Daytona 500 champion Jamie McMurray wins The Brickyard

The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet remained No. 1 in NASCAR's most prestigious races, and the car's owner still owns the world's most famous racetrack.

Good things came in threes Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Jamie McMurray and Chip Ganassi.

Passing Kevin Harvick for the lead on a restart with 11 laps remaining, McMurray became the third driver to win the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season. His fifth career victory made Ganassi the first to field winning cars in the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 (Dario Franchitti) and Brickyard during the same year.

RESULTS: Brickyard 400

"I couldn't be happier to have it happen here," said Ganassi, who also won Sunday's IndyCar race at Edmonton with Scott Dixon. "It's incredible. I need oxygen."

It appeared another Ganassi driver would be kissing the bricks, but Juan Pablo Montoya finished 32nd after pacing 86 of the first 139 laps, the second year in a row he led the most laps without winning. The 2000 Indy 500 winner lost the lead on a four-tire pit stop and spun after falling into traffic.

Taking two tires on the same stop paid off for McMurray, who has shored up his Sprint Cup résumé significantly since appearing headed for unemployment before Ganassi hired him last November.

"Everyone wants to win at Daytona and Indy," McMurray said. "There's a different feeling you get here than at almost any other racetrack. A lot of energy. It's a very special place."

The crowd didn't measure up to the event's luster. NASCAR's estimated attendance was 140,000, but the 257,000-seat grandstands appeared less than half full. The Brickyard's listed crowd has fallen by 100,000 since a tire debacle in the 2008 race.

Despite the shortage of spectators, there weren't many empty feelings about Ganassi's 2010 trifecta in the triple crown of American auto racing.

"To win all those in one year is remarkable," runner-up Harvick said. "It will probably never happen again."

McMurray triumphs after Montoya falters

McMurray is a believer in fate, and it seemed the stars were aligning with 25 laps remaining Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Just not for him.

"I really believe that this was Juan's weekend," said McMurray, who was running second to teammate Juan Pablo Montoya before a fateful final pit stop. "He ran so well last year. I thought, 'This was the way it's meant to be.'

"I really thought it was going to be his day."

But for the second consecutive year, a mistake left Montoya lamenting another dominant bid at history.

Trying to become the first to drink the milk and kiss the bricks at Indy's tradition-steeped track, Montoya finished 32nd after a pit stop for four tires dropped him from first to seventh on a restart with 18 laps remaining.

In an eerie repeat of last year (when a pit stop penalty for speeding dropped him into the pack), Montoya's No. 42 Chevrolet wouldn't handle in traffic. He spun in Turn 4 six laps later.

The Colombian, who had started on the pole position and rebounded earlier from an unscheduled pit stop for a tire vibration, left without addressing reporters. He later posted on his Twitter account that "We had a rough day. Great car and great team effort. Nice to see the 1 car win. I know it means a lot for chip."

Ganassi said No. 42 crew chief Brian Pattie's decision to take four tires was why McMurray's team elected for two, putting them in the lead.

"What do I say to Juan and Brian?" Ganassi asked with a smile. "They should have taken two."

Pattie didn't need reminding.

"Bad call," he said. "Crew chief error."

It's been that kind of season for Montoya, who has said his car has gotten faster while the results have been worse than 2009 when he made the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He has led 306 laps this season, ranking seventh, but is 22nd in points.

"They certainly had the best car (Sunday)," McMurray said. "It's been their year, though. I would guess they're not shocked by what's happened because it seems they've had a lot of bad luck."

Said Ganassi: "I'm sure he's mad, but he's over it. It's racing. This is what he does for a living."

Pit notes

NASCAR chairman Brian France says critical decisions on the 2011 Sprint Cup schedule could be finalized in the next couple weeks. International Speedway Corp. has requested another race at Kansas Speedway, and Speedway Motorsports Inc. wants to add races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kentucky Speedway. NASCAR officials say the changes could involve shifting around dates for 25% of the 36-race schedule. "We'll have some impactful changes that will be good for NASCAR fans," France says.. .. Montoya's crash was costly for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 27th from damage in the incident. Earnhardt is 93 points out of the last Chase for the Sprint Cup spot with six races left to qualify. "We're still missing a little bit, but we're getting better," said Earnhardt, who was running in the top 15. "But if we keep having this kind of luck, we're not going to make the Chase, and that's just something we'll just have to live with. But we'll keep working to try to make it."