Fuel Mileage Shakes Up Finishing Order at Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. (Aug. 21, 2005)
--- Many predicted that fuel mileage would play a key roll in the outcome of the GFS Marketplace 400. Their intuition was correct as eventual winner Jeremy Mayfield and a handful of others were able to stretch their fuel, leaving many of the stronger performers of the day to settle with a less then desirable finish, including Jamie McMurray and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team.
Although they battled a tight handling race car throughout the 200-lap event, McMurray and team gained on the chassis with each pit stop. In the closing laps of the race, the Texaco/Havoline Dodge had come to life and it appeared as though McMurray was headed towards a top 10 finish.
While running in 14th on 176 and gaining on many of the competitors in front of them, the Texaco/Havoline team began to see many teams enter pit road for either two tires and fuel or fuel only to get them to the checkered flag. Knowing they were going to be six laps from making it to the finish, crew chief Donnie Wingo called McMurray onto pit road while running in sixth for right side tires and fuel on lap 191. The crew performed the service and sent McMurray back on track with high hopes of cycling out in the top 10 before the checkered flag. Unfortunately, many teams had some suspect fuel mileage, dropping McMurray and crew to 20th at the conclusion of the event.
"None of us ever would've thought so many guys could make it that far on fuel," said McMurray after the race. "We knew some of them were going to gamble, but not that many. And, we definitely didn't think that many guys would make it.
"We knew going into the race that we wouldn't be able to gamble like that because we've got a lot to lose. We're right there on the brink of either making 'The Chase' or not and we just don't have the luxury to try those sort of things. We managed to keep ourselves in the top 10 in points today, so we definitely made the right call. Running out of gas in the closing laps could've have been a devastating blow."
McMurray took the initial green flag in 28th, but a tight handling race car kept him from making a strong charge towards the front until the crew was able to adjust on the chassis during the first stop on lap 25. They made air pressure adjustments to loosen up the chassis and the direction they were heading was definitely improving the overall balance of the No. 42 Dodge. McMurray was able to race up to 20th during the next segment of the race.
The Texaco/Havoline Dodge was a handful for McMurray early during the green flag runs, but with each passing lap the handling improved, and it showed as McMurray was able to race up to as high as 10th during the later portion of the race. Unfortunately, the final results don't show how good the car and driver were at Michigan International Raceway.
McMurray and team slipped one position to 10th in the overall points standings. They are only 59 points out of ninth, 71 out of eighth and 197 out of fifth heading into the next event at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 27.
McMurray's Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Casey Mears and Sterling Marlin finished 14th and 21st 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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