Team News

McMurray Makes Surprise Visit to Indy to Celebrate With Team Owner Ganassi

June 1, 2010

McMurray Makes Surprise Visit to Indy to Celebrate With Team Owner Ganassi
From L to R: Harley J. Earle Trophy, 2010 Daytona 500 Champion-Jamie McMurray, Team Owner-Chip Ganassi, 2010 Indianapolis 500 Champion-Dario Franchitti, Borg Warner Trophy

 

CONCORD, N.C. (June 1, 2010) - After finishing second in the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday night, 2010 Daytona 500 Champion Jamie McMurray hopped on his plane to fly to Indianapolis Monday morning to honor his team owner, Chip Ganassi, for doing something that no other car owner had ever done; winning the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 in the same season.

The driver almost made it a Memorial Day Weekend double for team-owner Ganassi by winning the Coke 600 Sunday night with his team owner in attendance.  However, a late race caution would allow Kurt Busch, of Ganassi's longtime rival Roger Penske's NASCAR team to jump out front on the green flag restart.  McMurray would continue to battle knocking time off of Kurt Busch's lead over the waning laps, but the driver just ran out of time. 

Had McMurray won the Coke 600, he would have become only the 7th driver to win the Daytona 500 and Coke 600 in the same season.  Ganassi, who earlier this season experienced the joy and excitement of winning the Daytona 500 made it to Charlotte about half-way through the race after celebrating Dario Franchitti's second Indy 500 victory, and first with Team Target. 

McMurray had this to say of team owner Ganassi's accomplishment prior to the start of Sunday night's Coke 600, "Honestly, my first thought was that I was happy for Chip as an owner, but I was really more happy for him as my friend. We certainly have been through a lot in our time together and coming back here and winning the 500, and I don’t know that everyone on the outside maybe knows everything that has went on with this team throughout the like seven or eight months. But Chip and I have become really close and that’s really the first thing I thought of was that I was just really happy for him as my friend.”

Post-Race, McMurray offered these thoughts on the prospect of pulling off the Memorial Day Weekend double for his team owner, “It is disappointing but I’ll continue on. From where I was last year to the runs we have had this year and the poles and to have great partners like Bass Pro Shops and McDonald’s support us, it is a really good time to be a part of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing. With him winning the Indy 500 today. I’m disappointed about second but at the same time, I’m real happy about it.”

Both trophies were on hand to celebrate the moment – the Harley J. Earl trophy for the Daytona 500 winner and the Borg Warner given to the Indianapolis 500 winner.