(By Sarah Farlee Managing Editor, CupScene.com)
Posted: Sunday,September 5th, 2010
HAMPTON, Ga.—Kyle Busch was denied once again.
Just 24 hours after being denied of the win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in Kentucky, Busch saw a dominating performance come up short of a win.
Saturday it was Jamie McMurray who drove away from Busch and the rest field as the laps wound down to win the Great Clips 300 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The win was the ninth for JR Motorsports, and refreshing after the season the team has undergone. McMurray was tapped to drive the No. 88 after the team parted ways with Kelly Bires early in the season. Other drivers have stepped in, but McMurray has been the constant.
Jamie McMurray, driver of the #88 Hellman's/BJ's Chevrolet, and Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota, lead the field during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 4, 2010 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)
“Jamie’s done a good job for us all year long,” said crew chief Tony Eury, Sr.
“We made a mistake over the winter,” said Eury. “Jamie kind of bailed us out.”
McMurray may have stepped in, but the team is no slack in the Nationwide Series. JR Motorsports has nine wins with four different drivers behind the wheel of the 88. McMurray said he knew they had the fastest car.
“They did a really good job adjusting on it,” said McMurray of the Eury led team. “I had the best car.”
At one time McMurray thought maybe a win wouldn’t happen.
“I don’t know if we had a wheel weight off or what,” said McMurray of the vibration that appeared, and then disappeared in 10 laps. “There were times I didn’t feel I drove really well.”
“At the end I was driving hard, but the harder I drove I wasn’t going any quicker,” McMurray added. “It’s so cool to win one of these races.”
McMurray may have had the best car at the checkers, but Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick dominated throughout the race. Busch had a ten second lead on the field early, while Harvick trounced the field with a 12.8 second lead, and at one time was the lone car on the lead lap.
“It was a good competitive night,” said Harvick, who finished fourth. “There were four or five of us that were competitive and then strategy came into play.”
“A caution at the right time and everything would be perfect,” Harvick added.
It wasn’t perfect for Kyle Busch, who was looking for a couple firsts in Atlanta. Not only was Busch chasing an 11th, and record breaking win; but giving owner Joe Gibbs a win a Atlanta in the Nationwide Series.
“I had a fast car and I’m real proud of the guys,” said Busch, who finished second. “They gave me a good enough car to win, but just came up short.”
At one time it appeared nobody would be able to catch up with Busch, third place finisher Carl Edwards, however, was hopeful.
“I thought we were going to have something for him,” Edwards said. “We had a glimmer of hope to win the race.”
“I wish I had another 20 or 30 laps,” Edwards added.
Matt Kenseth was fifth. Joey Logano was sixth, Jason Leffler was seventh. Ryan Newman finished eighth and Paul Menard finished ninth. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. rounded out the top-10. Stenhouse was also the top finishing rookie.
In the Nationwide Series point’s picture Brad Keselowski still leads Edwards by 332 points and Busch by 551 points. Keselowski finished 12th after rolling the dice hoping to win.
“We were banking on getting a yellow, just didn’t get the yellow,” said Keselowski. “We put ourselves in position, sometimes that’s just the way it goes.”
HAMPTON, GA - SEPTEMBER 04: The #32 Dollar General Toyota, driven by Reed Sorenson, gets towed down pit road after an incident on track during the NASCAR Nationwide Series Great Clips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 4, 2010 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Other notes from the Great Clips 300:
Michael McDowell brought out the second caution of the night after spinning coming out of turn two on lap 60. McDowell did not make contact with anything and returned to the track.
On lap 141 the engine of Steven Wallace expired. Wallace was able to make it to pit road, and to the garage, without a yellow flag. Wallace ended the night in the 35th position.
Trevor Bayne was the cause of the third caution. Bayne spun after contact from Ryan Newman. Neither driver would have significant damage. Newman was running in the eight spot, Bayne in the 17th at the time of the incident. Bayne finished 19th.
Kasey Kahne was a contender early, but had a tire issue and had to pit under green. Kahne would finish 20th.
Reed Sorenson’s hard crash on the backstretch brought out the fourth caution. Sorenson snapped loose sliding in front of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and lost control slamming into the inside wall. Sorenson finished 33rd, disappointing at the Peachtree City, Ga., native’s home track.
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