Results (with starting position) from the AAA Texas 500 at

1. (5) , No. 48 SS 2. (1) Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford 3. (2) , No. 4 Chevrolet SS 10. (27) No. 1 Cessna/NetJets Chevrolet SS (McMurray) 37. (9) No. 42 Target Plaid Chevrolet SS (Larson)

McMurray Pilots Cessna/NetJets Team To Top-10 Finish In Texas

With just three races remaining in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season, the series made its second stop of the season at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS). Jamie McMurray, driving the No. 1 Cessna/NetJets Chevrolet SS, overcame a disappointing qualifying result to bring home at 10th-place finish in the Lone Star State.

Following a 27th-place qualifying result on Friday afternoon at TMS, the No. 1 team looked to improve the performance of the No. 1 Chevy in the two scheduled practices on Saturday. Unfortunately, those plans were foiled when NASCAR and track officials were unable to have the track prepared for activity, because of water that continued to seep through the asphalt from a saturated ground.

The uncertainty because of limited practice time was quickly put to rest as McMurray powered his way through the field, racing into the top-10 before the halfway mark of the 334-lap race. The No. 1 Cessna/NetJets team raced among the top-15 for 222 laps (66.5%) and finished the race with a 13.7-place average running position. After taking a gamble with a two-tire stop on the race’s final caution, McMurray restarted in the fourth-position with just 18 laps to go. The result netted McMurray with his second consecutive and 10th overall, top-10 of the season.

With his finish, McMurray gained one position and is currently in 12th position in the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.

NOTES OF INTEREST  Today was McMurray’s 10th top-10 finish of the 2015 season  McMurray gained 17 positions from start to finish  Crew Chief Matt McCall was awarded the Moog Problem Solver of the Race Award – for being the eligible team to improve the most positions from the first to second half of the race  The caution flag was shown nine times for a total of 47 laps  The lead changed 15 times among eight drivers

CGRFS Quote board:

Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Cessna/NetJets Chevrolet SS – “A really good job by everyone on the Cessna team. The guys did a great job on pit road and knocked-off some really good pit stops. That was one of the better intermediate track races that we have had in a while. Our team has maintained their focus extremely well and have done a great job of getting our cars better throughout the weekend. I’m glad that we were able to overcome the disappointing qualifying result with a top-10 finish. I look forward to finishing out this season really strong.”

Tire Issues Flatten Strong Run for Larson at Texas Motor Speedway

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season rapidly draws to a close, Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) played host for the second-to-last race of the Eliminator 8 round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. After earning a fifth-place start for the race during Friday’s qualifying session, and Team Target looked set up for a strong race on Sunday. Even though practice was cancelled on Saturday due to wet track conditions, the Target Chevy started off the race fast, with Larson driving up to second place by Lap 75. Unfortunately, at the 100 lap mark, Larson suffered the first of several tire issues, which would ultimately force him to retire from the race with just over 30 laps remaining and be credited with a 37th-place finish.

The Target team started the weekend with a fast car and proved to be a serious contender for Sunday’s race. After posting the fourth-best lap time during the opening practice session, Larson went on to transfer to the final round of qualifying, where he earned a NSCS career-best fifth-place start at TMS. Teams were relegated to no track time on Saturday as practice was cancelled while the track was being dried following overnight rain.

Sunday’s race started positively for Larson, but, as was the case with several other drivers, he was slowed by tire issues throughout the race. After starting out the day fast, the Target team steadily gained on the field to reach second place by Lap 75. Larson’s fast laps would unfortunately be slowed around Lap 100 when the left rear tire blew, which resulted in a trip to pit road and some minor damage to the car. After making repairs and gaining spots on pit road, Larson once again drove a fast car back into the top-10 following a restart on Lap 173. However, another blown left rear tire slowed Larson and forced a green flag , which resulted in going four laps down on the leader. While Larson would get back to running fast laps briefly, he was unable to advance back towards the front. As a result of the earlier tire issues, Larson was forced to retire from the race early, earning a 37th-place finish.

With the finish, Larson moves to 20th in the NSCS driver point standings.

NOTES OF INTEREST:

 Larson ranked third for fastest laps run during the race  The caution flag was shown nine times for a total of 47 laps  The lead changed 15 times among eight drivers

TCGRFS QUOTEBOARD

Kyle Larson, No. 42 Target Plaid Chevrolet SS – “This race kind of sums up our season; we just can’t catch a break. Everyone worked really hard to have our car ready to compete today, and things just didn’t work out. The Target Chevy was really good and fast from the start. We had run up to second when the left rear blew for the first time. The car had some damage from that, but we were able to get back towards the front thanks to a few good stops by the crew. We blew a left again with about 100 to go, went a few laps down and finally had to go to the garage with about 30 to go as a result of the earlier damage. A disappointing finish for sure, but we did all we could.”

NSCS teams will run the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 15. NBC, SiriusXM Channel 90 and MRN will have live coverage beginning at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

About 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 Verizon IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Prototype in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Overall his teams have 18 championships and over 170 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a , 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 Pittsburgh, Pa.

For more information log onto chipganassiracing.com