Not much has gone right for Jamie McMurray since winning at Daytona International Speedway last July. He’s had only five top-10 finishes in the 35 races since 2007’s Pepsi 400, but there’s something about being a defending champion of a race that can raise your spirits. McMurray edged Kyle Busch by inches at Daytona last year in the final restrictor-plate race for NASCAR’s old Cup car. The win was the second of McMurray's career and snapped a six-year winless streak.
McMurray’s No. 26 Roush Fenway Racing Ford will sport a special Irwin Industrial Tools paint scheme in this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona, a scheme similar to the one used last year.
McMurray hasn’t been close to victory lane this year, with a best finish of eighth at Martinsville earlier this season. He was 18th at Infineon Raceway and 41st last weekend at New Hampshire after being in a crash with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
McMurray led 30 laps in the race there a year ago, gambling on a fuel strategy that faltered when he came up two laps short as his car ran dry while leading the race. Now, he's hoping to take that momentum all the way in Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Sonoma, Calif., road course.
“Sonoma is a race that has been circled on my calendar all season long," he said. "Last year, I thought it was our race to win; we were so fast the entire day. When we took the fuel gamble late in the race, it was a big gamble that did not play out in our favor. I was so disappointed following that race. This past weekend in Michigan we faced the same issue late in the race – take the gamble or come in and pit for a safe finish. We opted to come in, and it paid off with a top-10 finish for our team."
"Last year was so much fun after we won the pole, and then to run as well as we did, it was great," McMurray said. "This weekend we have to focus on making sure the car is balanced throughout the course, make sure our brake package is where it needs to be, and finally, we need to have good pit strategy. If we can make all of that happen, I think we’ll have a great weekend at Sonoma.”
According to Winston Cup Scene (scenedaily.com) Jamie McMurray is unaware of any attempts by any of his agents to look into another ride possibility for 2009 or 2010. He says he's happy at Roush. But what else could he say? Really.
Jamie McMurray says that he has no plans to leave Roush Fenway Racing, nor does he have any knowledge of the team wanting to let him seek opportunities elsewhere. The NASCAR Sprint Cup driver seemed somewhat puzzled by a recent story that he could be seeking to leave the team and denied any intent to do so Friday at Pocono Raceway. McMurray joined Roush Fenway in 2006 and has a best finish of 17th in the standings since that time. He has one win with the organization.
While he has struggled this season – McMurray is 22nd in the driver standings, the deepest standing for any of the organization's five Cup teams – he says that he not only has no plans to leave, but that he has no knowledge of any work being done on his behalf to seek opportunities with other teams. McMurray specifically said that he had not put any feelers out concerning potential offers from elsewhere. Asked if anyone had done so on his behalf, such as an agent, he stated, "Not that I am aware of." He repeated that answer when asked if other teams had inquired about his status.
Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray led the final of six test sessions held at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. Has he adjusted his car so that it is yawed out like Carl Edwards' has been running his on those mile and a half tracks where he has been successful?
Crew chiefs and engineers took the yawn out of Sprint Cup testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) and put in the yaw. The hope is to close the gap between Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards and the rest of the field at 1.5-mile tracks such as LMS. Edwards' car, according to several crew chiefs and drivers, has been dominant in part because he has been able to handle a setup in which the rear housing is turned to the right, making it appear the car is going sideways down the straightaways. This gives Edwards more yaw -- movement in the back end -- that creates more downforce and allows him to make a better transition going into the corners.
"I think everyone sees it, even on TV," said Denny Hamlin, who is sixth in points. "It's very, very noticeable for us drivers. To those that don't really know the nuts and bolts of the cars, they don't really see it. We see it, the attitude of his car is a little bit more I guess 'yawed out' more than everyone else's. There are reasons for that. We as a team are starting to pinpoint that and really starting to show up."
Many teams used the two-day test at LMS to experiment with setups similar to what they believe Edwards has. NASCAR allows only a quarter-inch adjustment in the rear housing and monitors it with gauges. Tony Eury Jr., the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. can't go quite that far without making the car tough for his driver to handle.
Earnhardt crashed during Monday's practice sessions at Lowe's.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said that much yaw makes his car very tough to handle. Two-time champion Tony Stewart said everybody is trying to get a feel for it.
Now we know whats been bugging Jeff.
"It's a driver feel, there's no doubt," Eury said. "Some drivers like it. Some drivers don't."
Edwards apparently does. He's used it to win at 1.5-mile tracks at Las Vegas and Texas and the 2-mile California Speedway. He was headed for a win at 1.5-mile Atlanta before his engine expired late.
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