CUP: Gut Check Time For McMurray, Montoya

Sprint Cup

CUP: Gut Check Time For McMurray, Montoya

Jamie McMurray wrecked teammate Juan Pablo Montoya last week...

Tom Jensen | Posted March 05, 2010 Hampton, GA

Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, and Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 McDonald's Chevrolet, spin out of control after an incident on track during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Shelby American. (Photo: Getty Images)

This is a big weekend for a lot of NASCAR Sprint Cup teams, but probably none more so than Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, a squad that already this season has experienced the best and worst of on-track fortunes.

In his first race back with EGR, Jamie McMurray scored a huge and emotional upset victory in the Daytona 500, the first for team co-owner Chip Ganassi, who gave McMurray his start in the series back in 2002.

But whatever good feelings the team had going forward ended abruptly on Lap 93 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last Sunday, when McMurray tapped teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in Turn 4, triggering an accident that cost both cars good finishes.

Understandably, Montoya was livid after Las Vegas and said some unflattering things about McMurray. “Jamie plain and simple just wrecked us,” Montoya said. “Every time I am around him, he wants to run the s--t out of me. ... I'm sure on the radio it was 'Ah, I didn't mean that.' He is just trying to prove to people he can drive a race car and I guess he isn't doing too many favors on this team.”

Now, heading into Atlanta Motor Speedway for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500, McMurray is 14th in points, while Montoya is all the way back in 26th. Both of them need to get back on track in a big way this weekend.

Recall that just two years ago, Penske Racing's Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch swept the Daytona 500 in a thrilling finish reminiscent of McMurray's late charge to victory last year. But neither Newman nor Busch made the Chase in 2008, something the EGR folks definitely want to avoid this time out.

Kevin “Bono” Manion, McMurray's crew chief, confirmed Friday that the EGR brain trust has spent considerable time in the last week get both drivers back headed in the right direction this week at AMS.

“It was a rough week, it was a tough week,” Manion said Friday morning in the AMS garage. “In racing, you're going to win races, you're going to wreck. A lot of things can happen and people need to move on from that.”

And so, the team talked. A lot.

“As an organization, we've had some meetings, we've had a lot of discussions and I think we can definitely pick our heads up and move on,” said Manion.

At AMS, Montoya has the better record of the two. The Colombian driver finished fifth here as a rookie in 2007, and was third here last fall.

“Atlanta Motor Speedway has always been one of my favorite tracks on the schedule,” said Montoya. “It’s the first track I learned to run on the high line. It’s a track that gives you options with multiple grooves and the high line has worked for me. I can run the No. 42 Target Chevrolet right up against the fence. It’s exciting and pushes us as drivers and cars to the limit. It’s a driver’s track.”

In 15 AMS starts, McMurray has never finished higher than sixth and has just one top-10 finishes in his last seven starts here. Still, he professes to be excited about the weekend ahead.

“I’m excited to take another one of our 1.5 mile cars to Atlanta this weekend,” said McMurray. “We were really putting together a nice run last weekend in Vegas, so I’m excited to see how that will translate over to Atlanta. Our Chevy’s have been really good so far, with promising runs at both Fontana and Vegas, we just need to continue to work and put everything together for the finishes that we deserve.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

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