GIVING SOME NASCAR THANKS
Posted 11/25/10 at 5:00 AM PST
In 2010, I am thankful for…
Jamie McMurray’s wins in the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, and Charlotte’s 500. In a day and age where The Chase is shoved down our throats this team showed that winning races still means something. The Earnhardt-Ganassi group just happened to pick three of the biggest ones of the year to bag.
A Tight Championship Battle. I am not a fan of The Chase. But taking the system for what it is and accepting that this is how the crown is decided, it did make for an exciting title showdown. Three teams had a legitimate shot at the Cup when Homestead went green.
Jimmie Johnson’s five straight Cups. As I write this today and you read it, Johnson fails to move the needle. Very few racers have embraced the Chase system. But I cannot help but wonder if generations from now, Johnson might be revered instead of criticized? I am thankful I have witnessed five straight. I was not alive when Richard Petty won 27 races in 1967, but I’ll bet it was something to see. Now that is a big part of NASCAR history. In its day, he must have had his detractors too.
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TwitterWHO WOULD YOU RATHER BE? BOWYER OR MCMURRAY?
Posted 09/16/10 at 5:00 AM PDT
If you could be a NASCAR Cup driver this year would you rather be Clint Bowyer or Jamie McMurray? Think about that.
McMurray’s 2010 record is too inconsistent to challenge for the Championship. But he has visited the Winner’s Circle on a pair of occasions. And they were huge events.
He paced the field to the checkered flag in the biggest stock car race in the world. Last February on a chilly Sunday evening, McMurray crossed the finish line first in the Daytona 500. Bringing about an effusive response from the pit crew and literal tears from the driver in post race interviews. There are some sports fans that watch just one single race all year. And McMurray won it.
//MOREMCMURRAY, GANASSI SHINE ON CENTER STAGE
Posted 07/27/10 at 5:00 AM PDT
There was a big race, big money, and a big trophy. Chip Ganassi is an even money bet.
Set those up in the NASCAR world and Jamie McMurray is your man. Oh by the way he drives for Chip Ganassi.
Felix Sabates and Dale Earnhardt originally owned the teams that now provide the machine that McMurray steered to victory in Sunday’s Brickyard 400. Sabates sold majority ownership to Ganassi. Then that organization merged with the DEI assets and Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing is what still stands. And 2010 has been a banner year when the Cup Series’ crown jewel events are up for grabs.
//MOREJamie McMurray
Sun, 02/14/2010 - 17:58 � AnonymousDOB: 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.
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