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DAYTONA BEACH, Florida.
Jeff Gordon grabbed the lead from Dale Earnhardt Jr., then held off Kurt Busch and Earnhardt in extra laps to win his third Daytona 500 on Sunday. |
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Tickets - Races - Concerts |
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| Summer 2005 Concerts: |
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Order Tickets Online or
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1-888-638-1800 |
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Jamie McMurray Driver Profile
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 Born: June 3,1976, in Joplin, Mo. Lives in: Huntersville, N.C. Height, weight: 5-8,150 Car: No. 42 Dodge Car owner: Chip Ganassi Crew chief: Donnie Wingo Engine builder: Ernie Elliott First NASCAR NEXTEL Cup race:
October 6,2002, at Talladega; started 5th,
finished 26th
Career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins: 1
2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup wins: 0
Last NASCAR NEXTEL Cup win: October 13,
2002. at Lowe's; started 5th Career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup poles: 1 2004 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup poles: 0 Last NASCAR NEXTEL Cup pole: November 14,
2003. at Homestead-Miami; finished 9th Best points finish: 11th (2004) |
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WHERE HE'S FAST: McMurray runs well consistently at most tracks. In the five races he finished on short tracks, he had an average performance of 6.6. On the 1.5-milers, McMurray had seven top 10 finishes (his engine blew at Atlanta, and he finished 13th at Chicago). He improved from a 20th-place finish his rookie season at Infineon to second as a sophomore. He posted an average finish of sixth in the races at New Hampshire.
WHERE HE'S SLOW: Restrictor-plate tracks. In his defense, McMurray had two DNFs in the four races, but his only top 10 came in the spring at Talladega. Although McMurray improved dramatically at Infineon, he still has work to do at Watkins Glen. McMurray has yet to score a top 10 at Phoenix in three starts.
STRENGTHS: McMurray has been a quick study and might be the best student in the garage. He absorbs information like a sponge and is not afraid to call on fellow drivers for information. His dramatic results in the second half of last season were proof of McMurray assimilating information and using it to his advantage. He is phenomenal on restarts and gets more out of cars than most drivers.
WEAKNESSES: Despite McMurray's consistent performance in 2004, he failed to win a pole or a race. He led laps in just 10 races and never the most in any event. Those numbers will improve with a stronger qualifying effort in the future.
IN THE PITS: Crew chief Donnie Wingo is a savvy chassis guy, and that has accelerated McMurray's learning curve. The true test will come this season when Ganassi Racing must supply new Dodge Chargers for three teams. In 2005, the pit crew will add longtime tire changer Mark "Hollywood" Armstrong to the squad. This team is committed to building the best squad on pit road.
BOTTOM LINE: The loss of 25 points for taking the wrong car to Bristol in the spring was a setback that was magnified when McMurray failed to make the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup by 15 points. The bigger reason McMurray didn't make the Chase was because most of his poor finishes came in the first half of the season. However, this was a different team during the second half. All six DNFs came in the first 20 races, and after Pocono-McMurray suffered his fourth engine failure of the season-the No. 42 Dodge finished outside of the top 10 just three times. It's a shame that McMurray had to threaten to leave before Ganassi Racing took this program seriously. McMurray has an outside shot of making a run for the championship, but he will have to convert top fives into wins before that happens. |
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Jamie McMurray revealed a
humorous anecdote after the
Infineon race last year. With 10
laps to go in a race Jeff Gordon
was dominating, McMurray was
running second and told by owner
Chip Ganassi (right) not to give
up and to go get Gordon.
McMurray said he wondered
aloud what Ganassi thought he
had been doing out there all day.
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