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Win is bittersweet for No. 40 team

It took members of the No. 40 Dodge team a few days to collect themselves after learning an injury would force driver Sterling Marlin, a championship contender all season, to miss the final seven Winston Cup races.

All was lost.

Though Sunday's victory at Lowe's Motor Speedway with not-yet-rookie Jamie McMurray behind the wheel of the No. 40 gave everyone reason to smile, nothing has changed.

All is still lost.

And it's a shame.

Because NASCAR championships are tied to drivers, the No. 40 team will not even sniff the stage at the black-tie banquet in New York City. The car has Marlin's name above the window, but Marlin, who cracked a vertebra in his neck three weeks ago, fell two places in the standings Sunday to 12th. He'll be lucky to remain in the top 20.

"Certainly, it was a big blow to our race team to hear the news about Sterling, and we went for a day or two of trying to get through it," crew chief Lee McCall said.

"But we still had goals and one was to get Jamie McMurray through it in the best equipment possible. So this shows a lot about this race team, how strong it is. A lot of people might have given up on this race team, but we didn't."

In the owner standings, the truest measure of a team's performance regardless of who drives, No. 40 ranks fifth, 155 behind the No. 20 Pontiac owned by Joe Gibbs and driven by championship-leader Tony Stewart.

When Marlin announced he would not finish the season, he half-jokingly suggested NASCAR make an allowance for an injured driver to miss a race or two without penalty. Others in the garage, feeling bad for the popular 45-year-old, agreed.

But what about the team?

Not only will the No. 40 team miss out on the glory it deserves for one of the season's most consistent performances -- three wins, nine top fives, 15 top 10s -- but it also will pay a hefty price. NASCAR's point fund is tied to the driver standings.

The champion will receive $3.75-million. Twentieth place pays $240,000.

McMurray will be a rookie teammate to Marlin and Jimmy Spencer next season. If anything, his victory in his second Winston Cup start proves what people have said all season about super rookies Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman. Yes, they are talented, but the biggest key is driving for a great team with great equipment.

"This team is all about motivation and heart," owner Chip Ganassi said. "They just want to will this (car) to the front. Every single person at our place can take stock in this victory."

BRIGHT FUTURE: Add McMurray to the list of fresh-faced young drivers with NASCAR star power. At 26, he is attractive, articulate, self-confident, funny, humble and appreciative.

And he drinks beer.

McMurray, driving the Coors Light No. 40, gulped from a can of the sponsor's product during a national TV interview in Victory Lane. Let's see squeaky-clean Johnson, Newman or four-time champion Jeff Gordon get away with that.

EVERY POINT COUNTS: Of the top five in NASCAR's tightest championship battle, only fourth-place Newman failed to pick up five bonus points for leading a lap. Stewart, Johnson, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace -- all separated by 182 points -- led at least once.

EYES IN THE SKY: In response to the death of ARCA driver Eric Martin last week at Lowe's, NASCAR will require teams in its three national touring series -- Winston Cup, Busch Grand National and Craftsman Truck -- to use spotters during practice.

A team cannot practice until a spotter reports to a designated spotters' stand.

Martin was killed instantly when his car was struck on the driver's side by Deborah Renshaw's during Thursday's practice. Renshaw's spotter was watching from the top of the team hauler on the infield, where his view may have been obstructed.

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