Results (with starting position) from the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at

1. (3) Truex, Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet SS 2. (5) Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet SS 7. (14) No. 1 Cessna Patriotic Chevrolet SS (McMurray) 8. (15) No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS (Larson)

McMurray Races to Seventh-Place Finish at Pocono Raceway

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) headed to Eastern for the Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway. Jamie McMurray, driving the No. 1 Cessna Patriotic Chevrolet SS, managed a car that transitioned from extremely loose to tight conditions, before finding the right balance and racing to his second consecutive seventh-place finish.

As Pocono Raceway traditionally poses a difficult challenge for teams to find the right setup to negotiate the three distinctly different turns on the 2.5-mile triangle shaped track, this weekend may have proved more of a wild-card. The bumps in the second turn appeared to be more distinct than in the past due to some settling in the area that covers the infield tunnel entrance.

Matt McCall and team managed to keep working on the handling for McMurray over the team’s five pit stops and put the No. 1 Cessna Patriotic Chevy in positon for a strong finish. McMurray ran among the top-10 over the final 60 laps of the 160-lap race. Following the team’s final pit stop with less than 40 laps to go, McMurray thought he would need to go into fuel conservation mode, however three cautions in the final 30 laps allowed enough reserve that he could race for position without concern. McMurray was able to secure his sixth top-10 finish of the season with a seventh-place result.

With his finish, McMurray maintained seventh place in the NSCS point standings.

NOTES OF INTEREST

• This was McMurray’s sixth top-10 finish of the season • This is the second time this season that he has had back-to-back top-10’s • The Axalta 400 was slowed by caution eight times for 31 laps

CGRFS Quoteboard: Jamie McMurray – No. 1 Cessna Patriotic Chevrolet SS: – “We battled a loose car early in the race before getting tight during the second half of the race. Matt and the No. 1 Cessna team did a good job adjusting the car and improving the handling. The car was really good on short runs and multiple cautions towards the end helped us make it on fuel mileage and lead to another solid top-10 finish. We will use what we learned on the long runs to find more speed for Michigan next weekend.”

Larson Races to another Top-10 Finish at Pocono Raceway

Pocono Raceway (Pocono) played host to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) this weekend for the first of two races this season at the Tricky Triangle. Coming off a strong race at Dover International Speedway last week, the Target team again looked to have a solid car for Sunday’s race. Larson started the race from the 15th position and worked through some handling issues to score an eighth-place finish, his fifth top-10 of the season.

During the first practice session, the main topic of conversation from all drivers, including Larson, focused on bumps in Turn 2 that were not present when the NSCS last visited Pocono. While the bumps disrupted the cars quite a bit, Larson did not find them as troubling as some, and instead worked through slight handling issues during the first practice session. In qualifying, Larson’s car was still tight-handling and he narrowly missed transferring to the final round, earning a 15th place start for Sunday’s race. On the final day of practice, the team continued to make gains with the Target Chevy, and would end with the second fastest time in the final session leading up to the race.

After practicing under mostly cloudy skies, the race began with the sun shining, resulting in track conditions that had not been seen during the weekend. Shortly into the race, Larson reported that his car was loose-handling and not improving. Following the first caution of the race on Lap 50, the team brought Larson to pit road for adjustments that resulted in the Target Chevy driving better. Larson was briefly in third place following the second caution of the day on Lap 88 as the team chose to stay out. However, an incident almost immediately after the restart brought the yellow flag back out and disrupted the team’s strategy. Through several subsequent cautions late in the race, Larson continued to gain ground on restarts to earn an eighth-place finish.

With the finish, Larson moves up to 19th in the NSCS driver point standings, 35 points out of 16th place.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

• This is Larson’s second back-to-back top-10 of the season • Larson picked up his second top-10 finish at Pocono in three NSCS starts • Larson led the field in quality passes (42) and had the third most green flag passes (81) during the race • Larson ran 90.3% of the race in the top-15 • The race lead changed hands 12 times between six drivers • The caution flag was shown eight times for a total of 31 laps

TCGRFS QUOTEBOARD

Kyle Larson, Driver, No. 42 Target Chevrolet SS – “We had a good race today in the Target Chevy, and a nice top-10 finish. I thought we had the speed for about an eighth and to 10th place finish, so glad we could get another top-10. We struggled some with being loose throughout the race, but made good adjustments and we’re able to take advantage of the late cautions. We still need to get better in traffic, and I think if we could just get a little edge on that then we would be a lot better. We can use what we learned here to improve, and happy to have another good weekend.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Michigan International Speedway for the Quicken Loans 400 Sunday, June 14, 2015. FOX Sports 1 coverage will begin at 1 p.m. ET, Sirius/XM Channel 90 and MRN affiliated radio stations will also have live coverage.

About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing 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 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 Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and 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 Pittsburgh, Pa.

For more information log onto chipganassiracing.com