McCumbee 34th in Sprint Cup race at Lowe’s

Chad McCumbee finished 34th in his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord.

When the green flag fell in the Bank of America 500 race Saturday night, McCumbee radioed to crew chief Stewart Cooper the car was loose everywhere. The team fought that condition all weekend, but Cooper made several adjustments that improved the handling of the car during the early portions of the race.

On lap 194, McCumbee was forced through the infield grass to avoid a multi-car wreck. In the process, the front splitter was knocked off the car and the team had to go to the garage area to fix the damage. The team made the repairs to allow McCumbee to finish the race.

“Our car was better when we were a little ‘snug,” said McCumbee, who finished second in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race in May at LMS. “Our lap times weren’t very good when we were ‘loose.’ We came in and made a lot of big adjustments and the car responded pretty well to them.

“We were trying to work our way into position for the ‘Lucky Dog’ award when that wreck happened right in front of me. I had nowhere to go except through the grass and that did a lot of damage to the front end.”

McCumbee made his fifth career start in the No. 45 Dodge. He is scheduled to compete in four of the final five events of the 2008 Sprint Cup season.

“I’ve been fortunate this year to have been able to learn from guys like Kyle Petty and Bobby and Terry Labonte,” McCumbee said before the race. “That’s a lot of NASCAR experience that I can draw from, which will only help me become better prepared for these races.”

Jeff Burton propelled himself into the thick of the Chase for the Sprint Cup by scoring his second victory of the 2008 season. Burton had to hold off Kasey Kahne, who was looking to sweep every race at Lowe’s this season, at the end.

The “Chase for the Sprint Cup” appears to be down to a three-man race. Fewer than 100 points separate the top three of Jimmie Johnson, Burton and Greg Biffle.