(born
June 3 ,
1976 in
Joplin, Missouri ) is a
NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #26
Ford Fusion full-time in the
NEXTEL Cup Series for
Roush Racing . McMurray also participates in the
Busch Series part-time, piloting the #64
Top Flite Dodge Charger for
Rusty Wallace, Inc. .
His teammates are
Mark Martin (#6 AAA),
Greg Biffle (#16 Army National Guard),
Matt Kenseth (#17 DeWalt) and
Carl Edwards (#99 Scotts). He began competing in the Busch Series full-time in
2001 and in the Nextel Cup Series full-time in
2003 .
In 2001 and
2002 , he competed full-time in the NASCAR Busch Series, driving the #27 Williams Travel Centers
Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Brewco Motorsports. The latter year turned out better for McMurray, as he won two races and finished sixth in the overall points standings.
He also gained Nextel Cup recognition in October 2002 when, in his second career start(replacing an injured Sterling Marlin), he won the
UAW-GM Quality 500 at
Lowe's Motor Speedway .
In 2003, McMurray became a Nextel Cup regular. He won the NASCAR Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) Rookie of the Year competition by 37 points over
Greg Biffle . McMurray had 5 top-5s for the year and finished 13th overall. He began competing part-time in the Busch Series.
In
2004 , McMurray and his team were penalized 25 points after the
Food City 500 for an incorrect "x-measurement," which proved costly when, later in the year, McMurray missed the Chase for the Cup by 15 points. However, he had 23 top-10s during the season, including 12 in the last 14 races, and finished 11th in the points standings, which earned him a $1 million bonus. He won a
Craftsman Truck Series race, joining a short list of drivers that have won a race in all three of NASCAR's top touring series (Craftsman Truck, Busch, and Nextel Cup).
McMurray left the #42 team after the
2005 season to drive the #26 Ford for
Roush Racing . Owner Chip Ganassi was initially adamant that McMurray would not be released for 2006. However, on
November 7 ,
2005 , McMurray was indeed released from his contract. McMurray was originally supposed to go to the #6 Ford, but since
Mark Martin announced he would race for another year, Jamie instead took over for
Kurt Busch in the #97 Ford (which was renumbered #26).
Jamie has 2 poles in his
NEXTEL Cup career. The first came at the 2003 season finale at
Homestead-Miami Speedway , and the other was in 2005 at the
Pennsylvania 500 at
Pocono Raceway . Jack Roush has demoted Jimmy Fenning to head the Busch series. Bob Osborne (Carl Edwars orginal Crew Cheif) Will take his place. Jamie is known has one of Nascar rising stars and infact moving to Roush gain more Fans. He's been on MTV's Cribs,West Wing,and etc.
