RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Jamie McMurray clinched his first career berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship Saturday night at Richmond.
McMurray only needed the green flag to drop to make it on points and become the 12th driver to make the 16-driver field. Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer are among the drivers racing for the final Chase spots in the race that will set the field for next week's playoff opener at Chicagoland Speedway. If there is a repeat 2015 race winner, Newman and Gordon will clinch regardless of finish.
McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in 2010, is only the second driver to make the Chase for team owner Chip Ganassi, following Juan Pablo Montoya in 2009.
"It's gratifying to bring a group of people together and accomplish something like this, and to be a part of a team of guys that accomplished this," Ganassi said. "Now that's the first goal, the goal changes now. The goal post changes to winning races and advancing in the Chase."
McMurray missed the cutoff for the Chase by one spot in 2004 and lost the final spot after a crash at Richmond in 2005. He also lost out on the final Chase spot at Richmond in 2014.
Teammate Kyle Larson must win the race to qualify for the Chase. Ganassi said on the starting grid before the race he believed both drivers could make the field.
"Absolutely. Stanger things have happened," Ganassi said.
Ganassi won the IndyCar championship this season when driver Scott Dixon made a late charge and won on a tiebreaker after winning the finale in Sonoma.
Ganassi's left arm was in a sling after he broke his collarbone when he fell off his mountain bike last week. He tweeted a picture of his X-ray and had surgery last Sunday.
"It's more of an inconvenience and uncomfortable thing as opposed to pain," he said. "I had to ride back a couple of miles after I did it to get to my car. I'm starting to sweat just thinking about it."