MCMURRAY FINISHES 33RD AT POCONO

Results (with starting pos.) Pocono Raceway
1.             (3)   Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet
7.            (16) Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet
33.          (13) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet

No. 1 McDonald’s Team Finishes 33rd at Pocono

Long Pond, Pa. (June 12, 2011) – Jamie McMurray started the 5-Hour Energy 500 in Pocono from the 13th-position and the McDonald’s team showed strength early on in the race and McMurray quickly drove the No. 1 Chevrolet into the top-10.  However, hopes of staying up front all day would come to an abrupt end when the team lost third gear in the transmission, resulting in a lengthy repair and a 33rd place finish.

The No. 1 McDonalds team would utilize the two practice sessions on Friday to work on race set up for the Pocono track that is known to be a challenge for teams because of its three distinctively different turns.  After posting a solid 13th place qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon, the team was confident that they could produce a positive race result.

After the first round of pit stops the McDonald’s Chevrolet started fighting a tight handling condition.  The crew was able to make several changes during pit stops in the first half of the event to keep McMurray competitive.  However on lap 103, McMurray informed the crew that he had lost third gear and the team would have to go to the garage to replace the transmission.  The lengthy stop would put the team 11 laps down and would go on to finish 33rd.

A frustrated McMurray stated after the race, “I never felt any problems.  I was just going through the tunnel turn and tried to drive up off the corner and the car wouldn’t go.  I hate this for our McDonald’s team.  The car got a little bit tight after the first round of pit stops today and that put us back a little bit.  I felt the changes we were making had us going in the right direction, but unfortunately this halted our momentum.”

NOTES
- McMurray is currently in the 29th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings
- McMurray has eight top-15 starts in 2011

Next weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will move to the Michigan International Speedway for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, Sunday June 19 at 1:00 p.m. (EDT), the event will be covered live on TNT and MRN radio affiliated stations.