By Ryan - Posted on July 28, 2010

After qualifying, practice, and most of the race on Sunday, everyone thought it was Juan Montoya’s weekend. The Brickyard 400 was his to lose. In fact, as Jamie McMurray found himself consistently behind Montoya lap after lap, he had all but planned to settle for the runner-up cash. But that, as they say, is why they ‘play the game’.

Montoya was leading the race late, when a debris caution sent everyone scrambling to pit road. Montoya’s crew chief, Brian Pattie, engineered a four-tire stop, and McMurray’s crew chief, Kevin Manion, called for only two tires. This put McMurray back on the track in the lead, and Montoya in 7th position with only 18 laps left.  To add insult to injury, as Montoya was driving hard to get back to the front, he crashed his car into the wall, and then ricocheted into Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car. This marked the end of a very frustrating evening for Montoya.

Instead, it was Montoya’s teammate, Jamie McMurray, who was in victory lane. McMurray joined rare company with the win; only Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jarrett have also won both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same season. He celebrated as he crossed the finish line; nearly 1.4 seconds ahead of the competition by saying, “I get to kiss the bricks!”

Not only was this win a milestone for McMurray, but it continued an amazing year for car-owner Chip Ganassi. McMurray won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in NASCAR Sprint cup, and at the Indianapolis 500 in May, Dario Franchitti won in a Ganassi car. Ganassi is the first car owner to have won all three of these major races ever; certainly no one has even considered the possibility of winning them all in one year.  "I'm the luckiest guy on the planet," Ganassi said. "You wouldn't dare to dream this. You wouldn't dare to dream this kind of year."

Kevin Harvick, the series point leader, solidified his hold on the top points position with a second-place finish behind McMurray. The top five was rounded out by Greg Biffle, Clint Boyer, and Tony Stewart. They were followed by Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Kurt Busch.  Harvick’s points lead is now 184 over Jeff Gordon, who finished 23rd at the Brickyard.