On what could have been the most embarrassing day in American motorsports since the tire disaster at the US Grand Prix; Jamie McMurray, a cast-off driver from a discontinued team, reunited with Chip Ganassi for the biggest win of his life at the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
The race, which was delayed twice for a pothole repair which took almost two-and-a-half hours, produced a typical dramatic restrictor-plate shootout finish.
“To be where I was last year,” he said -- referring to the cloud over his future when Roush Fenway Racing had to release McMurray to get down to the four-team limit-- he expressed his gratitude to car owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. McMurray was in tears in Victory Lane “it’s unbelievable I can’t explain it.”
“Greg Biffle helped me out. I spun my tires on the restart. It’s just a gamble of which lines give you the biggest run. Biffle gave me an unbelievable push on the backstretch” he emphasized
McMurray faltered slightly on the second of two attempts to finish under a green (racing) flag; but got some help from a former teammate, Greg Biffle, which pushed him to the front. A NASCAR rules change to allow as many as three attempts to finish under green resulted in the race running 208-laps instead of the scheduled 200, or 500 miles.
But the drama wasn’t complete. He still had to get to the start-finish line with another threat for the victory close behind.
McMurray explained “When I saw the #88 (Earnhardt Jr.) behind me I thought ‘oh, no.’ He’s had a good car. Earnhardt, at Daytona… they win all the time, it seems like. So you just never know what to expect.”
Thank you for all the fans who stuck around (for the lengthy delays)..it was cool to hear the applause when I got back in the car.”
Earnhardt who finished second could hardly tell how he came back from 22nd on the first restart and tenth on the second to challenge McMurray.
“It was all a blur,” said Earnhardt who won here in 2004 “I was just going where they weren’t” he explained. “It went by so fast I couldn’t tell you the process.”
It’s a bit ironic that the when there was track action it was a pretty good race. But track officials said that they had done everything they could before the repair and after.
Track President, Robin Braig explained “as we do for every event, we inspected this track this morning and there were no concerns. We are always prepared for these types of issues. We had the proper materials and worked diligently to repair it.
The delay in the repairs was caused by the unusually cold ambient temperature. After this event, we will evaluate these effects from the weather and will make the necessary adjustments.”
“We’re the world center of racing,” Braig added. “This is the Daytona 500. This is not supposed to happen. … I apologize for it.
“This is hallowed ground. We understand that. We accept the responsibility.”
It was McMurray’s fourth cup win, second win at Daytona (he won the summer race here) and third-straight restrictor plate win (he won at Talladega last fall).
The race, which was delayed twice for a pothole repair which took almost two-and-a-half hours, produced a typical dramatic restrictor-plate shootout finish.
“To be where I was last year,” he said -- referring to the cloud over his future when Roush Fenway Racing had to release McMurray to get down to the four-team limit-- he expressed his gratitude to car owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. McMurray was in tears in Victory Lane “it’s unbelievable I can’t explain it.”
“Greg Biffle helped me out. I spun my tires on the restart. It’s just a gamble of which lines give you the biggest run. Biffle gave me an unbelievable push on the backstretch” he emphasized
McMurray faltered slightly on the second of two attempts to finish under a green (racing) flag; but got some help from a former teammate, Greg Biffle, which pushed him to the front. A NASCAR rules change to allow as many as three attempts to finish under green resulted in the race running 208-laps instead of the scheduled 200, or 500 miles.
But the drama wasn’t complete. He still had to get to the start-finish line with another threat for the victory close behind.
McMurray explained “When I saw the #88 (Earnhardt Jr.) behind me I thought ‘oh, no.’ He’s had a good car. Earnhardt, at Daytona… they win all the time, it seems like. So you just never know what to expect.”
Thank you for all the fans who stuck around (for the lengthy delays)..it was cool to hear the applause when I got back in the car.”
Earnhardt who finished second could hardly tell how he came back from 22nd on the first restart and tenth on the second to challenge McMurray.
“It was all a blur,” said Earnhardt who won here in 2004 “I was just going where they weren’t” he explained. “It went by so fast I couldn’t tell you the process.”
It’s a bit ironic that the when there was track action it was a pretty good race. But track officials said that they had done everything they could before the repair and after.
Track President, Robin Braig explained “as we do for every event, we inspected this track this morning and there were no concerns. We are always prepared for these types of issues. We had the proper materials and worked diligently to repair it.
The delay in the repairs was caused by the unusually cold ambient temperature. After this event, we will evaluate these effects from the weather and will make the necessary adjustments.”
“We’re the world center of racing,” Braig added. “This is the Daytona 500. This is not supposed to happen. … I apologize for it.
“This is hallowed ground. We understand that. We accept the responsibility.”
It was McMurray’s fourth cup win, second win at Daytona (he won the summer race here) and third-straight restrictor plate win (he won at Talladega last fall).