Havoline.com: Racing: NASCAR Results

03 October 2004

EA Sports 500 Unofficial Finish


 
 01. Dale Earnhardt Jr.    #8  Chevrolet Budweiser
 02. Kevin Harvick         #29 Chevrolet GM Goodwrench
 03. Dale Jarrett          #88 Ford UPS
 04. Brendan Gaughan       #77 Dodge Kodak/Jasper Engines
 05. Kurt Busch            #97 Ford Sharpie/IRWIN Industrial Tools
 06. Tony Stewart          #20 Chevrolet The Home Depot
 07. Joe Nemechek          #01 Chevrolet U.S. Army
 08. Casey Mears           #41 Dodge Target/Breast Cancer Awareness
 09. Robby Gordon          #31 Chevrolet Cingular Wireless
 10. Ward Burton           #0  Chevrolet NetZero HiSpeed
 
 17. Jamie McMurray        #42 Dodge Texaco/Havoline

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Unofficial Points:


 
 01. Dale Earnhardt Jr.    5543
 02. Kurt Busch            5530 
 03. Jeff Gordon           5482
 04. Mark Martin           5432
 05. Matt Kenseth          5393
 06. Tony Stewart          5391
 07. Ryan Newman           5384
 08. Elliott Sadler        5377
 09. Jimmie Johnson        5371
 10. Jeremy Mayfield       5263
  
 11.  Jamie McMurray       3585

McMurray Battles to 17th-Place Finish in Talladega

TALLADEGA, Ala., (October 3, 2004) --- Jamie McMurray, sporting a retro "Rising Star" paint scheme, battled to a 17th-place finish in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. McMurray leaves Talladega maintaining 11th place in points, 36 points ahead of pursuer Kevin Harvick.

"We just fought a really tight condition on the Texaco/Havoline Dodge," McMurray said. "Every time I would work my way through the field, the car would get tight. It definitely was a typical Talladega race. For the most part, everyone drove a clean race. At least we finished this restrictor-plate race. We haven't had much luck on these tracks."

After qualifying 24th, McMurray radioed to his crew that his car was too tight to run on the bottom of the track. By lap 46, the Texaco/Havoline Dodge was running in 24th place.

During a scheduled green-flag pit stop on lap 96, McMurray headed for pit road and was serviced with two right-side tires and fuel while air pressure adjustments were made to free the car up. He exited pit road in 18th place.

During a caution period on lap 123, McMurray once again headed for pit road as he took four tires and fuel while another round of chassis adjustments was made. However, as he was exiting the pit stall, he spun his Texaco/Havoline Dodge on pit road. McMurray made no contact with another vehicle and continued down pit road. He restarted the race from the 35th position.

As the laps clicked off, McMurray continued to fight a tight handling condition on his Texaco/Havoline Dodge as he was running in 24th place by lap 168.

As the race reached the final laps, McMurray found himself in a huge pack of cars as he maneuvered through a real-life chess match on the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

When the checkered flag waved, McMurray's Texaco/Havoline Dodge crossed the finish line in 17th place.

Next up for the Texaco/Havoline team is Kansas Speedway for the running of the Banquet 400 this Sunday.

Photo: Getty Images/Allsport

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