Jamie McMurray Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor HOMESTEAD, Fla. – To no one’s surprise, the Championship 4 drivers were at the top of their game when the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session of the weekend began Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Though it might be their final race before closing up shop, Martin Truex, Jr. and Furniture Row Racing came out with guns ablazing, setting the fastest speed of the session with a lap of 31.035 seconds, 173.997 mph. “A lot of emotions talking with the guys, but they’re fired up,Read More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team owner Mike Mittler celebrated his team’s milestone 300th start from his Missouri home as he battles cancer. The diagnosis was revealed on the Fox Sports 1 broadcast of the race at Martinsville Speedway, prior to a planned ‘Stand Up to Cancer’ on Lap 63, to honor Mittler. Kyle Donahue had the honor of driving the No. 63 First Responder Racing Chevrolet Silverado in the Texas Roadhouse 200, the team’s 300th race. The underfunded team spent much of the day hovering justRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer CONCORD, N.C. – Chip Ganassi Racing’s Jamie McMurray ended up one position shy of becoming a Playoff spoiler. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series veteran shined in the Bank of America ROVAL 400, battling with the Playoff Grid drivers throughout the race. On the final restart, McMurray was the only non-Playoff driver inside the top-five. He battled primarily with Ryan Blaney and Clint Bowyer as the two race leaders, Martin Truex, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson drove away. However, contact from Johnson sent the two leadersRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – In a race that was as wild as advertised in the closing laps, Ryan Blaney sped past crashing Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. in the final corner to win Sunday’s inaugural Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. With his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and the second of his career, Blaney advanced to Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Johnson wasn’t as lucky. The seven-time series champion was pressuring TruexRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer There won’t be a playoff berth four-peat for the soon-to-be departing Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray. Needing a win to make the playoffs, McMurray was on the cusp of stealing a win, running inside the top-five, but had to settle for seventh in Monday’s Big Machine Vodka at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the highest among drivers who failed to qualify for the postseason. The regular season finale saw its turning point on Lap 145 when McMurray stayed out for valuable track position, afterRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – By a matter of inches, Brad Keselowski won the race off pit road under the final caution in Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. That narrow margin was all the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford needed to secure a stunning victory in one of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ marquee races. On the flip side, Keselowski’s first victory of the season left Kyle Larson bitterly disappointed. Larson led 284 of the 367 laps in additionRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer  Despite multiple obstacles, Jamie McMurray still finished inside the Top-10 in the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver made up ground on the final two drivers still not locked into the Playoffs. McMurray was inside the Top-10 in his No. 1 McDonald’s 50 Years of Mac Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at different points of the race. That appeared to come to an end on lap 261, when the Chip Ganassi Racing driver nearly missed pit road. A commitment lineRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After getting to enjoy a much needed week off, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back in business with a little road course racing. This week, the series makes the trek out to California wine country to take on the 1.990 mile Sonoma Raceway, a 12-turn technical road course situated about 30 miles north of San Francisco. This week’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 consists of 110 laps, which calculates out to 218.9 miles, or 350 kilometers. Over the years, the course at Sonoma Raceway has goneRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service BROOKLYN, Mich. – Clint Bowyer gambled. Then he made sure he cashed the winning ticket with a determined charge on two new tires as rain threatened Michigan International Speedway. Bowyer got the lead under caution at the end of Stage 2 of Sunday’s Firekeepers Casino 400 when crew chief Mike Bugarewicz opted for two tires on the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Bowyer had to do the rest, holding off teammate Kevin Harvick after a restart on Lap 126, barely preventing Harvick, who had freshRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LONG POND, Pa. – Just as he had done in winning his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race last June, Ryan Blaney kept Kevin Harvick behind him at Pocono Raceway when it mattered most. Blaney sped around the 2.5-mile triangular track in 50.877 seconds (176.897 mph) in Friday’s knockout qualifying session to earn the top starting spot for Sunday’s Pocono 400 (2 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). In winning his first Busch Pole Award at the Tricky Triangle,Read More