Two-Tire Fontana Gamble Gets McMurray One Step Closer to Sealing "Chase" Status
FONTANA, Calif. (September 4, 2005)
--- With a NASCAR-best average finish of seventh over the past four NEXTEL Cup Series races at Fontana's California Speedway, Jamie McMurray had high hopes entering Sunday night's Sony HD 500 as he looked to solidify his "Chase" status for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' No. 42 Home123 Dodge entry.
With just two races remaining before the conclusion of the all-important 10-race championship shootout, McMurray came to California 12th in the standings, and a dismal 40th place qualifying effort certainly gave Chase experts reason to remove his name from the list of potential candidates. But after a 254-lap SoCal showdown Sunday night, and a late-race gamble on a two-tire stop on Lap 242, McMurray left the monstrous D-shaped oval with an eighth-place finish, and more importantly, a 10th place seat in 'The Chase' with one race to go before the cutoff.
As the sun-soaked California crowd settled into the confines of the 2-mile oval for the drop of the green flag, McMurray waited patiently in the back of the pack. He methodically worked his way up 10 spots by just lap 21, but he and his Home123 team wouldn't be able to get a beat on the No. 42 Dodge Charger's balance tendencies from that point on.
As frustration mounted and pit stop adjustments proved unsuccessful, McMurray found himself mired with a top-20 machine for the majority of the 500-mile race. The Home123 squad threw everything at the CGRFS-prepped stock car sans the proverbial kitchen sink, with multiple tire pressure adjustments, rounds of wedge and track bar turns galore.
However, the turning point of the race, and possibly the season to date for McMurray, was the team's call to come down pit road with 10-to-go for track position on a two-tire stop- a call that vaulted them to 10th on the scoring pylon. On the ensuing Lap 244 restart McMurray held his ground, wrestling the 700+ hp beast to seventh when the canary flag unfurled once again for a three-car melee off Turn 2. With a green-white-checkered finish forthcoming, he was able to keep a stronghold on the top-10 when the race restarted, and brought the No. 42 Home123 Dodge to the stripe in eighth.
"We had a terrible car tonight," said McMurray, who moved up two spots to 10th in 'The Chase for the NEXTEL Cup' (2929 points) with only Richmond remaining before the cutoff. "We gambled and took two tires at the end and it paid off for us. We were very fortunate, and I'm glad we're still in contention. We tested Richmond last week and we had a good test, so hopefully we can put the finishing touches on a strong drive there next weekend and stay in the top-10."
When the dust finally settled over Fontana, McMurray and company had their fourth top-10 finish in their last five Fontana starts, having gained an impressive race-high 32 positions in the process.
"I know throughout the race tonight [the standings] fluctuated huge- at one point I was 30th on the racetrack [and out of the top 10]," said McMurray. "Last year I was in the deal [Chase] with 10 or 15 laps to go and broke a valve spring or something, and then I wasn't [in]. I know it's a good story for the rest of the week, but I'll just go on and forget about it."
McMurray's teammates Sterling Marlin and Casey Mears finished 19th and 32nd, respectively, in the Sony HD 500.
Tune into TNT next Saturday night, September 9th at 7:00 p.m. ET as McMurray and his Texaco/Havoline team try to make the cut at the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 in Richmond, Va.
View the Sony HD 500
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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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