The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) visited the American Heartland for race No. 11 on the 2015 season for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway. The No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet SS rolled off from the ninth position and worked on the balance on the McDonald’s Chevy throughout the 267-lap race to bring home a 13th-place finish.
Following two practice sessions and qualifying on Friday afternoon at Kansas Speedway the No. 1 team knew that they would have to work on the long-run balance of the McDonald’s Chevy to be competitive. McMurray qualified in the top-10, but was never completely satisfied with the car in race-trim. As expected, the weather had considerable effect on the track conditions during Saturday night’s race.
Less than 100 laps into the SpongeBob SquarePants 400, rain forced a delay of more than two hours, washing away all of the rubber on the race track, creating a challenge for teams with their race set-ups. McMurray battled the handling on the McDonald’s Chevy most of the race. On the race’s final caution, with less than 10 laps remaining, crew chief Matt McCall called for a fuel only pit stop and helped McMurray pick up several positons to claim a 13th-place finish.
With his finish, McMurray dropped one position and is now ranked eighth in the NSCS point standings.
NOTES OF INTEREST
· This was McMurray’s best finish at Kansas Speedway since a seventh-place finish in April 2013
· The SpongeBob SquarePants 400 was slowed by caution nine times for 49 laps and one red-flag for more than two hours for rain
CGRFS Quoteboard:
Jamie McMurray – No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet SS: – “We had a really long night. I felt like we had about a 20th-place car, so to finish 13th I am somewhat happy with that result. We really struggled all weekend, and just never really had the car where we needed it to be. Even though we didn’t have everything we needed, we still managed to get a decent finish.”
NSCS will run the Sprint Showdown next Friday, May 15 (7 p.m.), as a qualifying event for the Sprint All-Star, Saturday May 16 (9 p.m.) at Charlotte Motor Speedway next Saturday. FOX Sports 1, Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90 and MRN Radio will have live coverage of both events.
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Overall his teams have 17 championships and over 160 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and six Rolex 24 At Daytonas and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa.
For more information log onto chipganassiracing.com
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