Jamie McMurray won at Charlotte in his second Cup start, on Oct. 13, 2002. Credit: Autostock

'Levigation' has drivers eager to lay down rubber

Track surface expected to be determining factor at Charlotte

Jamie McMurray remains in the chase for the $1 million bonus for finishing 11th in the year-end point standings, and Charlotte -- with its freshly ground track surface -- may be the ointment to soothe the pain of a disappointing season.

McMurray was riding a high earlier this year, sitting in seventh place in points after the Pepsi 400 in July before announcing his move to Roush Racing for the 2007 season.

	Jeff Gordon has four wins at Charlotte, and is the youngest driver to visit Victory Lane at the track (22 years, 9 months, 25 days) on May 29, 1994. Credit: Craig Jones/Getty Images
	Did You Know? Drivers whose first Cup win came at Charlotte Driver Date D. Pearson May 28, 1961 Bu. Baker Oct. 15, 1967 C. Glotzbach Oct. 20, 1968 J. Gordon May 29, 1994 B. Labonte May 28, 1995 M. Kenseth May 28, 2000 J. McMurray Oct. 13, 2002

Since then, he's missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup and team owner Chip Ganassi said he will hold McMurray to his contract and not allow the third-year driver to jump ship for the No. 6 car in '06.

Nonetheless, McMurray is upbeat as the No. 42 team heads to Charlotte in 12th place -- one point behind Kevin Harvick in 11th.

"Lowe's Motor Speedway is a very special place to me because I got my first Cup win there. Not only that, it's close to home and it's always nice to race in your backyard," McMurray said.

"They've made some interesting changes to the track surface, so there are a lot of unknowns heading into this weekend's race. There doesn't seem to be as much grip, but I believe it will get better as more and more rubber gets put down.

"I tested there in a Busch car a couple of weeks ago and I could notice a difference as they day went on," he said. "All in all I think there will be some exciting races this weekend."

McMurray won the UAW-GM Quality 500 on Oct. 13, 2002, in his second Cup start substituting for Sterling Marlin, who was injured in a crash two weeks earlier at Kansas. McMurray held off a top five that included Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon, two drivers with sterling records on the 1.5-mile track.

Labonte has 16 top-10 finishes in 25 starts at Charlotte, and won the Coca-Cola 600 on May 28, 1995, and the UAW-GM Quality 500 on Oct. 8, 2000.

In May, Labonte finished second at Charlotte. He was passed by Jimmie Johnson at the exit of Turn 4 on the final lap and finished .027 seconds behind. "We obviously came pretty close to a win the last time we were at Charlotte," Labonte said. "The tracks changed a little bit and they've ground down some more parts of it. We'll see what happens when we get there.

"We tested there a couple of weeks ago, and we had a decent test. Right now we're just trying to finish out as strong as we can and try to get a win. It's been a frustrating season for sure, but we go into each weekend with a positive attitude and this week will be no different."

Gordon also has endured a frustrating season, winning three races but finishing outside the top 10 in points -- and thus out of Chase contention.

"We've struggled on the mile-and-a-half and two-mile tracks this year, but we ran really well during the event here in May," Gordon said. "I don't know if it was due to the 'levigating,' but we really hit on something in our setup.

"I understand they did some more work on the track. It'll be interesting to see how much it has changed since May."

The track surface at Lowe's Motor Speedway was smoothed -- levigated -- with a diamond grinder prior to the Coca-Cola 600 in May, and a piece of the track sealer became dislodged and slammed into the nosepiece of Gordon's No. 24 Chevrolet.

After several pit stops during the caution period to repair the damage, Gordon recovered to lead the race with just over 100 laps to go. However, he was involved in an accident during the waning laps and finished 30th.

In 25 starts at Charlotte, Gordon has four wins -- tied for the most among active drivers -- and 15 top-10 finishes. He leads active drivers with seven pole-position starts. Like McMurray and Labonte, Gordon also won his first Cup Series race at the track, on May 29, 1994.