Jamie McMurray ready to go at Talladega
By David Exum - SceneDaily Staff
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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One thing is for sure for Jamie McMurray heading into Sunday’s AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway: He wants to be there at the end.
Even though McMurray suffered a DNF in last year’s fall race at Talladega, the driver of the No. 26 Roush Fenway Racing Ford says anything can happen at the monstrous 2.66-mile superspeedway, no matter how well a driver’s day is going.
“It’s also one of those tracks where your day can be ruined just as quickly as winning,” said McMurray.
Although McMurray has never won at Talladega, he has recorded three top-five and four top-10 finishes in 12 career starts. He has
also finished fifth three times at Talladega [2005, ‘06 and ‘07).
“Talladega is always a race that I feel I can win at each time we race there,” added McMurray, who is currently 19th in the series
standings this season.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how the race plays out, and hopefully, we can be there at the end,” said McMurray.
McMurray’s crew chief, Larry Carter, considers his driver one of the best when it comes to figuring out the draft at Talladega.
“He has always been good at judging which is the best line to run with and which line looks like it is moving the best,” said Carter.
Carter also explained that NASCAR’s new model Cup car isn’t as adaptable as the cars used at Talladega prior to this season.
“Everyone basically has the same handling, so when you unload on Friday, if your car is fast, you will have a good weekend. If you unload slow, there really isn’t anything you can do.”
McMurray’s last victory, the second of his career, was in the 2007 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway, a restrictor-plate track similar to Talladega.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Jamie McMurray
Comments
3 responses to "Jamie McMurray ready to go at Talladega"
Jozef Colomy said:
Oct 1, 2008 at 1:02 AMGeez I almost forgot about Jamie McMurray with all the talk about the other 4 at Roush-Fenway...too bad, he looks kind of like the odd-man-out over there for next season :-/ Any word on his status as the "out guy"? Hope he finds a good situation for himself
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» Confirm Abuse ReportPatrick Lloyd said:
Oct 1, 2008 at 2:43 AMI agree. Jamie is a talented driver and I just hope he gets a break. I hope everything goes will for him.
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This feature is intended to allow you to report comments that are abusive in terms of foul/vulgar language, harassment, racial/religious prejudice and any words/phrases of a related nature. This feature should not be used to report users who simply make a comment about your favorite driver, with which you do not agree. Commenting is a forum in which we can all express our opinions. Reporting abuse of others should be done with this in mind.
» Confirm Abuse ReportKenneth L Solomon said:
Oct 2, 2008 at 5:47 PMBig-time J-Mac fan here .... and J M Foundation supporter. Apologies that this became a bit of a long response. The new (as of 31 August) pit crew for the 26 with Larry Carter still at the helm is gelling. That had to be a shocker to Jamie and Larry, having the pit/garage boys split up, especially with those top-ten's right before that. Last official news is that R-F is keeping 5 teams for '09 - NASCAR grandfathered 'em in (money talks) and everybody's sponsored. But yeah, with results a key, J-Mac is unfortunately the odds-on fav to be 'the 5th wheel' so to speak. Amazing that the difference is 7 places in the standings (also, realize that David Ragan is 10 years Jamie's junior and therefore with conventional wisdom, "has more potential"). Pretty sure this all depends on Kenseth, who's contract is up the same time as Jamie's. If Matt is lured by another team with promises of fame fortune and a hauler full of hot babes, then I bet dollars to donuts, Jamie's good to go for a three or four year deal with Mr. Hat and The Red Sox. The sponsor-driver-owner relationships are solid, so this is just one fan's humble opinion: Feeling is that if Kenseth signs with R-F for after '09, Jamie goes to Yates, drives the same car/engine package with Crown Royal and Irwin right there with him, making Yates a true 4-team player in Cup. Please support the Jamie McMurray Foundation and Autism Speaks ! www.JamieMcMurray.com/Foundation Cheers! Kenny Solomon
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