed on lap 47 and after another quick caution, the race remained under green until lap 155. During the extended run, McMurray was able to surge up to seventh by lap 62, but shortly thereafter he began to fade considerably.
"The car has gotten extremely tight all of a sudden," McMurray explained. "Let's take air out of all of the tires except raise the pressure in the right rear."
McMurray was able to pit for the requested changes under green flag conditions on lap 88. Soon after the stop he commented that the car was "wicked loose" and that they must have been on a bad set of tires during the previous run. He rode it out until pitting under green once again on lap 133 while running in 16th.
After the stop McMurray cycled out in 15th, but he would fade to 18th before the third caution on lap 155. Since he was the last car on the lead lap, crew chief Donnie Wingo told him not to pit with the leaders and stay out to lead a lap for those valuable bonus points. Afterwards McMurray entered pit road for four tires, fuel, air pressure changes and a track bar adjustment. The crew bolted on four new tires, filled the No. 42 full of fuel and sent McMurray back out in 18th.
Still battling a loose condition, McMurray was able to race up to 16th before the fourth and final caution on lap 168. He pitted one more time for tires and adjustments and returned to the track in the same position. He would go on to race up to 13th before taking the checkered flag.
"The Home123 guys did a great job on pit road today and this was a solid day for us in the points," said McMurray after climbing from his car. "We moved up a position and gained some ground on a few guys that are in front of us."
View the Batman Begins 400
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