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But McMurray said he was "going crazy," trying to keep his mind on driving the No. 42.
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"Once I got to the lead, I struggled with trying to stay focused," McMurray said. "I was trying to take all this in. This is an incredible race track.
"I got out there and had to keep telling myself to stay focused.
"This is a huge race. I can't imagine being able to win at a place like here."
For another year at least, he'll have to picture himself in Victory Lane. Despite having the fastest car on the track most of the day -- a fact acknowledged by second-place Matt Kenseth - McMurray left Indy with a third-place finish.
Then comes a caution. And a restart. And Kevin Harvick. And Robby Gordon.
And there goes the dream of winning at Indianapolis.
 | VIDEO CLIPS | | | |  | A seven-car accident bunches the field with 16 laps to go
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|  | Kevin Harvick pulls away in the final laps
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| |  | Hear from the top finishers at Indianapolis
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McMurray, who had charged through the field from his 22nd starting spot to lead twice for 22 laps, got the green flag with 16 laps to go.
All he needed was a clean restart, and you could put McMurray's name next to A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt as a winner at Indy.
"I don't know what happened," McMurray said. "The outside groove is really slick, and you want to get to the bottom. (Dave Blaney) had run well all day, so I was kind of committed to stay in that line. It was all a pretty good group of cars.
"When we got down there, he didn't go. And then Robby (Gordon) picked me up off the ground, and I couldn't turn.
"I was stuck there. I couldn't go down, and I couldn't go up. I was hoping he didn't spin me out."
McMurray stayed straight, but by the time the next lap was completed, he was third behind Harvick and Gordon.
"He's a damn menace to society," McMurray said of Gordon. "That guy -- he just races so hard. Everybody's racing hard at the end.
"I'm not really happy with third, but the way the last few weeks have went, I'm pretty content."
One wanted to believe him, but Indianapolis is bigger than clich?s. You can't have a victory like the Brickyard 400 snatched away without feeling some pain.
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| McMurray was one of four Dodges in the top 10 at Indy. |
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"We didn't need the last caution to come out, obviously," McMurray said. "I think we could've stayed ahead of all those guys. That's why they call it racing, I guess.
"Before the caution came out, I was just trying to stay focused. I didn't think they were going to catch us. Our car was real consistent and didn't seem to fall off."
It did in the final 15 laps. Once McMurray fought past Gordon to get second place, he couldn't move any closer to Harvick.
"Once I got out in front of Matt, I was just tight," McMurray said. "I don't know why. We were pretty free all day long.
"We really didn't have that good of a car at the end. It seemed like the two tires -- I don't know -- it just made the car tight. We were kind of hanging on the last few laps."
Kenseth slipped past to get second place, leaving McMurray with a third-place finish.
That's his best of the season.
"I kept telling myself, 'You might not get this again, so get it while you can today,'" McMurray said.
Unfortunately for McMurray, he didn't get it.
"We thought we had a good car (Saturday), but starting so far back, everybody said it was so hard to pass here," McMurray said. "But we didn't struggle to pass. Our car was so fast at the beginning. I've got a pretty cool deal."
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