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McMurray was the benefactor of all the Hendrick drama, winning despite an early penalty for driving under the yellow line. It was a redemption of sorts for a driver who suffered through a terrible 2006 season, his first at Roush.
He negotiated his way out of his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing in a highly publicized battle between car owners jockeying to put McMurray in their car.
So it was a disaster when McMurray finished a career-worst 25th in the standings, scored only seven top 10 finishes and ran through two crew chiefs.
He hand-picked Larry Carter for this year, raising the stakes for him to win this season. So when he finally crossed the line, he wasn’t sure he had won and couldn’t tell because of all the screaming on his radio.
There was no such confusion for Stewart, the heavy favorite to win for the third straight year. But just like the Daytona 500, when he wrecked with Kurt Busch while leading, Stewart was knocked out in another fluke accident.
The Joe Gibbs Racing drivers were running first and second 14 laps into the race when Hamlin wiggled, Stewart ran into the back of him and the two careened into the wall.
Stewart, still seeking his first win of the season, was angry with his teammate.
“He just wrecked two really good race cars. He tried to wreck us in practice on Friday and didn’t get it done, at least he finished it off today,” Stewart said. “He’s a young guy and he wants to be successful, but I don’t know if he knows what the definition of team is right now.”
Hamlin, coming off his first win of the season last week in New Hampshire, didn’t want to debate Stewart.
“If he wants to blame it on me, I’ll be the bigger man and take responsibility for it,” Hamlin said. “He’s been around this sport longer than I have and he probably knows more than I do, so I’ll just take it for what it’s worth.”
Gibbs, meanwhile, tried to play peacemaker as he watched his crews hammer away at sheet metal as the race roared on around them.
“Both our guys are very aggressive, they love to race, they are good teammates and they want to win every race,” Gibbs said. “Sometimes guys get upset, which is understandable.”
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