McMurray Crosses Finish Line 18th at Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (Oct. 9, 2005)
--- "This thing is loose, but it's fast," exclaimed McMurray in the opening laps of the Banquet 400 at Kansas Speedway.
After starting 30th, McMurray motored up to 20th before the first of seven caution periods on lap 16. During the caution he brought the Texaco/Havoline Dodge onto pit road for four tires, fuel and a minor air pressure adjustment to help the loose condition. Soon after the next restart on lap 19, McMurray radioed in that the car was too tight, and so the story goes.
The No. 42 Dodge would start each run so loose that McMurray could barely drive it. It was fast, however, so he would typically pick up about five to six positions immediately following a green flag, but shortly thereafter began sliding back as the car's handling would tighten up considerably.
McMurray raced up to as high as eleventh (lap 57) during the next run of the race, reporting that the car was tight from the center of the corner through the exit. As the car got tighter, McMurray began losing positions on the racetrack, dropping back to 16th before the third caution of the day on lap 93. He brought the car onto pit road for tires, fuel, track bar and air pressure adjustments and returned to competition in 15th.
Racing resumed on lap 98 and by the time the next caution flag flew on lap 102, McMurray was able to pass three cars with an extremely fast/loose race car. Once he put about 10 or so laps on the tires though, the car would quit turning with the front end and he couldn't maintain position.
The Texaco/Havoline crew continued to work on the handling throughout the remainder of the event, even removing a left rear spring rubber to try and loosen the car up on longer runs. The changes made would extend the number of laps before the car would begin to tighten up, but eventually the condition would prevail. McMurray pitted one final time on lap 224 in 21st, and although he was able to race up to 15th at one point, he dropped back to 18th before taking the checkered flag on lap 267.
"We just couldn't put our finger on the handling today," said McMurray at the conclusion of the race. "I thought we were going to be really good at the beginning of the race, because we were really fast. The car was crazy loose, but it was fast. After a few laps it would get tight and that would kill any momentum we had going. None of the changes we made seemed to help on the longer runs. The guys did a really good job on pit road today, I just wish we could've gotten a better finish out of it. Hopefully we'll be able to put a good race together this weekend in Charlotte."
McMurray and crew maintained 12th in the overall standings with their 18th-place finish at Kansas. They are just one point behind 11th and the season-ending $1 million bonus heading into the 31st race of the season at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Oct. 15. McMurray's Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates teammates Casey Mears and Sterling Marlin finished eighth and 13th respectively.
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