MCDONALD'S TEAM 19TH AT SONOMA

Results (starting pos.) from Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma
1. (6) Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota
19.  (25) Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet
34.  (12) Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet

19th-Place Finish for McDonald’s at Sonoma

SONOMA, Calif.  (June 24, 2012) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) teams took a departure from the normal of all left-hand turns for the twist and turns of road course racing at Sonoma, the first of two annual road course races for the NSCS.  The No.1 McDonalds team started 25th and finished the day in 19th-position.

From the time that Jamie McMurray hit the track for practice on Friday afternoon he would voice concerns about the handling on the McDonald’s Chevrolet.  The 2.5-mile road course is known for being slick and challenging for teams to chase the correct set-up.  McMurray commented after practice on Saturday, “the brakes are better, the engine is better, we just need some luck and work on the handling for the race”, he felt everything was in place to challenge for a strong finish. 

Crew chief Bono Manion had a plan in place to use fuel mileage strategy to put the No. 1 Chevy in position for a top finish.  The team would plan to pit only twice and hope for some timely cautions to make up track position.  The cautions would be limited as the race was slowed only two times for caution.  A late race spin for McMurray after one of the restarts would hurt his chances for a better finish, as he brought the McDonald’s team home with a 19th-place finish.

“We had good McDonalds Chevy today.  The guys had good pit stops and kept us on the lead lap.  I felt with a few more cautions to close up the field we could have made up some more positions”, commented McMurray.

Notes:
- McMurray dropped two spots in the NSCS point standings to 20th
- McMurray and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya announced that they will run a second Chip Ganassi Racing entry at the upcoming GRAND-AM race in Indianapolis with sponsorship from Chevron.
- No. 1 team tire specialist Frank Bonsignore participated in a TomTom Nike Sport Watch challenge to see how many miles he would walk on a normal weekend.  Bonsignore logged 22.09 miles in three days at Sonoma

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will move on to Kentucky Speedway next Saturday, June 30 for the Quaker State 400.  TNT and PRN affiliated radio stations will have live coverage at 7:00 p.m. ET.