Team News

McMurray Is “Loving It” After Coming Home Fifth at Chicago

July 12, 2010

McMurray Is “Loving It” After Coming Home Fifth at Chicago

Results from Chicagoland Speedway
1.   David Reutimann, No. 00 Toyota
2.    Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford
3.    Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet
5.    Jamie McMurray, No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet
16.  Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Target Chevrolet

Joliet, Ill. (July 10, 2010) – Jamie McMurray and the No.1 McDonald’s Team could not help but try to find a way to shine as they returned to Chicagoland Speedway and the backyard of primary sponsor McDonald’s for this past weekend’s Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.  McMurray and the No.1 McDonald’s Team didn’t disappoint as they promptly went out and posted the fastest lap of Friday evening’s qualifying session, giving McDonald’s their second Coors Light Pole Award of the season.  McMurray and team would not disappoint in Saturday evening’s race either, as the team went on to lead the most laps with 72, and post a fifth-place. 

McMurray’s weekend in the Chicago area started with a visit to the Spring Rd. McDonald’s restaurant located adjacent to the expansive McDonald’s Headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Oakbrook, Ill.  The driver spent nearly an hour signing autographs for around 100 race fans and McDonald’s employees alike.  He then tested his skills in the kitchen, putting together a couple of Big Mac burger, cooking fries, making Frappes and Smoothies, and serving smiling and surprised customers from the restaurant’s drive-thru window.  McMurray then joined thousands of fans on Twitter and McDonald’s in hosting a “Tweet Chat,” a first for the restaurant chain.  McMurray spent nearly 45 minutes answering various questions from fans of racing and McDonald’s. 

The team turned their attention to practice and qualifying on Friday, drawing the 15th position for qualifying.  On McMurray’s turn, he promptly posted the fastest qualifying time, by far of the cars that had gone with a lap of 29.421 (183.542 mph).  Many more would try, and only one would come close, four-time NSCS Champion Jimmie Johnson, but McMurray would walk away with his sixth-career Pole Award, his third of 2010.  The pole, his third in 2010, matched his number of three poles in his previous eight seasons of NSCS racing.

"The speed is the hardest thing to find, and I think that we'll be fine [Saturday] night," McMurray said. "We have the same car that we sat on the pole with at Darlington and ran second with. Just having that No. 1 pit stall is a big deal. Pit stops are so critical in keeping your track position that I think that will benefit us a little [Saturday] night."

The Pole Award, marked McMurray's second in the No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet, which included a track-record qualifying lap and subsequent second-place finish at the track labeled "Too Tough to Tame," Darlington Speedway.
 
"It's really special for us because this is the home of McDonald's and to get to be on the pole at your sponsor's hometown track is a big deal. It's really amazing that our qualifying this year; we've been really strong and Bono just does a great job at putting a little extra effort into that and doing all the small things right. So I'm really happy with our lap today."

As Saturday evening arrived, fans and teams alike turned their attention to 400 miles of racing at Chicagoland Speedway.  The green flag dropped as planned, and McMurray would end up falling to the fourth position during the first few laps.  He would hold his ground though and not fall any lower than fourth, except late in the race as he fell to fifth.  Driving his way to second-position by lap 89, McMurray would eventually get his chance to lead, as Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion radioed to his driver that “we will pit one lap after Jimmie Johnson (leader) pits, and stay out and lead a lap.”  This turned out to be a big break for McMurray and the No.1 Team, as Johnson would miss pit road when trying to pit, giving McMurray the lead.  McMurray’s team would work hard on pit road, giving him service as quick as the drive-thru window at McDonald’s and allowing him to retain the lead for 72 laps.  As the race wore on, McMurray would start to complain of handling issues, mainly loose.  Unable to run as quick as other competitors, he would eventually fall to the fifth position, holding off a late charge by Kasey Kahne to bring home his fifth top-five finish and sixth top-10 finish of the 2010 season.  McMurray matched his 2003 mark of five top-five finishes in one season, second behind the 2004 season when he had nine top-fives.

McMurray carried an average running position of third (ranked 1st) throughout the 400-mile event, which included spending the entire night inside the top-five, which included the most laps led with 72.  Because of this, McMurray brought home the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award.  The No.1 McDonald’s Team didn’t go unnoticed either, as Crew Chief Kevin “Bono” Manion brought home the DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race Award, while the ECR Engine department brought home the Mahle Clevite Engine Builder Award.  The pit crew also brought home the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award for helping their driver spend the least amount of time on Pit Road. 

The finish moves McMurray up one spot to 18th in the 2010 Point’s Standings with 2,105 points, 181 back from the coveted 12th position.

Quoteboard:

Driver, Jamie McMurray

ABOUT HIS RUN AND STARTING FROM THE POLE: "I thought we had one of the best cars at the beginning and as the sun went down, the track just got tighter and tighter. Bono (Kevin Manion, crew chief) did a really good job adjusting on the car and getting it tighter. We just didn't have the grip that we did at the beginning.

"When I saw the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) miss pit road and get in the accident, I thought we had a legitimate shot to win. But the No. 24 (Jeff Gordon) and the No. 00 (David Reutimann, race winner) really came on there the second half of the race, we just didn't have the speed we needed. We practiced and really worked hard to make my car work on the bottom and 10 laps in I was up against the wall."

ON SPENDING A LOT OF TIME ON THE HIGH SIDE:  “Yes, I worked really hard to make our car work well on the bottom and never really went to the top but when they dropped the green flag our car was a lot tighter than it had been in all of the practices.  Really, a good run for our McDonald’s Chevrolet.  I thought the first half of the race we had one of the best cars… us and the 48.  When Jimmie missed pit road and got caught up in that accident I thought we had a legitimate shot to win but David Reutimann and Jeff Gordon came on there at the end.  It is cool to see David Reutimann….he is a very deserving driver and that will be a popular win among all the guys here in the garage.

ON HIS TEAM…EVOLVING AND IMPROVING AS THE SEASON WEARS ON:  “Yes our car certainly has enough speed…. I feel like we are a car that needs to be in the Chase we already have a win and we seem to run well enough.  I will let Bono worry about that because every time I pay attention to points something bad happens.  It is really cool to get runs like this in the McDonald’s car here in Chicago because we have all kinds of McDonald’s folks here so it was a good night and I have to say hi to Johnny Morris.  He sent me a text message last night. He is in Wyoming and he sent it from a random number.  Hey Johnny!”

McMurray and the No.1 team will now focus on relaxing a little bit as the NSCS looks forward to an off week. The team will return to racing at the historic, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Brickyard 400 as they welcome sponsor Bass Pro Shops back to the hood of their No.1 Chevrolet.  The Brickyard 400 will take place on Sunday, July 25 at1:00 pm (ET). The race will mark the switch from TNT to ESPN as the network takes over broadcast rights for the remainder of the 2010.  It will be broadcast live beginning at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN and radio stations affiliated with the IMS radio network.