Event Guide

Jamie McMurray

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In 2000, Jamie McMurray turned heads by winning the Bud Pole Award in his first race for TKO Motorsports, at Michigan.

He made 16 starts in the Truck Series and finished 22nd in the standings with a single top-five and four top-10 finishes, plus a second pole. He was the 1997 Lebanon I-44 Speedway track champion in his home state of Missouri. McMurray won U.S. kart titles in four of the five years between 1986 and 1992.

Based on the way he lit up the Craftsman Truck Series in 2000, Jamie McMurray was one of the pre-season favorites for the 2001 Busch Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award. In the end, the driver of the No. 27 Williams Travel Centers Brewco Motorsports Chevrolet wound up third behind Greg Biffle and Scott Wimmer.

McMurray made his best start, sixth, at three very different venues: Daytona, Milwaukee and Las Vegas. His career-best 10th-place finishes came at a similarly unique set of tracks: Indianapolis Raceway Park, Nazareth and Kentucky Speedway. He led his first race in 2001.

In 2002, McMurray had a life-changing season. While subbing for the injured Sterling Marlin in 2002, he won the UAW-GM 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in just his second career Winston Cup start. McMurray then won back-to-back Busch Series races while leading a grand total of three laps.

Havoline Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates marked history in 2004 as McMurray became the third rookie driver for Havoline to win Rookie of the Year.

McMurray's consistent performance throughout the 2003 season garnered five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, along with one pole. He finished 13th in the final NASCAR Cup Series point standings.

As the 2004 inaugural Nextel Cup Series season came to a close at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, McMurray and the Texaco/Havoline team left no doubt they will be a contender for the 2005 championship. McMurray scored a seventh-place finish in the 400-mile season finale to earn his 23rd top-10 finish of the season. It was also his 12th top-10 finish in the last 14 races. McMurray finished the season 11th in points, and collected a check for $1 million for the points finish.

After signing with Roush Racing midway through the 2005 season, McMurray was mixed up in getting out of contract for 2006 along with driving his current entry with Ganassi.

After finishing the season 12th in the points with one pole and 10 top-10 finishes, McMurray was set free from Ganassi for 2006 in the last month of the season. He will now join Roush Racing to drive the No. 26 Ford, which used to be the No. 97 driven by Kurt Busch.