Jamie McMurray took Ganassi’s first NASCAR victory of 2014 by winning the non-championship $1 million All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Generally changing only two tires in the pit stops between the race’s five segments kept McMurray toward the front for most of the distance, even though rivals with four new tires kept shuffling him back.
With average positions from the first four segments setting the order prior to the compulsory four-tire stops in the final break, McMurray emerged from the pits for the last time second behind Carl Edwards. The pair banged doors repeatedly when the final 10-lap shootout got underway, before McMurray managed to get into the lead around the outside and then pull away.
Kevin Harvick, who had led after segment four, tried to hunt McMurray down once he had escaped from his own battle with Edwards but fell 0.696 second short.
Polesitter Edwards slipped back to fifth behind Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The drivers who topped the opening segments hit trouble later. Segment one top dog Kyle Busch made contact with Clint Bowyer early in segment two. As Bowyer’s Toyota fishtailed, it clipped Busch into a spin, with Joey Logano then violently collecting the Joe Gibbs Toyota as it bounced back off the outside wall.
Kasey Kahne led at the end of both segments two and three, then wrecked his chances by clouting the wall in the fourth part.
Accidents also accounted for AJ Allmendinger, who spun into the inside wall after contact with Brian Vickers, and Jeff Gordon – who took Martin Truex Jr. and Greg Biffle out with him when something went awry at the front of his Chevrolet in segment four.
Results - 90 laps:Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Jamie McMurray Ganassi Chevrolet 1h20m35.000s
2. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet +0.696s
3. Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Toyota +1.154s
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet +2.695s
5. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford +3.859s
6. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet +4.120s
7. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota +4.405s
8. Brian Vickers Waltrip Toyota +5.029s
9. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota +5.298s
10. Brad Keselowski Penske Ford +5.810s
11. Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Chevrolet +6.268s
12. Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Chevrolet +7.540s
13. David Ragan Front Row Ford +9.747s
14. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet +10.060s
15. Josh Wise Parsons Ford +13.004s
Retirements:
Ryan Newman Childress Chevrolet 77 laps
Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet 60 laps
Martin Truex Jr Furniture Row Chevrolet 60 laps
Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford 60 laps
AJ Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Chevrolet 30 laps
Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota 25 laps
Joey Logano Penske Ford 25 laps
Comments