NASCAR: Comeback Kid McMurray Bounces Back with Top-Five at California

 

CONCORD, N.C., (February 28, 2005) - Two nights before the Auto Club 500
at California Speedway, driver Jamie McMurray and Crew Chief Donnie
Wingo were busy strategizing setup for the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge
amidst a stack of notes in a hotel room. A victim of untimely
circumstance for the third-straight year at Daytona, McMurray and crew
were ready to bury recent disappointments and hoping to mirror last
year's strong top-five comeback following the second race of the season.


 

"We tested here [California] for two days a month ago and had three
hours of practice on Friday," said McMurray. "But we just never really
hit on anything. Our car hadn't been that great. So we went back to the
hotel room Friday night and Donnie had like 300 pieces of paper spread
out all over his hotel room and was walking around looking at them, and
we just kind of came up with a setup that we thought would work. We kind
of laughed about it because we spent 40 sets of tires trying to figure
it out, so we didn't really know what made us think in one evening, we
were going to figure it all out." 

 

But they did. With a gamble in the pits and a speedy stop for two fresh
tires with 33 laps to go, McMurray was propelled into third and would
remain solidly inside the top-five to the wave of the checkered flag at
the two-mile speedway.

 

Rolling off the grid in 15th place inside teammate Casey Mears and eight
rows back from the youngest pole-sitter in NASCAR history, Kyle Busch,
McMurray immediately went to work carving his way just outside the
top-10 before the first round of pit stops on lap 25. Complaining of a
lack of grip, the Texaco/Havoline crew gave McMurray and the No. 42 four
tires and fuel, a left rear wedge adjustment and air pressure
adjustments all-around. 

 

Restarting in 10th, McMurray began struggling with a tight car in
traffic and brought his Charger pit-side for additional wedge and air
pressure adjustments, four tires and fuel after a second yellow for
debris on the backstretch. Picking up two spots in the pits, McMurray
passed the No.12 on the inside on lap 68 for another position and set
his sites on the No. 97 using grip at the bottom of the track to his
advantage.  

 

"The last two years, this racetrack has been really wide," McMurray
said. "Guys could run on the bottom or right up against the wall. But
during Saturday's Busch race, you had to stay right on the white line.
If you moved up any at all, there was no grip. And that makes for a
fairly boring race, because it was hard to pass. For most of today's
race, the track felt more like Darlington or Rockingham on your tires.
You could use the bottom of the race track to turn your car since there
was a lot of grip, but at the same time, you had to be careful, because
you'd get loose down there. The track was just extremely slick."

 

After passing the No. 97 up high on lap 83, McMurray settled into a
groove in the sixth position but noticed an intense vibration three laps
before the next caution on lap 108. Following the third of five event
cautions, McMurray circled the track conserving fuel and brought the No.
42 Texaco/Havoline into the pits for minor air pressure and wedge
adjustments and four fresh tires. McMurray exited pit road in 10th place
packed full of fuel and was alerted to the cause of the vibration -
equalization of the left front tire.

 

Trading track position with the No. 2 and gaining two more positions
after additional stops on laps 144 and 161, McMurray attempted to hold
the preferred low line jockeying for position inside the top-10.
Entering his pit stall on lap 204 in eighth for four tires, fuel and
another air pressure adjustment, the No.42 crew put McMurray just
outside the top-five.

 

"We just really messed with air pressure all day," McMurray said. "All
of the adjustments we made, we kind of had to go back on. We just kept
working on air pressure, and when you get out in clean air, it's just
amazing how much faster you can go."

 

Running in sixth behind a dominant No. 16 car, McMurray and team doubled
down in the pits and won big with a two-tire stop and additional track
position off pit road. As the final green flag fell over the field,
McMurray quickly maneuvered into the third position with the fastest car
on track and capped off a strong performance with fourth-place laurels
at the checkered flag.

 

"I really didn't think the guys without tires were going to be any
good," McMurray said. "I felt like we'd catch them and then the guys
with four tires at the end would come on. I didn't think anyone would
stay out. Honestly, the No. 16 and 97 were two of the better cars all
day. They could take that chance. Track position was big, and when we
left the pits first and there were only three or four cars ahead of us,
I didn't think it was going to be that hard. I thought, 'this will be no
big deal. We'll get right out and go.' But these guys were good on no
tires. It worked out for us. Clean air was more important today than
ever.

 

"As soon as they dropped the green flag the car was good. We took a
little gamble at the end. Chip [Ganassi] is always on us about trying to
do what we need to win races. The guys on two tires earlier had some
success. Track position was more important today than ever. The new
spoiler rule - I'm not a very big fan of it. It's just really hard to
pass guys, and some of the guys you just run right up on their bumper
and you can get them loose. I did it to Kasey Kahne, and I didn't mean
to. It's going to take a while to get used to this, but track position
is big."

 

"[Greg] Biffle was awfully fast, but when he'd get stuck back in
traffic, he was just like everyone else," McMurray said. "He could pass
two or three cars and it was just kind of stale. I raced with him most
of the day when he got back in traffic, and really when I saw him not
getting any tires up front, I thought there wouldn't be any problem
catching him. There's something about 20 to go when you're leading the
race - it's hard to catch a guy like that."

 

"How 'bout that 42 car?" team owner Chip Ganassi said. "We're happy with
the car. It was a great run, and I think we're making progress with the
Charger. We took a little gamble at the end, but you've got to take a
few chances every now and then. All-in-all, it was a pretty good race."

 

Coming off a strong California finish, McMurray and team are hoping lady
luck is on their side when they roll into Vegas.

 

"Last year I think we ran third at Rockingham, and I think it just kind
of puts you back in the middle of the points again," McMurray said. "If
you can get a top-five when it's early on like that, it seems to really
boost you. So, we'll go to Las Vegas and take the same car and should
have some success."

 

McMurray and the Texaco/Havoline team picked up 16 spots in the 2005
NASCAR NEXTEL Series Chase for the Cup and now sit in 17th position, 113
points back from 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch.

 

While the NEXTEL Cup Series enjoys a short respite from competition,
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will venture south of the border
for the Telcel Motorola 200 presented by Banamex in Mexico City on
Sunday, March 6. The 80-lap event heralds not only the historic return
of road course racing for the NASCAR Busch Series but a notable event
for team and sponsor as well: the inaugural Busch Series entry for the
No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge. The Telcel-Motorola 200 presented by
Banamex will be broadcast beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST on MRN affiliates
nationwide and on FOX television at 3 p.m. EST from the Autodromo
Hermanos Rodriguez road course.