Jamie McMurray

James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed "Jamie Mac", is an American retired professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for Fox NASCAR.

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 set a Cup Series record by earning his first win in just his second career start in October 2002, which broke the record for a driver getting their first career win in the least amount of starts.

This would be broken in 2023 by Shane van Gisbergen, who won in his debut.

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.

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 finished the year 6th in final points, 772 points behind champion Greg Biffle who would end up being his rookie rival in 2003.

McMurray's entry into Cup racing did not go as planned.

In 2003, McMurray joined the Cup Series full-time.

He won Rookie of the Year honors by 37 points over Greg Biffle.

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).

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.

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.

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.

This win set a modern-era record for fewest starts before a win (since tied by Trevor Bayne in the 2011 Daytona 500, and eclipsed by Shane van Gisbergen winning his Cup Series debut in 2023), 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.

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.