McMurray Brings Home Sixth Top-10 of the Season at Pocono
LONG POND, Penn. (June 12, 2005)
--- Jamie McMurray and the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team fought handling issues throughout a majority of the Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. However, they were able to adjust on the car and get it comfortable enough for McMurray to drive his way to a 10th-place finish at the conclusion of the 200-lap event.
McMurray took the initial green flag on the outside pole because Kurt Busch, who originally held the position, had to drop to the rear of the field for mechanical reasons, moving the No. 42 up from its fourth-place position on the starting grid. In the opening laps McMurray dropped back to fifth, battling a primarily tight race car. As the race pressed on the balance came in, allowing him to move up to fourth before the first of seven caution periods on lap 28. The No. 42 team would contend with this particular scenario for the duration of the event.
"The car started off really tight, but it seemed to be getting looser right before the caution," said McMurray. "Let's not do too much to it. Maybe raise the track bar one round and let's see what that does."
The crew made the chassis adjustment while changing four tires and adding fuel, and sent McMurray underway in fourth. Racing resumed on lap 33 and when the second caution flag flew the Texaco/Havoline Dodge had fallen back to seventh. McMurray radioed in that his motor was "unreal" but a loose condition entering Turn 3 and a push exiting Turn 1 kept him from being able to run down the lead cars. He pitted for more adjustments and exited pit land in 12th because a few teams opted to take only two tires.
The next segment of the race saw much of the same, with McMurray and team fighting a temperamental race car. One run it would be loose, and after a few minor adjustments during a pit stop, it would become extremely tight. No matter what changes crew chief Donnie Wingo and McMurray threw at the Texaco/Havoline Dodge, they just couldn't find that neutral zone in the handling department.
As the race drew to a close, many teams began making some strategy calls to hopefully give them an edge over the competition. Some competitors chose to pit early for their last stop in an attempt to gain ground on cars running on older tires. Others chose to take only two tires or just fuel with hopes of gaining a position or two. For this to work, however, the green would have to stay out for the round of green flag stops. McMurray and team stayed on course with their strategy, staying out as long as they could and taking four tires during their stop. Their decision to do so worked well because McMurray cycled out in the same position that he was in prior to pitting (10th) and he was running down cars in front of him that only took two or no tires.
McMurray moved into ninth on lap 193 and he was chasing down eighth before the final caution on lap 194. This would hinder McMurray's run towards the front considerably because the No. 42 would just not go on the restarts. McMurray dropped one position to 10th before taking the checkered flag at the 2.5-mile speedway.
"I'm pretty pleased with our effort today," said McMurray after emerging from his race car. "We fought the handling all day today and that's been the case the last few weeks. Our cars are extremely sensitive to adjustments and we just can't put our finger on it right now. Our teammates are fighting the same thing, so hopefully we'll be able to put our heads together and get something figured out soon.
"Still, it was a great effort for the Texaco/Havoline team. The guys did an incredible job on pit road and it's nice to get another top-10 finish. That definitely helped us in the points. I think we're only about 12 or so points out of 10th heading into Michigan, and that's been a good track for us in the past."
McMurray moved up one position to 12th in the overall point standings with his 10th-place effort at Pocono. The No. 42 Texaco/Havoline team is just 12 points out of 10th and 64 out of fifth heading into the 15th race of the season at Michigan International Speedway on June 19.
McMurray's Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Racing teammates Sterling Marlin and Casey Mears finish 16th and 18th respectively.
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