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McMurray Makes Indy History.. Gives Ganassi a Trifecta at Brickyard

Jamie McMurray does an impressive victory Burn-out, in fact he was the first driver to “Burn” the famous Bricks
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

Car owner Chip Ganassi got the desired Victory in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but not from Juan Pablo Montoya, but Jamie McMurray. He now joines one of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing’s most exclusive clubs.... winning the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.

The only other members of this exclusive club are Dale Jarrett in 1996 and Jimmie Johnson ten years later in 2006.

The “Team” Win...

Montoya came up short for the second straight year, but his efforts very well could have had some bearing on this races outcome.

“Well, first off, the 42 car had a great tire test here. It gave us a really good starting point. Qualifying went well. I think everybody saw last year that track position is key to running well here. So after qualifying, we felt like if we could keep our track position, we would be okay. said McMurray.

“Honestly, our times were pretty good in practice, but I didn't feel like our car handled that well. Bono just kept preaching to me that, There's not going to be a tremendous amount of passing. We have enough speed to maintain, keep our track position all day.

We had a third- or fourth-place car, felt like. Didn't feel like we had a dominant car. But we had a really smart race. We didn't make any mistakes.”

Good Pit Strategy was a key to victory....

Restarting second thanks to a smart two-tire stop on a Lap 140, McMurray motored 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.

The Final Restart.. Harvick and McMurray are neck and neck…
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

Then he pulled away and never looked back…
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

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

The Rare racing Trifecta.....

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.

“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.

Ford Power shows some muscle....

Ford driver Greg Biffle finished a strong third in his No. 16 Ford, the only non-Chevrolet to qualify in the
top 10.

Biffle’s Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth also seemed strong at times as well. Maybe Ford has finally found the setup and turned a corner and victory lane is in the horizon.

RCR driver Clint Bowyer was fourth and Tony Stewart fifth. Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch completed the top 10.

Not a cake walk by all means...

McMurray became nervous when 2003 WinnerHarvick 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.

Sometimes a gamble does not pay off, just ask Harvick

“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.”

As One Team rises… another falls…

Johnson was up front early but faded back
© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

The Hendrick Motorsports teammates of defending Brickyard 400 winner Jimmie Johnson and four-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon both uncharacteristically struggled. Johnson finished 22nd and Gordon 23rd. For Johnson, it was his second consecutive race resulting in bad strategy and racing.

For Gordon, it was another tire problem that pushed him back in the field.

Earlier in the race, it was starting to look like another “Tire Gate” at Indy as several drivers had issues early on. NASCAR was right on top of the situation, calling a “competition” caution to make sure things were in order… They were.

© Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc. photo by Dan Peters

1995 Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve (#32) finished 29th in his first Brickyard 400 appearance. He became just the second driver, along with Montoya, to compete in all three major auto races at IMS – the Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400 and United States Grand Prix Formula One race