McMurray Battles Down To The Wire For The Victory
The final short-track race for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season at Martinsville Speedway may have been the strongest run of the year for the No. 1 McDonald’s team. Jamie McMurray rolled off from the fourth starting position, and established himself as a contender for the win throughout the race, battling veteran Jeff Gordon into the closing laps for the victory, before crossing the finish line with his second runner-up finish of the season.
For most of race morning at Martinsville Speedway it seemed that Mother Nature may not cooperate with the day’s racing plans, however light rain showers subsided in time for the scheduled start of the race. From the drop of the green flag, McMurray proved to be a legitimate challenger, running 495 of the 500 laps in the top-15 and finishing with a sixth-place average running position. Following the race’s final caution, McMurray started on the outside of the front row, with just three laps remaining, to battle side-by-side for the chance at victory, ultimately crossing the finish line with a second-place result.
With his finish, McMurray maintains the 13th position in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.
NOTES OF INTEREST
· McMurray ran 495 of the 500 laps in the top-15
· The result marked the fourth top-five of the season for McMurray
· McMurray finished with an average running position of 6.1
· The caution was shown 18 times for a total of 109 laps
· There were 21 lead changes among 9 drivers
CGRFS Quote board:
Jamie McMurray – No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet SS: – “It was a really good race for us. We were able to keep the McDonald’s Chevy toward the front and were in a position at the end to contend for the win. It was a great battle with Jeff (Gordon). I have looked up to him since I was a little kid. What a fun way, in his last year (racing full-time), to be able to battle him like that. I wish we could have won. We had a great car, but the inside was kind of the preferred line on those restarts.”
NSCS teams will run the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway next Sunday, Nov. 8. NBC, Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90 and PRN Radio will have live coverage beginning at 2 p.m. EST.
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 18 championships and 170 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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