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« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2007, 02:29:50 pm » |
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~Roush Fenway Racing
McMurray Contends for Win at Charlotte Before Unlucky Caution Flag Flies Jamie McMurray and the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion Racing Team Lowe's Motor Speedway/October 13, 2007
CONCORD, N.C. (October 13, 2007) – After a solid qualifying run and leading the Bank of America 500 twice for a total of 27 laps, Roush Fenway Racing driver Jamie McMurray had his strong race-winning run ruined by an unfortunate caution flag. McMurray drove most of the race in top 10; before a green flag stop on lap 279, just 55 laps from finish, landed him a lap down due to a caution flag displayed two laps after his green flag pit stop. This stroke of bad luck left the No. 26 Crown Royal team with a 24th-place finish in the final night race of the season.
The No. 26 Crown Royal team entered tonight’s race excited, not only to perform well in front of their hometown crowd, but also because of the solid race car they knew they had brought to the track. The No. 26 Ford Fusion been a fast car in all three practices, but McMurray proved the engine power he had with a sixth-place qualifying run on Thursday evening. As 165,000 friends and family packed the stands of the hometown, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, McMurray and the No. 26 team knew they were contenders for a victory.
The 334-lap event started under perfect racing conditions – 60 degree temperatures and clear skies. As the green flag dropped, McMurray, who started on the outside line, quickly charged through to the front of the field. By lap seven, McMurray leading the field.
McMurray maintained his top-five position until the second caution of the night, for a spinning race car in turn one, brought most of the field down pit road for service. As McMurray entered the pits, crew chief Larry Carter called for two tires, fuel and a slight air pressure adjustment since McMurray had earlier noted that the handling was a bit too loose entering the corners.
A 6.1 second pit stop by the Crown Royal crew put McMurray in the third position for the restart. During the next run, McMurray radioed the team noting the car was still loose entering the corners and tight through the center. Carter answered his driver by instructing the team to take half a round of wedge out of the car on the next stop to improve the No. 26 machine’s handling at the entry to the corner.
During the next caution period on lap 68, McMurray, still running in the top five, wheeled his No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion down pit road for the requested service. During the stop, a lug nut fell off one of the tires losing the team five positions on pit road. Carter assured his driver and the team that it was a long race and they would make up the difference.
As McMurray restarted on lap 71, he immediately came over the radio and noted that he was extremely loose as though the car had taken on a bad set of tires. Carter asked McMurray to ride it out and to hold on until the next caution period. Luckily for the No. 26 team, the next caution period came quickly – on lap 76. McMurray quickly made his way down pit road for four fresh tires. The new tires remedied the situation but the additional stop left the team with an unfavorable track position – McMurray was now scored 23rd.
Over the course of the next 100 laps, Carter made a handful of pit strategy calls that helped McMurray climb back into the top five. By lap 206, McMurray was scored in the fourth position and proved that the Crown Royal team were contenders for the win. McMurray continued to run in the top five until lap 272, when the field began pitting for tires and fuel. Carter radioed McMurray, telling him they would stretch their fuel mileage as long as possible but they could only go another four laps. On lap 277, as the No. 26 machine was close to running out of fuel, Carter called McMurray down pit road for a green flag pit stop. Unfortunately for the No. 26 team, just two laps after their pit stop, the caution flag was displayed. With the leaders still on the track, McMurray was forced to restart the next green flag directly ahead of the leaders, which would put him almost one lap behind the lead car.
Although McMurray and the entire No. 26 team did everything they could to regain their lap, there were just not enough laps left in the race. As race winner Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag, McMurray came across the line in the 24th position.
“Tonight just wasn’t our night, guys,” said McMurray following the race. “We had one of the strongest cars out there and probably one of the best cars we have taken to the track all season long, but the luck didn’t fall our way. There is really nothing you can do when the caution flag flies before the leaders pit. You are just caught a lap down. Our No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion was great tonight, and we kept it in one piece, which means we can take it with us to Atlanta and give it another shot.”
Next weekend the No. 26 Crown Royal team will travel 111 miles north to Martinsville Speedway. In their spring run at Martinsville, the No. 26 team posted a top-10 finish at the .526-mile track. The 32nd race of the season will be aired on ABC, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio. The action begins at 1:30p.m. Eastern.
NEXT UP: Subway 500 Martinsville Speedway (.526-mile speedway) Martinsville, Va. Sunday, October 21, 2007
About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating 14 motorsports teams, five in NASCAR NEXTEL Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; five in the Busch Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Todd Kluever, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Danny O’Quinn Jr.; and three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Edwards, Peter Shepherd, Travis Kvapil, Erik Darnell and T.J. Bell; and one in the ARCA/REMAX Series with Colin Braun and Darnell.
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