McMurray Moves Closer to NASCAR Top 10 with Seventh-Place Finish in Bristol
Bristol, Tenn., (August 29, 2004)
--- Jamie McMurray and the Texaco/Havoline team continued their march into the Chase for the Championship with a seventh-place finish last night in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The top-10 finish moved McMurray to within 45 points of breaking into the NASCAR Top 10. McMurray is tied with Dale Jarrett for 15th place in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup points with two races remaining before the 10-race playoff series begins. McMurray's seventh-place finish was his 13th top-10 finish of the 2004 season.
"I thought we had a car capable of winning at the beginning," McMurray said. "The 8 car got better and we stayed the same or maybe got a little bit worse. Any time you can survive Bristol you're happy. This is actually one of the tracks where we thought we'd run good. I think 11th is my worst finish ever in a Cup car here. This is where I thought we'd gain some points. A couple of guys had trouble, so I'm pretty happy. I thought we were about a fifth-place car, so I'm happy with our finish. This Texaco/Havoline Dodge will be good the next two races."
After qualifying fifth, McMurray quickly unleashed the power of his Texaco/Havoline Dodge as he had vaulted into third place by lap 25.
During a caution period on lap 56, McMurray headed for pit road for four tires and fuel while an air pressure adjustment was made to correct a "tight on the gas" condition. McMurray exited pit road in 12th place.
By lap 83, McMurray had worked his way back into the top five as he clicked off blistering lap times around the half-mile oval.
Over the next 100 laps of green-flag racing, McMurray patiently worked through lapped traffic as he maneuvered his way towards the front. By lap 208, the Texaco/Havoline Dodge was running in second place.
During scheduled green-flag pit stops, McMurray grabbed the lead on lap 216 and held the top spot until heading down pit road on lap 223 for a scheduled four-tire stop. The Texaco/Havoline Dodge re-entered the race in third place. McMurray would hold down third place until the caution flag waved on lap 327.
During the caution period, McMurray was fitted with four tires and fuel while another air pressure adjustment was made to the Texaco/Havoline Dodge. McMurray exited pit road in fourth place.
As the race reached the final 100 laps, McMurray found himself running in seventh place as he fought a tight-handling race car. McMurray would hold down seventh place in the closing laps as he fought off hard challenges from Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth.
When the checkered flag waved on the Sharpie 500, the Texaco/Havoline Dodge crossed the finish line in seventh place.
Next up for McMurray and the Texaco/Havoline team is the 2.0-mile oval at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. for the running of the Pop Secret 500 next Sunday night.
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