Early Wreck Forces McMurray to Finish 33rd at New Hampshire

June 29, 2009
8:38 AM

Loudon, NH (June 28, 2009) – Jamie McMurray and his IRWIN VISE-GRIP team traveled to New Hampshire this past weekend for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301. The region is also in close proximity to Boston where Roush Fenway Racing’s Fenway Sports Group is headquartered, so Sunday’s race was considered a “home track visit” for the organization. With the threat of rain throughout the weekend, McMurray and his No. 26 team knew that Sunday’s race would be a challenge, and unfortunately the afternoon proved to be more frustrating than even they had expected. Contact from the No. 29 car sent McMurray and the IRWIN Ford into the wall just 21 laps into the race and the damage forced McMurray to fight his damaged car for the remainder of the race. Rain showers finally ended the race prematurely following lap 273 with 28 laps still scheduled in the race. McMurray was able to gain some positions after a multi-car wreck forced others to the garage, and the No. 26 Ford finished 33rd for the afternoon.

The New England region had experienced a summer soaking even before NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series rolled into town. Rain showers were forecasted for the entire weekend, but teams were hopeful that Mother Nature would hold out. The teams were able to get their first practice session of the weekend in on Friday, but an hour before qualifying was slated to begin, rain soaked the track and forced officials to set the starting line-up from the rule book. This meant that McMurray and the IRWIN VISE-GRIP Ford would start Sunday’s race from the 19th starting position. Both practice sessions Saturday went off according to plan and allowed the team to work on the car’s handling which had been challenging McMurray with a lack of grip.

Sunday brought different weather conditions with cooler temperatures and completely overcast skies. Crew chief Donnie Wingo and the team planned for the 301 lap event and hoped that the handling concerns they had experienced throughout the course of the weekend would subside once the race began. McMurray had been searching for grip throughout the weekend with a car that had been tight in the middle and loose into and off of the turns.

When the green flag dropped at 2:16 p.m. EST, McMurray found himself in the middle of the 43-car field with little room to maneuver on the one-mile track. He found himself stuck in a line that was being slowed up by a car in front and he dropped back to 22nd. The IRWIN Ford was back up in 20th by lap six and McMurray radioed into Wingo that the car was tight in the center of the turns as well as when he came off the turns. The first caution of the day came early on lap 16 and McMurray told his team over the radio that he was still searching for front grip. Wingo opted not to bring his driver down pit road, and the No. 26 Ford restarted in 17th on lap 20.

Immediately following the restart however, the team’s luck took a dramatic turn when they saw the IRWIN VISE-GRIP Ford collide into the wall on lap 21. Contact from the No. 29 sent McMurray spinning and the car slammed the backside into the wall. The damage was severe, but McMurray was able to drive to pit road for his team to assess what needed immediate repair. The team quickly made some repairs on the left rear of the car while also servicing McMurray with four new tires. McMurray restarted in 42nd on lap 26, and just another short lap later, the caution flag was displayed again after another car stalled on the track. This caution found McMurray as the recipient of the “lucky dog” free pass and placed him back on the lead lap. In the meantime the IRWIN VISE-GRIP team had determined that the damage from the crash had bent McMurray’s left rear shock.

Wingo called his driver down pit road on lap 30 for another round of repairs, but when NASCAR threw a competition caution on lap 46, the No. 26 team used the long yellow to make further repairs to their heavily injured race car. The field returned to green on lap 50, but the call was made to wheel the car back to the garage so that the necessary repair work could be completed correctly. McMurray rejoined the field on lap 76 and found himself 28 laps down to the race leaders at the time.

McMurray and his team spent the rest of the race just making sure that they were doing all they could to ensure that they completed the race. A multi-car wreck on lap 175 found eight cars involved and forced officials to red-flag the race until the clean-up efforts were complete. With all the cars that were forced to the garage, McMurray found himself with the opportunity to gain a few positions before the race’s finish and he did just that. Rain showers fell on the field around lap 265. brought out the final caution of the day, and the race was called after 273 laps.

“Our day was ruined pretty early on,” said McMurray following the race. “We just never got our car handling the best it could this weekend. I found myself searching for grip today but it was really frustrating to get wrecked so early in the race. We lost so many laps due to all the repairs that we had. We just kept hoping that we would catch a break every now and again in order to make up some of that position we had lost. Not the finish we had hoped for, but we just need to look ahead to Daytona next weekend.”

Joey Logano won Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as he claimed his first victory in the Sprint Cup Series. Logano moved into the lead on lap 264 after his team opted to pit out of sequence and the call placed him out in front after Ryan Newman ran out of fuel. Jeff Gordan and Kurt Busch who had battled at the front of the field for the majority of the race found themselves rounding out the top three as the rain shortened their efforts for the day. McMurray and his IRWIN VISE-GRIP Ford left New Hampshire with a 33rd-place finish.

Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida for the Coke Zero 400. Pre-race television coverage begins on Saturday, July 4th at 7:30p.m. EST on TNT. Radio coverage will be provided by the Motor Racing Network.

NEXT UP:
Coke Zero 400
Daytona International Speedway (2.5-mile speedway)
Daytona Beach, FL
Saturday, July 4, 2009

More Headlines

Driver Appearances

The Off-Track Adventures of Roush Fenway Racing updated

Roush Fenway Racing Used Parts

Roush Yates Engines