UAW-Ford 500 - Jamie McMurray Notes

Jamie McMurray, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge
UAW 500 – Talladega Superspeedway Advance

Texaco/Havoline Team Fast Facts:
Yesterday. Today. Down The Road. SHINE ON: The No. 42 Dodge will sport a special “Shine On” paint scheme this weekend, with the hood displaying the only hexagon Texaco logo ever released by the company. During this time (1963-1980) the company launched the very popular advertising slogan, “trust your car to the man that wears the star.” The “Shine On” series of four different paint schemes pays tribute to Texaco/Havoline’s successful NASCAR history while emphasizing the iconic status of the star. The other “Shine On” events included Texas (April 17), Charlotte (May 29) and Infineon (June 26).

Points Position: Jamie McMurray and the Texaco/Havoline team dropped two positions to 13th in the overall standings after their 29th-place finish at Dover. The No. 42 team is vying for 11th position during the final eight races in hopes of capturing the $1 million bonus for being the highest finishing non-Chase team. They are currently 47 points out of 11th heading into Talladega. McMurray and crew received the bonus last season after scoring three top-five finishes and eight top-10 finishes in the final 10 events.

Chassis: Crew Chief Donnie Wingo and the Texaco/Havoline team have selected chassis #006 for this weekend’s race at Talladega. The No. 42 team used the car in the season opener at Daytona (32nd-place finish) and the first Talladega race (fifth-place finish).

Talladega Tidbits: McMurray has one top five and two top-10 finishes in six NEXTEL Cup Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway. He has an average starting position of 15.2 and an average finish of 16.7. McMurray has led a total of 24 laps of competition in races run at Talladega.

Talladega – Texaco Walk of Fame: McMurray will be at the Talladega – Texaco Walk of Fame on Sat., Oct. 1 signing autographs from 5-6 p.m. for the first 300 fans to receive a ticket. The Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame was created in 1994 in honor of Davey Allison. Since 1995, one active driver and up to two inactive drivers have been inducted into the Walk of Fame based on fans’ votes chosen from a ballot of nominees selected by strict guidelines established by the Davey Allison Memorial Park Board of Directors. www.talladegawalk.com

Busch Testing: McMurray tested the No. 64 Dodge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Tuesday in preparation for the upcoming Busch Series event at the track on Oct. 14.

Jamie McMurray on Talladega:
“Talladega is a mental race more than anything else. It’s really not all that much about handling, it’s about having a car that drafts well and calculating each move to make sure you stay in the lead draft. If you’re going to jump out of line, you need someone to follow you or you’re going backwards. It’s a lot about knowing who you can and can’t work with and who will and won’t work with you. And of course it’s about missing the “Big One.” We run around in a big pack all day and one small mistake by anyone can set off a chain reaction of accidents. Get through those if they happen and you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a successful day.

“We’re taking the same car we finished fifth with in the spring. We haven’t touched it since, other than to get it ready for this race, so I expect it to draft just as good this weekend. We haven’t had the best of luck the last few weeks, so hopefully we can get it turned around with a solid performance this weekend.”