#41-Jamie McMurray claimed the win on Saturday in the Bashas’ Supermarket 200 at the Phoenix International Raceway after battling throughout the 200-mile event with #5-Kyle Busch. McMurray had to fend off Busch after the series’ third straight green-white-checkered flag finish gave him one more shot at the top spot. A solid jump by McMurray however closed the door as Busch settled into second at the finish. The win was special for McMurray as it fell on his 100 th career Busch Series start. Another plus for the driver of the #41 Dodge, it was the first for car owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates in the Busch Series with their newly formed team. McMurray’s drive to the checkers however was nearly knocked out on lap 189. Just as then leader Busch made the pass on the lapped car of John Graham, the #72 spun barely missing McMurray. After cleanup, the field then took the green flag in a single file restart and McMurray quickly took the lead with Busch riding closely on the rear of his Dodge. To his advantage, the yellow flew again after a multi-car wreck broke out involving #32-Shane Hmiel, #12-Tim Fedewa, #59-Stacy Compton and #99-Michael Waltrip with just four laps remaining, setting the field up for the green-white-checkered run. #8-Martin Truex, Jr. continues his stranglehold on the top spot in the point standings. After an early miscue in his pits, Truex bounced back and claimed the third spot. He now leads Busch by 161 points with two events remaining. Including the winner McMurray, Nextel Cup racers dominated the top 10 spots. #55-Robby Gordon, #60-Greg Biffle, #9-Mark Martin, #66-Rusty Wallace and #17-Matt Kenseth claimed spots four through eight.
#46-Ashton Lewis, Jr. had a solid weekend with a good qualifying effort followed up by a strong ninth place showing. #00-Tony Raines, driving his first and only race in the Haas Racing entry, brought home a well-deserved 10th.(full race report at BGNRacing.com)
Caution flags: 9 for 42 laps.
Lead changes: 11 among 4 drivers.
See results at:
ThatsRacin.com
BGNRacing.com
Motorsports One
NASCAR.com.(11-6-2004)
