Havoline.com: Racing: NASCAR Results

03 July 2004

Pepsi 400 Unofficial Finish



  01.  Jeff Gordon           #24 Chevrolet DuPont
  02.  Jimmie Johnson        #48 Chevrolet Lowe's 
  03.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.    #8  Chevrolet Budweiser
  04.  Kurt Busch            #97 Ford Coca-Cola C2/Sharpie
  05.  Tony Stewart          #20 Chevrolet Coca-Cola C2/Home Depot
  06.  Mark Martin           #6  Ford Viagra 
  07.  Bobby Labonte         #18 Chevrolet Wellbutrin XL
  08.  Terry Labonte         #5  Chevrolet Cheez-It/Spider-Man 2
  09.  Brian Vickers         #25 Chevrolet GMAC Financial Services
  10.  Joe Nemechek          #01 Chevrolet U.S. Army

  37.  Jamie McMurray        #42 Dodge Texaco/Havoline

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Unofficial Points:


  
  01.  Jimmie Johnson        2545
  02.  Dale Earnhardt Jr.    2518
  03.  Jeff Gordon           2313 
  04.  Tony Stewart          2203 
  05.  Matt Kenseth          2189 
  06.  Bobby Labonte         2164 
  07.  Kurt Busch            2153 
  08.  Elliott Sadler        2152 
  09.  Ryan Newman           2112 
  10.  Kevin Harvick         2095    
   
  13.  Jamie McMurray        1944

McMurray's Bad Luck at Daytona Continues

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (July 5, 2004) --- Jamie McMurray's misfortune at Daytona International Speedway continued Saturday night as a hole in the oil pan ended the Texaco/Havoline team's night early. McMurray finished 37th in the Pepsi 400. As a result, McMurray dropped to 13th in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points and is currently 151 points out of the NASCAR Top 10 for the Chase for the Championship.

"It definitely was not our night," McMurray said. "We struggled with the car all night, and then knocked a hole in the oil pan, so this is pretty frustrating. All the points we gained last weekend in Sonoma we just gave away tonight."

After qualifying 32nd, McMurray fought the handling on the Texaco/Havoline Dodge early in the race as he radioed the crew the car was extremely tight. By lap 18 he was running in the 21st position.

"I hit every curve as hard as I could and jumped them," McMurray said. "When I got behind Jeff (Gordon), it seemed like the harder you try here the slower you go, so I thought I was going to just try to do what Jeff was doing. I was going to try to miss the curves and just do what I could, and I just kept getting slower. So I started back hitting the curves and running out of control and we were faster."

McMurray's misfortune continued on lap 44 during a caution flag pit stop. While entering pit road, McMurray made contact with the No. 09 machine of Bobby Hamilton, Jr. As a result, McMurray spun sideways, but was able to avoid contact with the pit road wall. After gathering it back up, McMurray headed down pit road to his pit stall for service.

McMurray continued to fight the handling on the Texaco/Havoline Dodge and by the halfway point in the race was running 34th.

McMurray's night finally ended on lap 126 when white smoke began to billow from underneath the car. McMurray was forced to go behind pit wall to determine the culprit. Upon inspection it was discovered that a hole had been knocked in the oil pan, thus ending the night for the Texaco/Havoline team.

Next up for the Texaco/Havoline team is the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway this Sunday. McMurray finished eighth in the event last year.

Photo: Getty Images/Allsport

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