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Jamie McMurray said he expects to continue to crawl into a Roush Fenway Racing Ford beyond this year.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jamie McMurray squelched reports on Saturday that he might be on his way out at Roush Fenway Racing.

"If you guys want to print the truth, the truth is I'll be there with Crown Royal [as a sponsor]," McMurray said after his qualifying lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "It's 100 percent."

McMurray's name had been connected with the fourth car at Richard Childress Racing. Sources close to the situation said RCR made a run at him but couldn't get him out of the final year of his contract at Roush.

"Richard is looking for a driver, and I'm somewhat flattered to have my name on the list that another owner would want you," McMurray said. "But I will be in this car and not at Richard Childress Racing."

Speculation intensified that McMurray could be on his way out on Friday when team owner Jack Roush seemingly slighted him.

"With the line I've drawn across the sand, nobody is going to take Carl Edwards from me, nobody is going to take Matt Kenseth from me, nobody is going to take David Ragan from me, nobody's going to take Greg Biffle from me," Roush said.

There was no mention of McMurray, but Roush later came back and said McMurray "is important to me."

He also acknowledged disappointment with the performance of McMurray, who is 22nd in points.

"It's been a tough season, for sure, and this is a performance-based business and the 26 team, if you look at results, hasn't been as good as the other four teams," McMurray said. "So Jack is just kind of stating the obvious.

"I can't control what Jack says, and sometimes Jack will go off a little bit and it maybe gets out of control, but it's not that big of a deal."

-- David Newton

Hendrick boys pace practice

For a second consecutive day -- sandwiched around a strong qualifying session -- Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon paced practices at the Brickyard.

Johnson earned the pole Saturday morning and led the final practice in the afternoon at 176.298 mph in the No. 48 Chevrolet, some 1.3 mph faster than the next car -- Gordon's No. 24 Chevy (174.958 mph). Gordon, who qualified fifth, led the first Saturday practice with a hot lap of 174.496 mph.

There were no accidents in the sessions, though Robby Gordon briefly had flames trailing from the rear of his No. 7 Dodge and Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. brushed the wall in their Dodges.

-- John Schwarb

Old feud continues between Wallace, Newman

Rusty Wallace's feud with former Penske Racing teammate Ryan Newman continued Friday when he insinuated that Newman had been fired for next season.

Team owner Roger Penske refuted that, reiterating it was a mutual separation, as was said more than a week ago. Newman -- who is expected to become the second driver at Stewart-Haas Racing, which sparked the separation -- also said it was mutual.

Asked whether Wallace hates him enough to say what he did Friday, Newman said, "There is potential for that."

Newman qualified third for Sunday's race.

-- David Newton

Busch flare-up at ORP

There's no mystery to finding the top car in two of NASCAR's circuits. Kyle Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is the best in Sprint Cup, and anyone driving Gibbs' No. 20 in the Nationwide Series is the one to beat (though Clint Bowyer leads the points).

Matters are different in the Craftsman Truck Series, as Johnny Benson won Friday night at O'Reilly Raceway Park to extend his points lead to 15.

Benson, of Bill Davis Racing, held off Kevin Harvick Inc.'s Ron Hornaday Jr. through four restarts over the final 39 laps on the .686-mile short track to notch his third win of the season, tying Hornaday for the series lead in victories through 14 events. The two veterans have combined to win five of the past six races, with Benson's No. 23 Toyota taking three of the last four.

"It's been a fun year, but it's also been a complicated year," said Benson, whose three finishes of 25th or worse have kept him from a bigger championship lead over second-place Hornaday and ThorSport Racing's Matt Crafton (31 points back in third).

Busch, racing in all three series this weekend, was never in contention for his third truck win of the season with Billy Ballew Motorsports, but his eighth-place finish wasn't uninteresting. For the second consecutive race, the part-time driver was involved in an incident with Chad McCumbee of MRD Motorsports.

After smashing into the Turn 1 wall on Lap 136, McCumbee drove almost an entire lap with his wrecked Chevy to pull in front of Busch under caution, airing his frustration.

"Unfortunately, the No. 51 took us out again. He drives as hard as he can every lap and that is what you have got to do, but we are racing here for points and trying to protect ourselves," McCumbee said. "I might get to see him a little bit more than he thinks the rest of the year and might get to race with him a little bit more."

-- John Schwarb