Team News

McMurray Nearly Holds Off Harvick for Third-Straight Superspeedway Victory

April 26, 2010

McMurray Nearly Holds Off Harvick for Third-Straight Superspeedway Victory
Jamie McMurray leads teammate Juan Pablo Montoya during the waning laps of Sunday afternoon's event at Talladega Superspeedway.

 

Results from Talladega Superspeedway
1. Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Chevrolet
2. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet
3. Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 TUMS Chevrolet

TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 24, 2010) – The plan held true for Jamie McMurray and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya Sunday afternoon at NASCAR’s biggest, fastest and wildest venue, Talladega Superspeedway.  Both drivers, having been on the receiving end of the “Big One” (in reference to wild wrecks taking out upwards of 10 cars), and team managers agreed that the teammates would run towards the back early on in Sunday’s event, turning laps and staying just close enough to the ever-changing pack of cars ahead of them so that when they were ready they could make their run to the front.  With about 50 to 60 laps to go the teammates were ready and quickly charged to the front of the pack, putting themselves in position for what looked to be a one-two finish.  But, as the teammates came to the checkered flag, following three green-white-checkered attempts, they would fall just a little bit off the pace and finish a very impressive second and third.  McMurray would lose just enough ground, .011 seconds, to finish second behind Kevin Harvick.

McMurray and team arrived to Talladega with just a bit of confidence, as the most recent race winner at Talladega and the reigning Daytona 500 Champion, McMurray had won the last two restrictor-plate events.  The team would only practice in one of the two Friday practice sessions, choosing to sit out the second session after posting the eighth-fastest time of the first session.  Restrictor-plate racing is a game of chance and McMurray and team were not going to take a chance on being involved in a wreck during the second practice session on Friday afternoon.  Rather they chose to do a little Bass fishing, relax and focus on putting down a good qualifying lap on Saturday morning. 

However, Mother Nature had different plans for the Northeast Alabama area on Saturday, severe thunderstorms.  Severe weather swept across the Southeast and took aim at Alabama Saturday morning and NASCAR officials took note after reports of tornadoes and severe lightning ran rampant from other Southeastern states.  Because of this, NASCAR cancelled all on-track activity at Talladega for Saturday, meaning the cars would lineup for Sunday’s event by points.  McMurray would roll off in the 21st position.

As the teams arrived to Talladega on Sunday morning, they were greeted with clear skies and warm temperatures, perfect for racing.  The green flag dropped and the field was off for 499 miles at Talladega Superspeedway.  The race itself was pretty uneventful for both of the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing machines as they had decided to ride in the back, staying away from any catastrophic wrecks on the race track.  Their philosophy was validated when the caution was thrown on lap 84, as several cars were collected.  Going back to green, McMurray was ready to “go to front and race,” so along with teammate Montoya, he started maneuvering his way through the pack.  By lap 176 McMurray was second, pushing his teammate Montoya as the field lined up single file, waiting for the right moment to regroup.  That moment never really happened as the lead pack of cars moved away from the rest of the field.  However, the caution flags would continue to fall, on laps 176, 179, 182, 188, and 196.  The cautions on laps 182, 188, and 196 would reset the field for the three green-white-checkered attempts, with the last resetting the field so that Montoya was lined up to McMurray’s outside instead of behind him.   Meaning Harvick, not teammate Montoya, would be the pusher behind McMurray and also his likely competition for the victory.  McMurray would hold the lead as the field came to the checkered flag down Talladega’s long frontstretch, but in the end would come up just .011 seconds short to Harvick. This now stands as the smallest margin of victory ever at Talladega Superspeedway.

The finish moved McMurray up four spots to 17th in the 2010 Point’s Standings with 998 points, just 84 back from the coveted 12th position. 

McMurray and the No.1 team head to Richmond International Raceway this weekend for the Crown Royal presents the Heath Calhoun 400.  The Heath Calhoun 400 takes place on Saturday, May 1 at 7:30 pm (ET). The race will air live on FOX and radio stations affiliated with MRN.