Jamie McMurray

James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for '' Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 before shifting to a Daytona 500-only schedule in 2019 and 2021.

McMurray set a Cup Series record by earning his first win in just his second career start in October 2002. He is also known for winning the 2010 Daytona 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing, and is one of only three drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year.

Racing career

Craftsman Truck and Busch Series (1999–2002)

In 1999, McMurray made five starts in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 2000, he ran 16 Truck races and posted one top-five and four top-ten finishes. During 2001 and 2002, he competed full-time in the Busch Series; driving the No. 27 Williams Travel Centers Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Brewco Motorsports. The latter year was better for McMurray, as he won two races and finished sixth in the overall points standings.

After his surprise win at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte in the 40 Winston Cup car, he won his first NASCAR Busch Series win at the Aaron's 312 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in October by beating Joe Nemechek and Michael Waltrip on fuel mileage. McMurray only led 1 lap total and became the 100th different driver to win in the Grand National Series. He then won the next weekend at the Sam's Club 200 at North Carolina Motor Speedway by leading only the last two laps as leaders Jeff Green and Michael Waltrip wrecked each other on the last lap. McMurray finished the year 6th in final points, 772 points behind Champion Greg Biffle who would end up being his rookie rival in 2003.

First stint with Chip Ganassi Racing (2002–2005)

McMurray's entry into Cup racing did not go as planned. McMurray was scheduled to drive a limited schedule in a No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge in 2002, in preparation for a full-time 2003 rookie of the year campaign in the No. 42 with new sponsor Texaco/Havoline. However, he was instead tapped as interim replacement for injured Ganassi Cup driver Sterling Marlin, who fractured a vertebra in a crash at Kansas Speedway. Thus, McMurray made his Cup debut in the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge at Talladega. One week later, at Charlotte, in just his second career NASCAR Winston Cup and first non-restrictor plate start, McMurray outraced the Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiacs of Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart to win the UAW-GM Quality 500. McMurray had been consistent the entire night, and led 96 of the final 100 laps to score the win. It is considered one of the biggest upsets in NASCAR history. This win set a modern-era record for fewest starts before a win (which has since been tied only by Trevor Bayne in the 2011 Daytona 500), and it was also the first time a driver won in their first start at a 1.5-mile track. McMurray drove for six of the remaining seven races, except for the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville, with Mike Bliss driving as scheduled in the No. 40.

In 2003, McMurray joined the Cup Series full-time. He won Rookie of the Year honors by 37 points over Greg Biffle. McMurray had five Top 5's, 13 top tens and finished 13th in the overall standings. 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," a method of comparing the center of the roof with the center of the chassis, which proved costly when later in the year, McMurray missed the Chase for the Cup by 15 points. If he had made the playoff field, McMurray would have finished the year 4th in points due to strong performance in the Chase races. The same weekend of the penalty, McMurray was fined $15,000 by NASCAR for intentionally causing a wreck after the race was over.

He had 23 Top 10s during the season, including 12 in the last 14 races, and finished eleventh in the points standings, which earned him a $1 million bonus. In the same year, he won a Truck Series race; joining 20 other drivers that have won a race in all three of NASCAR's top touring series.

In 2005 McMurray scored four top fives and ten top tens to finish 12th in points. McMurray came in tenth in points with a one-point cushion over Ryan Newman in the final race before the chase at Richmond International Raceway. McMurray was wrecked by Tony Raines later in the race ending his chase hopes.

McMurray left the No. 42 team after the 2005 season to drive for Roush Racing. Owner Chip Ganassi was initially adamant that McMurray would be held to his contract, but on November 7, 2005, McMurray was released when Ganassi and partner Felix Sabates learned that McMurray signed a contract with Roush already before the season ended. McMurray was originally to go to the No. 6 Ford in 2006, but since Mark Martin announced he would race for another year, McMurray instead took over for Kurt Busch in the No. 97 Crown Royal/ IRWIN Tools Ford (which was then renumbered No. 26).

Stint with Roush Fenway Racing (2006–2009)

In April 2006, Jack Roush moved Jimmy Fennig from crew chief of the No. 26 Ford to head Roush's Busch operations. Bob Osbourne, who had been crew chief for Carl Edwards, moved to head the crew for McMurray. 2006 was a hard season for McMurray. McMurray's best finish of the 2006 season came at Dover International Speedway, where he finished second after leading the most laps. McMurray would record three top fives, seven top tens and finish a disappointing 25th in points.

McMurray began the 2007 season with crew chief Larry Carter. On June 22, 2007, he won his third career Cup pole, for the Toyota Save/Mart 350. On lap 1, he was passed by Robby Gordon for the lead but he spent the first quarter of the race holding off Boris Said and Jeff Burton for second place. When Robby Gordon pitted after 34 laps, McMurray traded the lead repeatedly. With about 45 laps left, McMurray took the lead and dominated the final laps, but with 7 to go Cup rookie and his future teammate Juan Pablo Montoya passed him and held him off until McMurray eventually ran out of gas with 2 to go and resulted 37th. On July 7 at the Pepsi 400, McMurray led a few laps in the first stages. However, on lap 30, McMurray was then black-flagged by NASCAR for slipping out of bounds. He then spent the rest of the race charging back through the field eventually getting back to the front on lap 155. McMurray then led the final stages but battled Kyle Busch for five laps. On the last lap, Busch was the leader next to McMurray and charged to the finish, but at the last second, McMurray charged one last time and barely beat Busch to win the Pepsi 400 for his second career Cup win. The margin was 0.005 of a second, and the finish resembled the Daytona 500 of the year's finish when Kevin Harvick beat Mark Martin at the last second of the race that year. The photo finish, at that time, was the closest in Daytona International Speedway history and tied for the second closest finish ( 1993 DieHard 500) since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993. McMurray finished the year 17th in the point standings.

In the beginning of the 2008 season, McMurray encountered a string of poor finishes that relegated him to 36th in points and thus not guaranteed a spot when NASCAR reached the spring Martinsville race. When the current points went into effect to determine those who were locked in the race, McMurray was required to qualify for the race based on his time around the track. He qualified 5th, locking himself into the field as the fastest of the teams not locked into the race. He earned an 8th-place finish in the race, securing himself a spot in the Top 35 in points and thus a guaranteed starting position for the next race. Throughout the remainder of the season, he steadily climbed in the standings and reached the Top 20 in points. On October 11, 2008, McMurray rallied to finish 5th in the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. It was his first Top 5 finish since his victory at Daytona in July of the previous year. McMurray finished 16th in the standings.

McMurray reunited with former crew chief Donnie Wingo in 2009. Crew chief Larry Carter moved to Yates Racing to be crew chief for Paul Menard. McMurray started the 2009 season by dominating the final stages of the