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Home , Chip Ganassi, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson

Results (with starting position) from the Duck Commander 500 at

1. (5) No. 48, Johnson SS 2. (2) No. 2, Harvick Chevrolet SS 3. (25) No. 88, Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet SS 6. (10) No. 1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet SS (McMurray) 25. (9) No. 42 AXE White Label Chevrolet SS (Larson)

Hard-Fought Sixth Place Finish for McMurray in Texas

The Lone Star State was the site of race number seven on the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season. Following an open weekend on the schedule teams got back to action for the first night race of the season at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). Jamie McMurray made the start from the 10th position and battled hard in the closing laps for a sixth-place finish.

The Cessna/McDonald’s Chevy SS was strong throughout the two practice sessions and qualifying on Friday afternoon at TMS. McMurray looked to continue a string of good finishes that has had the No. 1 Chevy finishing 11th or better in three of the last four races.

McMurray and team steadily worked on the handling of the car in the early stages of the 334-lap race, running among the top-10, until having to make an extra pit stop under caution on lap-112 for a possible loose lug nut. The No. 1 team overcame the setback with quick pit work and strategy to put McMurray in position for the win. On the race’s final stop under caution, crew chief Matt McCall, opted on a two-tire strategy to gain track position. McMurray was able to pick-up six positions on pit road and take over the lead for the final restart, with just 21-laps remaining. The No. 1 Chevy battled to the finish and came home with a sixth-place finish.

With his finish, McMurray moved up four positions and is currently 11th in the NSCS point standings.

NOTES OF INTEREST

 This was the second consecutive top-10 finish for McMurray  McMurray has finished fifth and sixth respectively in his last two starts at TMS  The Duck Commander 500 was slowed by caution eight times for 40 laps

CGRFS QUOTEBOARD Jamie McMurray – No. 1 Cessna/McDonald’s Chevrolet SS: – “We did two (tires) two other times in the race and it worked out really well for us. When I cleared the No. 24 () on that last restart I thought we had a legitimate shot at winning. I was able to get a lead by what seemed like a straightaway. But once the guys with four tires got clear their cars were a little better than ours plus they had better tires. You just can’t hold them off up here. The track is wide enough and they were faster than me so I couldn’t even hold them up. It was a good night for our Cessna/McDonald’s team, the guys over the wall and behind the wall did a great job”

Late Penalty Results in Disappointing Finish at Texas Motor Speedway

In the first race following the recent off-weekend for NASCAR, and the Target team looked for another solid finish at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS), where they scored two top-10 finishes last season. Another strong qualifying effort from the team earned Larson a start just inside the top-10, and he looked to be setup for a good finish before a penalty on the final pit stop shuffled him to the back of the field and a subsequent a 25th place finish.

As the one day of practice and qualifying got underway, the Target team made positive gains throughout the day to have the AXE Chevy ready to compete in Saturday night’s race. Larson was able to show off the car’s speed during qualifying, where he once again transferred to the final round, earning a ninth place starting position for the race. Larson is one of only three drivers to make the final round of qualifying at every race they have participated in since the season-opening .

From the outset of the race, Larson looked strong as he ran in seventh place, but he would drop a few spots following the first stop and continue to run just outside the top-10 for much of the race. Toward the end of the race, Larson began gaining some spots and looked to restart inside the top-10 following the final caution of night with 21 laps to go. However, a penalty for driving through too many pit boxes on exit shuffled Larson to the rear of the field, resulting in a 25th place finish.

With the result, Larson is now 26th in the NSCS point standings.

NOTES OF INTEREST: • For the fifth consecutive race, Larson transferred to the final round of qualifying • Larson had an average running position of 11.9 for the race • Larson had the second most quality passes during the race, with 57 • The caution flag came out eight times for a total of 40 laps • During the race, the lead changed 29 times among nine drivers • The Duck Commander 500 was the first night race of the season

TCGRFS QUOTEBOARD

Kyle Larson, Driver, No. 42 AXE White Label Chevrolet SS – “Not much more to say than I’m pretty disappointed in our finish tonight. I thought we had the AXE Chevy in a good place leading up to the race tonight, but still had to work a bit throughout the night to keep it running near the top-10. Following the last caution, I thought we were setting up for a good finish, but the penalty that sent us to the back pretty much ended any chances of that. Even though we didn’t get the finish we deserved, we can use what we learned from this race to get better.”

NSCS teams will run the Food City 500 at next Sunday, Apr. 19. FOX, Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90 and PRN Radio will have live coverage at 1:00 p.m.ET.

About Racing Teams

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include four cars in the Verizon IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Overall his teams have 17 championships and over 160 victories, including four 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400, six Rolex 24 At Daytonas and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in , Pa.

For more information log onto chipganassiracing.com