Total Team Effort Affords Texaco/Havoline Team 11th-Place Finish
LONG POND, Penn. (July 24, 2005)
--- After starting from the pole position, Jamie McMurray and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Team went from one end of the spectrum to the other in the luck department before finishing 11th in the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. McMurray ran in the top 10 for 138 of 200 laps, but contact with the No. 12 car, who appeared to loose the ignition or cut a tire just in from of him, cost the team valuable track position as they were forced to pit for repairs. Quick work on pit road, orchestrated by crew chief Donnie Wingo and executed by the over-the-wall crew, kept McMurray from losing a lap to the leaders. They had to play catch up from that moment on, but some excellent pit strategy, solid pit stops and a strong piece of driving by McMurray allowed the team to salvage a solid finish out of what could have otherwise been a devastating day in the points.
McMurray dropped back to second during the initial lap of the race because outside pole sitter Kurt Busch had the preferred lane entering the first corner. McMurray settled into position and held second until taking the first of 13th caution flags on lap 13. He was experiencing typical handling problems at Pocono, where the car would be really good in one corner but suffer in the others, so he brought the car onto pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
"It's really good in (turn) three, but super tight in the center of (turn) one," McMurray said. "It's probably because of the bumps down there and the shocks that we are running. Let's take a half pound out of the right front."
The crew performed the service and sent McMurray off pit road running in ninth because some teams opted to take only two tires, a strategy that would serve the No. 42 team well later in the race.
Racing resumed on lap 16 and by lap 44 McMurray had raced his way up to sixth. He continued to ride it out until pitting during the second caution on lap 50. During the stop the crew replaced four tires, added fuel and made more air pressure adjustments to remedy an overall loose condition.
"Killer stop guys," exclaimed McMurray as he lined up fifth for the next green flag on lap 54.
Pinned behind lap traffic, McMurray dropped back to 10th early during the next run, but after a couple of cautions and some adjustments, he was able to race back up to sixth by lap 96.
On lap 118 of the event, the team received its first hit of bad luck when McMurray radioed in that the low voltage light had come on. Concerned that the battery might not last for the remainder of the event, the Texaco/Havoline team was forced to replace it, but not before McMurray made contact with the No. 12 car on lap 138, causing significant damage to the right front.
"What happened there?" said spotter Lorin Ranier.
"I don't know," said McMurray. "He must have cut a tire down or lost the ignition because he basically stopped right in front of us."
The crew did an excellent job of mending the damage, bolting on a new fender piece and changing the battery without losing a lap. McMurray returned to competition in 26th, ready to take the next green on lap 142.
McMurray was able to race up to 17th before the eighth caution on lap 162, but in order to regain some of the track position lost during the repairs, he and the crew opted to take only two tires during their stop. The decision to do so moved them up to 11th place.
The field was unleashed once again on lap 166, and other than dropping a few positions while making pit stops when others stayed out, McMurray and crew maintained position in the top 15 throughout the remainder of the event. Some heads up thinking during the final two restarts helped their efforts even more as McMurray was able to wheel his way to an 11th-place finish in the end.
"Man, that was a tough day," he said to the crew during his cool down lap. "Nice job today guys. Way to stay with it. The stops were great all day and you did good job fixing the car. If only we could have a little good luck, we'd be getting the finishes we deserve."
The Texaco/Havoline Team maintained 11th-place in the overall championship standings at the conclusion of the race. They are only nine points out of 10th, 174 out of fifth and just 36 points from the 400 point cut off for making the chase if outside of the top 10.
McMurray's Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Casey Mears and Sterling Marlin finished 21st and 28th respectively.
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Media Relations Contact Information
Heather Kincel
Chip Ganassi Racing
with Felix Sabates
8500 Westmoreland Drive
Concord, NC 28027
Ph: (704) 662-9642
Fax: (704) 662-9643
Email: Heather Kincel
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