McMURRAY WINS THE DAYTONA 500!

The first time I met NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray was in 2004 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. He had an appointment at the Target / Havoline trailer with teammate Casey Mears to sign memorabilia and take pictures. I purchased a 1:24 die-cast of McMurray's #42 Havoline Dodge which he signed for me. I also attempted taking this pictureh fortunately got a piece of me in it along with Jamie. He also signed a picture and the hat I was wearing, as did Casey. That was totally cool and worth the wait that day, if I remember correctly. It was the only year I went up the races on both Saturday and Sunday.

I first got to know Jamie when he began racing in the Busch Series on Saturday afternoons. I have no idea which race, but I caught the name "McMurray" on the scroll across the top of the TV screen indicating the positions of the driver during the race. So from there I began to keep an eye out for this McMurray guy, racing for the small, Brewski Motorsports team. That's another die-cast vehicle which I purchased.

Then, back in 2002, McMurray subbed for an injured Sterling Marlin who was out after a crash at Kansas Speedway, and he made his Cup debut filling in the #40 Coors Light Dodge at Talladega and one week later in just his second career NASCAR Winston Cup start, McMurray outraced Bobby Labonte to win the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, NC, setting a modern era record. McMurray had been consistent the entire night, and led 96 of the final 100 laps to score his first win. It is considered one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history, with McMurray making his only start at Talladega Superspeedway, where upsets are common. McMurray did not race the next week. This was also set as the modern era record, for fewest starts before a win, and it is also the first time a driver won in his or her first start at a 1.5 mile track, the most common type of track in the sport.

In 2003, McMurray became a Winston Cup regular. He won the NASCAR Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) Rookie of the Year competition by 37 points over Greg Biffle despite not winning a race. McMurray had 5 top-5s for the year and finished 13th overall. He began competing part-time in the Busch Series.

In 2004, McMurray and his team were penalized 25 points after the Food City 500 for an incorrect "x-measurement," which proved costly when, later in the year, McMurray missed the Chase for the Cup by 15 points. However, he had 23 top-10s during the season, including 12 in the last 14 races, and finished 11th in the points standings, which earned him a $1 million bonus. Had he made the Chase for the Championship, he would have been 4th in points. He won a Craftsman Truck Series race, joining a short list of drivers that have won a race in all three of NASCAR's top touring series (Craftsman Truck, Busch, and NEXTEL Cup).

McMurray left the #42 team after the 2005 season to drive the #26 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Owner Chip Ganassi was initially adamant that McMurray would not be released for 2006. However, on November 7, 2005, McMurray was released from his contract. McMurray was originally supposed to go to the #6 Ford in 2006, but since Kurt Busch was leaving for Penske Racing, and Mark Martin announced he would race for another year, McMurray instead took over for Kurt Busch in the #97 Ford (which was renumbered #26).

In April 2006, Jack Roush moved Jimmy Fennig from crew chief of the #26 Ford to head Roush's Busch operations. Bob Osborne, who had been crew chief for Carl Edwards, moved to head the crew for McMurray. In 2006, he was an adviser for the drivers below 10th and trying to make the Chase For The Cup, since he had been in that position in the past two years. McMurray's best finish of the 2006 season came at Dover where he finished 2nd.

McMurray began the 2007 season with crew chief Larry Carter, formerly from MWR and Penske Racing and sponsorship from Crown Royal and IRWIN Tools. On June 22, 2007 he won his 3rd career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Pole, for the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350. On July 7th, 2007 McMurray won the Pepsi 400 by .005 of a second over Kyle Busch for his second career Cup win. The photo finish was the closest in Daytona International Speedway history and tied for the 2nd closest finish (1993 DieHard 500) since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993. McMurray finished the year 17th overall in the points.

In the beginning of the 2008 season, McMurray encountered a string of poor finishes that relegated him to 36th in points and not guaranteed a spot in the field when NASCAR reached the spring Martinsville race, and the 2008 points went into effect. McMurray was required to qualify for the race on time. He qualified 5th, locking himself into the field as the fastest of the Go or Go Homers. He earned an 8th place finish in the race, securing himself back into the top 35 in points and a guaranteed starting position for the next race. Throughout the remainder of the season, he steadily climbed back into the top 20 in points. On October 11, 2008, McMurray rallied to finish 5th in the Bank of America 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway. It was his first top 5 finish since his victory at Daytona in July of the previous year. McMurray finished the 2008 season with three 3rd place finishes, and will re-unite with former crew chief Donnie Wingo in 2009; Crew Chief Larry Carter has announced he is moving to Yates Racing to be crew chief for Paul Menard. Jamie McMurray finished 16th in the 2008 standings.

McMurray kicked off the 2009 season by dominating the final stages of the Budweiser Shootout, but lost the lead to Kevin Harvick on the last lap. McMurray finished second. McMurray had a good Speedweeks, finishing 9th in his Gatorade Duel. In the Daytona 500, McMurray ran up front and was a contender, but was eliminated from contention after he was involved in the race's biggest crash.

Roush Fenway Racing informed McMurray he would be allowed to do leave the team, as Roush Fenway needed to cut their teams down to the NASCAR-mandated four. McMurray expressed interest in finding a new team with new owners.

On November 1, 2009, McMurray won the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, after leading over 20 laps and passing David Stremme with 8 laps to go, then surviving a green-white checkered finish to earn his second restrictor-plate win. As expected, Roush Fenway eliminated McMurray and the #26 team at the end of the season.

At the end of 2009, he left Roush Fenway Racing to drive for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in the #1 car, replacing Martin Truex, Jr. who signed to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing. His departure came as Roush Fenway was forced by a new NASCAR policy implemented a few years prior that limited the amount of cars a race team could have to four, and the #26 was the team Roush Fenway chose to cut. McMurray reunited with Chip Ganassi in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

On February 14, McMurray won the 2010 Daytona 500 leading only two laps, the least in Daytona 500 history. He beat out Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who placed second.

Gooooooooooooooo Jamie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!