jewel 1

McMurray clinches Talladega win

Earnhardt Ganassi's Jamie McMurray clinched his first Nascar victory of the season at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
McMurray picked up his seventh career Sprint Cup series victory after leading for 16 of the 188 laps to secure his second win at the Alabama course, with Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ricky Stenhouse Jr completing the top three. 
McMurray had not won in 108 races ahead of Sunday's meeting, and he had the chequered flag guaranteed with half a lap to go after Austin Dillon and Casey Mears collided. 
With 77 laps gone, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt Jr had all swapped the lead before McMurray moved ahead on lap 174.
He then held off a late charge from Earnhardt Jr before the caution flag was raised and he was able to end his long winless streak. 
Paul Menard and Busch finished fourth and fifth while Johnson's 13th-place finish was enough to move him back to the top of the overall standings ahead of Kenseth who was seven places further back.  
"I knew our Chevy was good, I couldn't get in the right line," McMurray told ESPN
"To get in right line requires a lot of risk. I felt patient all day. (It) seemed top was a better place to get hung out than the bottom. I don't know how last lap would have played out. I could see (Earnhardt Jr) trying to set me up and where to get a run on me."
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya was an early withdrawal after a collision with Marcos Ambrose's Ford in the 79th lap. 

No comments:

Post a Comment