It will be interesting to see how well Jamie McMurray can handle this stressful adversity.
Following his victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in October of 2002, Jamie McMurray had emerged as the next ‘big thing’ in NASCAR. It was only his second career Cup start, and he was able to hold off Bobby Labonte for the victory. Granted, he was driving for the same team that was on the brink of helping Sterling Marlin earn his first championship before a collarbone injury took out the veteran. Nevertheless, it takes a special driver to win in only his second career race at this level of competition.
Nobody imagined that McMurray’s second career victory would occur nearly five years later at Daytona.
Jamie McMurray enjoyed three solid seasons at Chip Ganassi Racing, which caught the eye of several team owners. Each season, he would fall short of victory, but he was consistent, and that made him a threat to qualify for the Chase for the Championship in 2004 and 2005.
Jack Roush and his powerful organization in 2005 courted the Joplin, Missouri native. McMurray wanted nothing more than to drive for the man who placed five drivers in the 2005 Chase for the Championship. Following months of contract disputes with Chip Ganassi, McMurray received his release papers and in 2006, he began driving for the same team that clinched the Sprint Cup championship in 2004.
One would assume that McMurray would materialize as a championship threat. You had a driver that won a race in his second start, now driving for one of the top three organizations in NASCAR. Unfortunately, his move to Roush Fenway Racing has backfired. Not only has McMurray failed to live up to the lofty expectations placed before him, but also his performance is far worse than it ever was at Chip Ganassi Racing.
At Chip Ganassi Racing, he finished 13th, 11th, and 12th in the championship standings. Since moving over to Roush Fenway Racing, he has finished 25th and 17th, and he is currently 36th in the Sprint Cup standings, which is utterly bewildering.
The Roush Fenway Racing program is not the problem, and that is evident by the performances of Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Carl Edwards. While the performance of the 26 team has been well below par, misfortune has plagued this team on several occasions this year.
Following his 43rd place finish the Food City 500 at Bristol, Jamie McMurray has plummeted outside of the top 35 in the Sprint Cup owner’s standings, which means that he has no guaranteed starting spot in the race at Martinsville next weekend. That cannot be sitting well with Jack Roush and the head honchos at Crown Royal and IRWIN. McMurray is an affable driver, and he is marketable, but if the performance is not there, it is only a matter of time before you find yourself wondering what could have been.
McMurray is on the hot seat, and it is imperative that he qualifies for the race at Martinsville. If not, then he will likely endure the awkwardness of a much-maligned points swap with 2003 champion Matt Kenseth, which would guarantee the 26 car a starting spot. However, he would always know in the back of his mind that he did not earn it.
Roush Fenway Racing is going to have to downscale to four teams in the near future, and McMurray is clearly the odd-man out at the moment. Matt Kenseth is not going anywhere. He is unarguably one of the top drivers in the sport. Carl Edwards is one of the most talented rising stars in the sport and he is incredibly entertaining. Greg Biffle is a rare talent that only a fool would allow to walk out the door. Even David Ragan, the driver once referred to as a ‘dart without feathers’, has vastly improved this year and he has outperformed Jamie McMurray.
It will be interesting to see how well McMurray can handle this stressful adversity.
