McMurray going to savor Daytona victory for a while

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- After he crossed the finish line, he hit the outside wall and wasn't even sure he had won the race.

Once the screaming over his radio subsided long enough to ask a question, Jamie McMurray realized, in fact, he was the winner.

"I said, 'Who won?' and someone said, 'You did,'" said McMurray in Daytona after scoring his second career Cup Series victory, a win that broke his four-season winless streak spanning 166 races. His last victory was a Charlotte race in 2002 in his second career start.

Lap-by-Lap

Jamie McMurray overcame a penalty to battle through the field for his last-lap victory at Daytona. Read how he did it.

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"I started beating my fist against the wheel almost into pain I was so excited," McMurray said. "I didn't even realize it was the last lap. I asked Larry [Carter, crew chief] and he said this is it, and I said OK."

McMurray's night was fraught with doubt early in the race, but Carter kept a cool head and calm voice on the radio -- two characteristics that would prove invaluable to McMurray.

The driver of the No. 26 Ford took the lead on Lap 31 only to be penalized by NASCAR two laps later for passing Jeff Gordon below the yellow line -- a no-no in restrictor-plate racing.

He was forced to complete a pass-through penalty, sending him deep into the field.

McMurray slipped onto pit road and gave up the lead to Kyle Busch, but by Lap 123 he had battled back to the top five.

Carter said in the midst of the climb his driver came over the radio and complained the car was too loose; however, McMurray was picking off cars left and right.

"I didn't tell him this but he must not have been too bad because he went from 35th to 10th," Carter said.

By Lap 155, the battle was on between McMurray and Busch with McMurray prevailing with a push from Jeff Gordon.

That push is the reason Busch said he lost the win (watch video).

The No. 5 driver lamented after the race that his teammate Jeff Gordon "chose to help a Roush car" instead of his own teammate -- a teammate who is leaving the Hendrick Motorsports stable at the end of this season.

Nevertheless, Gordon said he was impressed with McMurray's fight.

"Congratulations to Jamie," Gordon said. "He was completely out of control but he got it across the finish line and that's all the matters."

McMurray said before the race got down to the wire, he was committed to pushing the Hendrick cars in front of him: Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears.

"I felt like if I had pulled out of line I would only go backwards," he said.

But McMurray said he was able to get some good pushes, a strong run on the No. 24 and eventually take the lead.

The side-by-side finish, worthy of a NASCAR review, is the second closest margin of victory since the advent of computer recording with a margin of .005 seconds. The closest finish was in 2003 at Darlington with Ricky Craven beating Kurt Busch. The margin of victory was .002 seconds.

McMurray was steadfast in his charge to the front and has continued to be steadfast in his charge to change his performance coming off a dismal 2006 season since joining Roush Fenway Racing.

More structure in his life, a new trainer and new crew chief Carter has garnered the driver five top-10 finishes so far this season.

Also he likened the win to a release -- a release of pent-up emotions evident of McMurray fighting back tears in his racecar as he drove to Victory Lane (watch video).

On Saturday, he was a man on a mission leaving all memories of his long winless streak in his rearview mirror.

"I'll appreciate this more than my win in Charlotte," he said. "Last time I just went home and went to bed. I will go home, have a few Crown Royal drinks and I will savor this and just kind of think about it."