DOB: June 3, 1976
Hometown: Joplin, Mo.

Jamie McMurray surprised everyone by winning the 2010 Daytona 500 in his very first start for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, but it was not his first surprise win or his first time overcoming the odds.

McMurray began his career, as most drivers do, winning tons of karting races and moving through the ranks until he reached the Camping World Series in 1999 and the Nationwide series in 2001.

In 2002, Chip Ganassi tapped McMurray to drive the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge in place of Sterling Marlin, who had been injured in a crash at Kansas Speedway.  McMurray stunned the racing world by driving the 40 to victory in just his second start, setting a modern era record for least number of starts before scoring a win. That race, the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, stood as his only win for nearly five years.

McMurray left Ganassi after the 2005 season and joined the Roush camp.  He was winless for 2006 and scored just one win in 2007 at the Daytona Pepsi 400. The year 2008 was another winless year, followed by yet another year with just one win, the 2009 Amp Energy 500 at Talladega.  Replacing Martin Truex Jr in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops for 2010, McMurray led just two laps of the season-opener Daytona 500 and scored the fourth and most prestigious win of his career.

Although the Daytona win should mean great things, the reality of it is that McMurray's career has been marred with inconsistency.  Four wins spread across eight years is an abysmal record, especially when the driver in question has been employed by well-financed, competitive teams.  Three of those wins have come at either Daytona or Talladega, tracks known for producing first time (and only time) winners.  If he wants to be taken as a serious contender, he needs to win races at other tracks.

Like most other drivers on the circuit, McMurray has a foundation - The Jamie McMurray Foundation supports autism awareness and research.  He has appeared on West Wing, Passions, and (not surprisingly) MTV Cribs.  He also considers himself a pop-culture trivia whiz.  " I know the answers to random stuff and people always wonder how I come up with the answers."  says McMurray.  He married his long-time girlfriend Christy Futrell in July of 2009.