CONCORD – Charlotte Motor Speedway didn’t get its season sweep, but Jamie McMurray provided upward mobility to the Bank of America 500 on Saturday night.Kurt Busch had won both the Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 in May. No one had taken three Sprint Cup checkered flags at CMS in the same year, and Busch’s hopes disappeared almost immediately.
That left the opportunity for the driver who finished second to Busch in the 600, McMurray, to “take it up a notch.” The victory was McMurray’s third of the season.
McMurray didn’t make the Chase and is only 13th in the point standings, but he is nonetheless one of the success stories of the season, thanks to victories in the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 leading up another win at the site of his first career victory in 2002.
The winner took gave something of a testimony in victory lane.
“I want to take the time to explain something,” McMurray said. “I was thinking about Daytona and crying in victory lane. I want to explain why I cried. I had a tough year last year. I found out the power of prayer and what that can do for you.
“When you get to victory lane and get to experience this, it makes you a believer. It's something that's obviously very important to me and my family. Thanks to God and everything he blessed my family and I with.”
And McMurray wept tears of joy again.
The winner of both the Coca-Cola 600 and Sprint All-Star Race, Kurt Busch, spun and nicked the turn-four wall on the 23rd lap. He was the second potential contender to falter and wound up finishing 30th. Ryan Newman’s Chevy had spun on the second lap.
Hosannas were sung in some corners when Sprint Cup leader Jimmie Johnson spun on lap 34. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch’s Toyota dominated the race almost from the opening lap. At around the 100-lap mark, Busch began complaining about a sticking problem with the throttle on the No. 18, and Gordon began paring down the lead a bit.
A “debris caution” took care of Kyle Busch’s considerable edge, at least for a time. When racing resumed on the 115th lap, Busch pulled away again. On the 124th lap, Kasey Kahne’s Ford tangled with Sam Hornish’s Dodge while the two were feverishly racing for 30th.
After McMurray’s Chevy enjoyed a fairly long stint at the front of the field, Jimmie Johnson took the lead on the 188th lap. Johnson’s spin had left him 36th after the first 36 laps. Shortly after Johnson took the lead, Gordon’s Chevy lost power. By the time he manually switched to a backup battery, he had lost a lap.
Gordon regained the lead lap, via free pass, when Marcos Ambrose’s Toyota spun on the 202nd lap. Kyle Busch, restored to the lead on pit road, began to pull away from Greg Biffle, McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Johnson.
The next slowdown, on lap 239, occurred as a result of Robby Gordon’s spin. Jeff Burton’s Chevy spun – and miraculously avoided extensive damage to his Chevy – on lap 247 in turn two.
J.J.Yeley relieved Kasey Kahne in the No. 9 Ford once it returned to the track 120 laps behind.
During a late pit sequence, Jeff Gordon received a speeding penalty for the second time in as many weeks.
After the final pit stops – one in which the leaders mainly opted to stay out – McMurray, who had been closing in on Busch, quickly swiped the lead and pulled away near the end.
Kyle Busch held off Johnson, whose last four finishes have been first, second, third and third. The latter third-place finish enabled him to hike his point lead to 41 over fourth-place Denny Hamlin, 77 over Kevin Harvick and156 over Gordon, who finished 23rd.
Source: http://nascar.rbma.com/on-track/races/32382-mcmurray-wins-from-outside-the-chasee
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