From a numbers standpoint, Kyle Larson’s victory at Michigan last Sunday made life more difficult for his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Jamie McMurray.
With the win, Larson eliminated a playoff spot that otherwise would be available on points, leaving McMurray concurrently in the last Chase-eligible position with two races left in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular season.
McMurray holds a 15-point lead over Ryan Newman, who was shuffled out of Chase eligibility by Larson’s victory. But the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet finds solace in his consistent performances this season—and in the recent speed his organization has found.
“As an organization, our cars are better right now than they’ve been all year long,” McMurray said. “At the beginning of the year, we did a really good job of making sure (we) finished and finishing better than we ran most of the race.
“That kept us in a position to be in the Chase. Obviously, with (Tony) Stewart being able to pull off the win at Sonoma, and Chris Buescher in the rain delay and then Kyle winning last week … that has put a little more pressure on the three or four guys that are fighting for one of the last spots to get in.
“But we’ve run so well the last few weeks. I’m going to two tracks (Darlington and Richmond) that, historically, I’ve run pretty well at. So if we don’t have anything crazy happen, we’re going to be in really good shape.”
WDUN will have live MRN Radio coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 from Darlington Raceway beginning at 5 pm on 102.9 FM and AM 550.
Elliott Sadler Motivated By Absence Of His Team Owner
NASCAR Xfinity Series points leader Elliott Sadler is using the absence of his JR Motorsports team owner, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., as a source of inspiration and motivation in his quest for a first championship.
“We’ve kind of been racing for him these last couple weeks … a month or so,” said Sadler, who leads the Xfinity standings by 47 points over second-place Daniel Suarez. “We kind of know what our boss is going through. We talk about it on our race team at the race track some. When you watch practice on TV, or the watch the (Sprint Cup) race on Sunday, and he’s not in the race car, it affects us.
“We want the best for him. He’s given all of us a great opportunity. We want him to enjoy the same fun, the same competitive spirit that we’re having week-in and week-out. So we definitely talk about it as a team and wish him nothing but the best coming back. And it definitely gives us some incentive to finish on a high note, now that he’s out of the car.”
Sadler is locked into the inaugural Xfinity Chase, and the veteran driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet got more recent good news—his primary sponsor, OneMain Financial, will return for another season on the car in 2017. Sadler will next race in Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.
WDUN will have live MRN Radio coverage of Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series VFW Sport Clips 200 from Darlington Raceway beginning at 4 pm on 102.9 FM.
