Chip Ganassi Racing driver Jamie McMurray had a pretty big scare last week during Cup Series final practice at Talladega Superspeedway, following a blown left-rear tire.
McMurray’s No.1 Chevrolet then flipped over the No. 31 car of Ryan Newman, collided with the wall and rolled until it came to a halt, resting on all four wheels. Thankfully, the driver was unharmed, which goes to show just how safe these vehicles have gotten.
“I think that we blew a left-rear tire,” stated McMurray after the crash. “That is what it sounded like. I heard the tire start to come apart and you are kind of a long for the ride.”
“The car, I think, it turned to the right and then kind of back to the left and I obviously was in the front of that draft and then once it starts rolling you don’t have any control. You can’t tell what is up and what is down, you are spinning so fast. I was just thankful. Honestly, the whole time it’s flipping I was like, just please land on the right way up so I can get out.”
“You just never know if there is going to be a fire. We literally had only run four or five laps so you know you have a full tank of fuel.”
Following the crash, NASCAR decided to change the size of the restrictor plates, reports The Drive, in an effort to slow cars down. These new plates have 55/64-inch holes, as opposed to the original 7/8-inch ones.
McMurray went on to finish 28th in Sunday’s race, at the tail end of the pack.