McMurray Scores Solid Seventh-Place Finish in New Hampshire
LOUDON, N.H., (July 26, 2004)
--- Jamie McMurray and the Texaco/Havoline team took one step closer to claiming a spot in the Chase for the Championship as the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge finished in seventh place yesterday in the Siemens 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. The seventh-place finish was McMurray's 10th top-10 finish of the season. McMurray remains 13th in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points, 134 points out of the NASCAR Top 10.
"I ran third most of the day," McMurray said. "We just got beat in the pits again. We didn't have bad pit stops. They just weren't quite quick enough to run up there with the leaders. We're just going to have to work on it. When you lose two or three spots every time you pit there's not much we can do about it. I thought we had a car fast enough to win the race, but you've just got to have good track position. I'm not sure what kind of point's day it's going to turn out to be. It looks like everybody we're racing is right there with us. We probably didn't gain a lot or lose a lot. We've just got to keep digging and keep finishing."
After qualifying fifth, McMurray actually started the race from the third position as a result of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. having to go to the rear of the field since he did not qualify his car.
In the early stages of the race, McMurray was able to maintain the third position as he radioed the Texaco/Havoline crew that his car was a little tight. McMurray continued to run in third place by lap 50.
During a caution flag on lap 60, McMurray headed for pit road for four tires and fuel while several chassis adjustments were made to the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. McMurray exited the pits in fourth place.
As the race reached the 100-lap mark, McMurray's Dodge was running third as he was fighting a tight in, loose off condition. During a caution period on lap 141, McMurray once again headed for pit road with the leaders as the Texaco/Havoline team mounted four new tires and topped off the fuel tank on McMurray's car. He exited pit road in seventh place.
By lap 200, McMurray had worked his way back up to third place. When the caution flag waved a few laps later on lap 211, the Texaco/Havoline team made its final pit stop of the day. McMurray took four tires and fuel while another chassis adjustment was made to the car. He re-entered the track in sixth place.
As the race reached the final stages, McMurray fought to gain track position on the leaders. By lap 275, the Texaco/Havoline Dodge continued to run in sixth place.
With 10 laps to go, McMurray was running sixth, but on the final lap Michael Waltrip's car shot to the outside to claim the position. When the checkered flag waved, the Texaco/Havoline Dodge crossed the finish line in seventh place.
Next up for the Texaco/Havoline team is the triangular-shaped oval of Pocono Raceway for the running of the Pennsylvania 500 next Sunday. McMurray finished ninth at the track earlier this summer.
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