February 15, 2010
By Ron Felix
Six hours and ten minutes after the drop of the first green flag of the day, an emotional Jamie McMurray rolled into Victory Lane, his fourth Sprint Cup win in hand.
Sunday's race was McMurray's debut behind the wheel of a Cup Series Chevrolet and his first race back as a driver for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (EGR). He led once for just two laps, the least led by the race winner in Daytona 500 history.
"It's unbelievable. I can't really put it into words the way it feels," said McMurray. "I talked to my wife this morning. She was like, you know, What would it mean to you if you won this race today?
"I told her it would be like a dream come true. I'm trying to be genuine and as sincere as I can and not sound cliché. As a kid growing up, this is what you dream of, of being able to win the Daytona 500."
It was a popular victory for the driver that was cut loose from Roush Racing at the end of last year.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove from tenth place to finish second but it was Greg Biffle who pushed McMurray to the win. Biffle finished third.
CIA Stock Photos
|
McMurray Celebrates Victory
|
|
Biffle was in the lead on the final restart but found himself in the middle of a virtual tornado.
“It was unbelievable crazy," said Biffle. "Restart after restart and we were digging and clawing. Lane choice had a lot to do with it. I couldn’t get anybody to push me. It looked like the 33 spun his tires on that one restart. McMurray spun his tires on that last one and I was able to get him straight and push him, but I’m just so happy.”
McMurray unleashed a torrent of tears as he was being interviewed by live television -- all of the frustrations of the past few years spilled out in the Winner's Circle.
"I won the July race here, really close race with Kyle," McMurray continued. "Coming off of turn four, seeing the checkered flag, knowing there's not going to be another 'green white checkered', you're going to be the Daytona 500 champion, I can't explain to you. It's very emotional. I don't know that I've cried like that. I've kept trying to compose myself. I couldn't get it back.
"It just means so much. You know, for me to be in the position that I was four or five months ago, to have Chip and Felix and Bass Pro Shops welcome me into their organization, it means a lot. It's a great way for me to be able to pay those guys back."
Clint Bowyer brought his Chevrolet home in the fourth spot and David Reutimann was fifth.
“Those restarts were just killing us toward the end and we couldn’t do anything right and I couldn’t get in the right line and things kept getting messed up," Reutimann said. "Thankfully we got where it needed to be when it counted and it ended up working out pretty well and I had a good run coming to the start-finish."
Martin Truex Jr., finished sixth followed by Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya to round out the top ten.
Earnhardt didn't remember much about the last few laps.
"I don't really remember much about it. It was all a blur. I was just going wherever they weren't. I really don't enjoy being that aggressive. But if there was enough room for the radiator to fit, you just kind of held the gas down and prayed for the best.
"It was a lot of fun. It went by so fast, I couldn't really tell you the process. But I just remember going down the back straightaway and getting in between Greg, and I don't remember who was on the outside of me. We all kind of wiggled through that whole deal. Jamie got away from us. I didn't even know where I was. Then we got into three. I was counting in my head how many laps we ran. I knew we were coming to the checkered, I was running second, this is awesome, but it kind of sucks at the same time.
"It was frustrating to come that close. But, hell, we were running 22nd at the first 'green white checkered'. It's great for our team to have a finish good anywhere no matter what. I was happy. I'm happy for the finish and it validates the changes they made and the hard work they've done over the off season to get better."
The race was delayed one hour and 42 minutes for a red flag for track repair -- when a chunk of asphalt broke out of the track surface and when that didn't hold, there was a second red flag for 46 minutes to repair the track again.
The race ran eight laps beyond the scheduled 200 laps as the result of two green-white-checkered attempts at the finish.
There were nine caution periods for a total of 40 laps, two red flags. There were 58 lead changes among 22 different leaders.
The Sprint Cup Series moves to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California -- next Sunday, February 21st, for the Auto Club 500, the second race in the Chase for the Championship. Matt Kenseth was the winner at California in 2009.
The race will also be broadcast live on MRN Radio and SIRIUS Satellite Radio Channel 128.
For Full Final Race Results...
(Insider Racing News)
For top-40 Sprint Cup drivers points...
(Insider Racing News)
You can contact us at .. Insider Racing News
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
