1.           (26) Tony Stewart No. 14 Chevrolet 

                   

JOLIET, Ill. (September 19, 2011) – Jamie McMurray started the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway from the 14th position and had a strong McDonald’s Chevrolet.  Along with the help of quick work on pit road, McMurray was racing inside the top-10 until lap 163 when the engine on his No. 1 car let go, ending his bid for positive result, and sending him home with a 38th-place result.

Following the two practice sessions on Friday for the first race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the No. 1 team felt they had a car that would be very strong for the 400 mile race.  Although somewhat disappointed with the 14th place qualifying effort on Saturday morning, the team knew they had a car with a lot of potential.  

The McDonald’s team would have to wait until Monday morning to prove their strength, as persistent rains forced postponement of the race from Sunday afternoon.  McMurray had his Chevrolet running strong, as high as seventh-place and never fell lower than his 14th-place qualifying position.  However that solid run would come to an abrupt end when the engine on the McDonald’s Chevrolet let go resulting in a 38th-place finish.  

“We had good pit stops and had a really good run going,” said McMurray.  “We keep working hard to get all the pieces to fall into place to challenge for the win and I thought this might be the best chance we have had in a while.  It is so frustrating when everything seems to be going so well and all of a sudden you are sitting back in the garage.”

• McMurray is currently 26th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points

• This was the first time that McMurray has finished outside the 1op-15 at Chicago with Chip Ganassi Racing 

The next race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule will be at New Hampshire International Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 25th at 1:00 pm ET and will air on ESPN and radio stations affiliated with PRN.