Date: Wednesday, February 17 2010

McMurray wins Daytona; HMI ready to pounce

By JOEY GUEST, Associate Editor pressbox1.com

It seems rare, unfortunately, but sometimes good guys do finish first. Jamie McMurray, who six months earlier was searching for a job, won the Daytona 500 in his first stint behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. It was a long-shot victory, reportedly 30-1 in Vegas, but it was a thrilling finish to start the 2010 NASCAR season. McMurray is one of the most well-liked drivers in the garage and has been a fan favorite, despite limited success, for years. He seems genuine, honest and cordial with fans and media alike. And when he was forced out of the five-car stable of Roush-Fenway Racing to comply with NASCAR’s new four-team cap limit, it seemed doubtful he would man the wheel of another top-notch program again, much less captain the ride that would lead to Victory Lane in the Great American Race. But, there he was on Sunday, tears in his eyes, celebrating an improbable victory on NASCAR’s most hallowed grounds. Oddly enough, McMurray found his new Daytona-winning ride after the end of last season when Martin Truex Jr. moved to Michael Waltrip Racing and left car owners Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates short a driver. The car needing a new pilot was – you guessed it – the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy. In stepped McMurray, who earned his stripes under Ganassi and Sabates in 2002 with a victory at Charlotte in only his second Cup start, then replacing an injured Sterling Marlin. Consistency followed, but wins did not, leading McMurray to join the powerhouse Roush operation in hopes of being one of the main horses in Ford Racing’s stable of studs. However, while Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and, at that time, Mark Martin (replaced by David Ragan when Martin retired, then unretired to join Hendrick Motorsports, Inc.), enjoyed front-runner status, McMurray went to victory lane just twice in four years, thus finding him on the short end of the stick come contract negotiations for the 2010 season. That short stick has turned into possession of one of the most coveted trophies in motorsports. Yet, the wild ride has just begun. Despite the whirl-wind media tour that has had him as a guest on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Live with Regis and Kelly,” among others, McMurray’s time as king of the hill will be a daunting challenge to maintain. After all, just as it was in the final lap of the Daytona 500, he will have a mirror full of Hendrick Motorsports vying to knock him off his throne. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was the weakest link in the HMI stable last year, was breathing down his neck for the checkered flag on Sunday after a possessed charge to the front in the waning moments. Then, there are Jeff Gordon and his 82 wins and four championships, along with Jimmie Johnson, who has 47 wins and a record-tying three titles in a row. Throw in Mark Martin’s 40 career victories and four career second-place championship finishes into the mix and you see why McMurray mustn’t rest on his recent success. To be what he wants to be -- a NASCAR Cup Champion -- his team must out-perform an organization that has won nine Cup titles and 150 races since 1995. No one else is even close. It’s a daunting task, and perhaps this victory will be a springboard for great things to come for McMurray and his team. Whatever the rest of the season holds in store, Jamie McMurray’s emotional win at Daytona will not soon be forgotten.