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NASCAR: Jamie McMurray gives Ganassi sweep of Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400

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Khatir Soltani
Jamie McMurray became the third driver in NASCAR history to sweep the series’ two biggest races holding off Kevin Harvick and Gregg Biffle at the Brickyard 400.

McMurray, the Daytona 500 winner, took the lead from Harvick on a restart on lap 150 easily keeping Harvick behind.

The winner had some doubts before that restart. “When Kevin got by me a few laps from the end I thought it was over. Our car was tight. Ten laps to go, just do what you’ve got to do,” McMurray said.

Kevin Harvick speaking of that restart said “I got tight going into turn one. I had to wait, and Jamie was able to carry the momentum around the outside...”

Winner Jamie McMurray - image nascar.com


And, for the second year in-a-row Juan Pablo Montoya dominated; leading a race-high 86 laps only to crash on lap 146.

Juan Pablo Montoya was cruising to an easy victory when caution was waved on lap 118 for debris. McMurray and others took two tires moving to the front, while Montoya took four tires and he came out of the pits in seventh place.

Bogged down in traffic the Colombian who led a race drove hard, so hard that he overdrove his Chevrolet hitting the wall in turn four. Earlier he complained on the radio that his car didn’t handle well. This was the second year-in-row where he dominated but failed to win

Montoya wouldn’t talk with the media after the race, but, his crew chief, Brian Pattie, took the full blame saying “bad call. Crew chief error. We should have taken two tires.”

Biffle, who drove his Ford to third place and was the highest finishing driver to take four tires on the last pit stop explained his (and Montoya’s) four versus two-tire choice and the difficulty overtaking at Indy on that final restart.

“Well, I don't know because Jamie was about the same speed as Kevin. So I would have had the same issue with Jamie as I had can Kevin. The four tires, they're only good for probably five laps, then they start falling off and equalizing with the two‑tire cars,” Biffle said.

“I could have given him (McMurray) a try. But he was running a lot different line than Kevin was. Kevin was blocking the corner, entering low, really protecting that line. I saw Jamie arcing it out. I don't know if Jamie was because nobody was pushing him. It's possible we could have got up there and maybe got our nose inside of Jamie.”

On the restart Harvick was leading but, McMurray took off and ran away from Harvick for his fifth career win. He joins Dale Jarrett (1996) and Harvick (2006) as the only winner of NASCAR’s richest races.

After punishing high temperatures in the high 90s Sunday was a little cooler but attendance at the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway was poor.

A seven car crash on lap two set the stage at what NASCAR drivers considered a one-groove track. It was Montoya’s race to lose.

Other big names who struggled were Jimmie Johnson, with handling problems, finished 22nd. Behind him was teammate Jeff Gordon

The victory was also special for Chip Ganassi; he becomes the first team owner to win the United States biggest races in the same year with Dario Franchitti winning the Indy 500.

“It’s pretty special,” Ganassi said. My heart goes out to Juan; he had a great day, too.”


Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
As a car enthusiast, he tests and compares vehicles from different categories through the eyes of the consumer, ensuring relevant and objective reviews.
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada