MCMURRAY COMPLETES GNASSI'S TRIFECTA AT BRICKYARD

Jamie McMurray celebrates his Brickyard 400 victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He became the third driver to win the Brickyard and the Daytona 500 in the same season (John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)Jamie McMurray talks about Gnassi dominating the biggest races of the year.

by Reid Spencer (Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service)
Car owner Chip Ganassi got the expected result from an unexpected source in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as race winner Jamie McMurray joined one of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing’s most exclusive clubs.

Restarting second thanks to a two-tire call on a Lap 140 pit stop, McMurray powered his No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet past Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 Chevy on a restart with 11 laps left and pulled away to beat Harvick to the finish line by 1.391 seconds.

“I get to kiss the bricks,” McMurray said after he crossed the stripe, adding another milestone to his career and Ganassi’s unbelievable year.

McMurray gave Ganassi his first Daytona 500 win in February. In May, Dario Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 in one of Ganassi’s cars. On Sunday, Ganassi hit the unprecedented trifecta. No other car owner has won all three major races, much less in the same year.

At the same time, McMurray joined Dale Jarrett (1996) and Jimmie Johnson (2006) as the only drivers to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.

“I’m the luckiest guy on the planet,” Ganassi said. “You wouldn’t dare to dream this. You wouldn’t dare to dream this kind of year.”

The Brickyard victory, however, had a bittersweet edge to it. McMurray’s teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, tabbed as the driver more likely to finish the triple for his owner, did nothing to dispel that notion early on. Montoya led a race-high 86 laps but lost the lead when six teams—including those of McMurray and Harvick—opted for two tires on the Lap 140 pit stop under caution for debris. Montoya took four tires.

Montoya foundered in dirty air, dropped four positions and ultimately lost control of his car and crashed on Lap 145. For the second straight year, the Brickyard 400 ended in heartbreak for Montoya, who led 116 of 160 laps last year only to be thwarted by a pit road speeding penalty.

Greg Biffle finished third in his No. 16 Ford, the only non-Chevrolet to qualify in the top 10. Clint Bowyer was fourth and Tony Stewart fifth. Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch completed the top 10.

McMurray was concerned when Harvick passed him two laps after a restart on Lap 143.

“When Kevin got by me a few laps from the end, I thought it was over,” McMurray said. “It’s unreal right now. How about Chip winning the (Indianapolis) 500 and both of these big races? We’re just a great team right now.

“Honestly, when Juan was leading and I was in second (before the debris caution on Lap 137)—I’m a big believer in fate—I thought this was how it was meant to be. I won the Daytona 500, Dario won the 500, and I thought Juan was going to win this one. I’m just shocked I won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same year.”

Harvick was philosophical. He could afford to be, having increased his Cup series lead to 184 points over second-place Jeff Gordon, who finished 23rd.

“We took a gamble there at the end to take two tires,” Harvick said. “On the first restart (Lap 143), it took off great. We were able to run Jamie down and pass him. Second restart (Lap 150), it didn’t take off so great. Just got tight. He drove around the outside of me.

“I guess just the first cycle on those new right-side tires carried us through. We were just tight the whole second restart. But still — a great day. Took a chance to try to win the race. All but capitalized on it and came up one short.”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 20
Unofficial Race Results for the Brickyard 400 (17Th Running) - Sunday, July 25, 2010
Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Speedway, IN - 2.5 Mile Paved
Total Race Length - 160 Laps - 400 Miles - Purse: $9,165,503

Leader
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Pts Bns Driver Rating Winnings Status Tms Laps
1 4 1 Jamie McMurray Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet 160 190 5 127.6 $438,877 Running 2 16
2 9 29 Kevin Harvick Shell / Pennzoil Chevrolet 160 175 5 110.8 $352,424 Running 1 5
3 7 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 160 170 5 132.5 $300,000 Running 2 38
4 6 33 Clint Bowyer Wheaties Fuel Chevrolet 160 160 114.5 $255,975 Running
5 15 14 Tony Stewart Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet 160 155 96.7 $259,821 Running
6 10 31 Jeff Burton Prilosec OTC Chevrolet 160 150 104.2 $228,463 Running
7 19 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 160 151 5 89.6 $230,596 Running 1 1
8 23 18 Kyle Busch M&M's Toyota 160 142 99.9 $227,054 Running
9 34 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 160 138 80.2 $219,438 Running
10 14 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite / Vortex Dodge 160 134 94.2 $215,121 Running
11 3 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevrolet 160 135 5 107.9 $187,000 Running 1 10
12 13 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford 160 127 88.0 $207,424 Running
13 24 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford 160 124 88.1 $197,163 Running
14 26 98 Paul Menard Mastercraft / Menards Ford 160 121 78.2 $164,275 Running
15 18 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 160 118 71.2 $172,225 Running
16 16 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford 160 115 68.5 $192,074 Running
17 5 39 Ryan Newman Haas Automation Chevrolet 160 112 62.2 $188,477 Running
18 31 21 Bill Elliott Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 160 109 66.5 $148,225 Running
19 11 12 Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge 160 106 64.0 $178,608 Running
20 28 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 160 103 74.3 $159,600 Running
21 41 47 Marcos Ambrose Kroger / Clorox Toyota 160 100 64.5 $176,008 Running
22 2 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevrolet 160 102 5 75.9 $202,743 Running 1 1
23 8 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevrolet 160 94 79.0 $191,899 Running
24 38 37 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford 160 91 50.1 $164,396 Running
25 30 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 160 88 63.7 $161,296 Running
26 12 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 159 85 82.1 $143,025 Running
27 17 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. AMP Energy / National Guard Chevrolet 158 82 67.3 $150,200 Running
28 29 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 157 79 41.1 $173,054 Running
29 43 32 Jacques Villeneuve Dollar General Toyota 157 76 44.9 $137,725 Running
30 25 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 157 73 36.7 $148,975 Running
31 36 09 Bobby Labonte Phoenix Construction Chevrolet 150 70 35.4 $139,650 Running
32 1 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet 145 77 10 119.5 $186,179 Accident 4 86
33 22 78 Regan Smith FarmAmerican.com Chevrolet 135 64 59.5 $143,675 Running
34 42 34 Kevin Conway # Extenze Ford 124 66 5 39.5 $138,050 Engine 1 1
35 32 83 Reed Sorenson Red Bull Toyota 89 58 33.5 $177,121 Accident
36 21 7 Robby Gordon SpeedFactory.TV Toyota 68 55 38.6 $149,871 Vibration
37 39 64 Todd Bodine Fred's Hometown Discout Store Toyota 59 52 44.0 $134,675 Rear Gear
38 27 19 Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford 55 49 28.4 $142,825 Running
39 20 71 Landon Cassill TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 52 51 5 46.6 $134,450 Overheating 1 1
40 33 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 33 48 5 36.3 $134,375 Vibration 1 1
41 40 66 Dave Blaney PRISM Motorsports Toyota 20 40 33.5 $134,225 Electrical
42 37 55 Michael McDowell Curb Records Toyota 19 37 31.8 $134,125 Overheating
43 35 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 15 34 34.4 $134,513 Engine