plus 3, McMurray's Daytona 500 win: From dream to reality - Motorsport.com

McMurray's Daytona 500 win: From dream to reality - Motorsport.com
NASCAR's credibility cratering with asphalt? - CharlotteObserver.com
Commentary: NASCAR off to bumpy start - The State
McMurray, dad celebrate day after race - Florida Today

McMurray's Daytona 500 win: From dream to reality - Motorsport.com

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 10:12 PM PST

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Less than 24 hours after taking the checkered flag for the Daytona 500, Jamie McMurray and his full team delivered the winning car to the Daytona 500 Experience where it will be on display for the next year.

Even though McMurray had won the biggest race of his career and his picture and name were flashed across major news outlets around the world, the Missouri driver wasn't sure whether he was dreaming. Upon pinching himself Monday morning, he learned the dream had turned into reality. "I woke up this morning, and there was the trophy," he said to the fans who gathered for the Champion's breakfast at the Daytona 500 Experience.

And he was glad to see that the Monday news headlines spotlighted the winning team, and they weren't overshadowed by the performance of Dale Earnhardt Jr. or the problems with the track surface.

"It is starting to sink in, and it is special to enjoy it this morning with your team," McMurray said. "The driver gets so much credit, but it so much of a team effort. It is great to have the owners and crew with me this morning.

"Every time we do something, such as receiving the winner's jackets, it seems a little more real, whether it is with receiving the jackets, the rings or everything that is part of it. It is really, really exciting."

Said winning crew chief Kevin Manion, "It has been a lot of fun, and as you fast- forward through the post-race inspection, the pictures, and the media center, and after a couple hours of sleep, it is so exciting to win. We've won a few Nationwide Series races but no one has ever asked to stay over (a day) to have breakfast with the fans and the media."

Co-owner chip Ganassi said, "I don't want this day to end. You hear people asking, 'Has it sunk in yet?' I don't think it has. You have a complete flash back of your racing career, and think about something like this happening. We think our cars are pretty good and after putting a car into the Chase last fall and what we did yesterday (Sunday), hopefully it validates our team."

McMurray also told the breakfast crowd that 2009 Daytona 500 winner and former teammate Matt Kenseth advised him to thoroughly enjoy the victory tour and everything that goes with it.

Each year after the "Great American Race," the champion's first move is to turn the car over to the Daytona 500 Experience and from there, he is whisked off to the major media markets for an endless number of interviews and appearances. The 500 champion's first stop will be in New York City for an appearance on the Late Show with Letterman Monday evening and on the Live with Regis and Kelly program the following morning. In between, numerous other media obligations will take place during the fast-paced tour.

After exiting the Big Apple, Jamie and Christy McMurray will jet to California for more appearances prior to next Sunday's Auto Club 500 event in Fontana, California.

McMurray's car carried the No. 1 and it is the first time that number has won the Daytona 500. And he became the first winner to lead only two laps. In seven previous Daytona 500's, his best showing was 26th two years ago. On the plus side, he did win the July, 2007, Coke Zero 400 following a second place in the same race in 2005.

Restrictor plate racing seems to be McMurray's forte as he also won the fall Talladega race with his former team, Roush Fenway Racing. "I've always enjoyed restrictor plate racing," he noted. "It is weird but there are a number of them I thought I should have won. When I won here in July and again Sunday, I didn't expect it."

Discussing Sunday's race, he added, "We ran 10th to 14th most of the day, and we could never get the car fast enough until the sun went down, which played to our advantage. In plate racing, you have to put yourself into the right position at the right time, and yesterday it worked out after I worked my way to the bottom of the track. Sunday was our day."

McMurray said he rarely views re-runs of races, as the perception on television differs from that inside the car. "I get to live it live," he said with emphasis in his voice. "When you watch those races, what you remember is not what you see. In the last few laps, it is all instinct; you don't know whether you will fit into a gap but you try it and hope it works out."

For his new team, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, the victory is its first since Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. As separate entities, each team won a Sprint Cup race during the 2007 season but none since then.

While Christy McMurray basked in the victory circle spotlight with her husband, the winner's father missed the festivities. Jim McMurray rides his motorcycle to the track and wanting to avoid the post-race traffic jams, he exited after the second race stoppage, traveling some 40 miles north to watch the finish with friends in a restaurant. "I went nuts when he won the race, as did the others with me," he said. "I started taking him to races when he was seven and have seen him race hundreds of times."

The elder McMurray, 62, has raced for many years and continues to do so in mini-sprints.

Father and son were reunited early Monday morning. "Normally, my dad likes to crew chief the race on Monday's, and I didn't hear that today, which means we did everything right," the victor said.

Christy McMurray said, "My reaction to the win is overwhelming, and for him, he is really happy and we are both excited about going to New York. We didn't get to go to McDonald's (to celebrate) like we did at Talladega, as it was closed. Instead, he went back and hung-out with his team guys for a while before going to bed."

Reflecting on his Super Bowl-like victory, McMurray said one memory he plans to cherish forever took place after taking the checkered flag and finishing the traditional donuts. "What I can remember doing is getting out of the car, running up to get the (checkered) flag, running back down into the grass and seeing the Daytona 500 (sign) on the infield (grass)."

With excitement running through his veins, McMurray sensed the significance of the words in the grass -- the Daytona 500 -- ran over, knelt down and patted the sign. And to the thousands of nearby fans and those watching on television, it is a memory they should cherish forever.

And for his family, friends and team, McMurray gave them a lasting Valentine's Day present.

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NASCAR's credibility cratering with asphalt? - CharlotteObserver.com

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 10:33 PM PST

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EDITOR'S NOTE: It has been widely reported that Daytona International Speedway was last paved in 1978. The 2.45-mile track is scheduled for a $20 million repaving in 2012, but that could change, the speedway's president told the Associated Press on Sunday. How that is paid for, and by whom, is less clear.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Jamie McMurray is a nice guy. Hes unpretentious, happy to be racing for a living and thrilled to be the winner of the 2010 Great American Race.

So don't blame him because Sundays Daytona 500 was not the Great American Race, the Good American Race or even the Fairly Decent American Race.

McMurray won the Great American Park & Ride. The biggest names in NASCAR spent more time with their engines off than they did flying three-wide around 2.56-mile Daytona International Speedway.

The culprit was a hole between Turn 1 and Turn 2. As track officials groped to fill it, the race was halted for more than an hour and half and then halted again for 44 minutes.

More than six hours after the 500 began, it ended. So did NASCARs effort to begin the 2010 with momentum and credibility.

Look. The unforeseen occurs at sporting events, and we want it to. If we knew what was going to happen, wed have little reason to buy tickets.

But athletes are entitled to a level playing field.

That Daytona International Speedway officials ultimately filled the hole with Bondo quick-drying putty that goes for about $10 a quart and probably is stuck in a corner of your garage attests to their ingenuity, or lack thereof.

The track didnt send a representative to the news conference at which McMurray spoke Monday morning. But NASCAR did.

Ramsey Poston, the managing director of corporate communications, says that officials, as always, walked the track before Sundays race.

There was nothing to suggest there would be any problem, he says.

The unseasonably cold Florida weather undoubtedly contributed to the conditions that created the hole. You wonder if there is an engineer who could have anticipated what happens when cold weather, a lack of sunshine, hard driving and ancient asphalt meet.

The track was last paved in 1978. Its most consistent critic, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was then 3 years old.

Poston says, however, that the majority of the drivers with whom hes spoken prefer the surface as it is.

He says he does not know how much repaving would cost or how long it would take.

Poston also says the hard-core fans he's talked to since the 500 via email and Twitter have praised the quality of the racing and did not complain about the delays.

On Sunday, the hole was big enough to swallow a tricycle. Late Monday morning it could have swallowed a Mini-Cooper. A trail of dirt ran from the hole to the bottom of the track, where it covered both yellow lines.

I stood and watched for about 10 minutes. The sun was shining and Monday was a slow news day. After being around thousands of people all week, I was finally alone.

Then I wasn't. A security officer drove up on a motorcycle and, a few seconds later, another security officer pulled up on a cart.

As much difficulty as the hole has caused, youd think theyd want somebody to take it.

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Commentary: NASCAR off to bumpy start - The State

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 09:50 PM PST

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The culprit was a hole between Turns 1 and 2. As track officials groped to fill it, the race was postponed for more than an hour and half and then postponed again for 44 minutes.

More than six hours after the 500 began, it ended. So did NASCAR's effort to begin the 2010 with momentum and credibility.

Look, the unforeseen occurs at sporting events, and we want it to. If we knew what was going to happen, we'd have little reason to buy tickets.

But athletes are entitled to a level playing field.

That Daytona International Speedway officials ultimately filled the hole with Bondo - quick drying putty that goes for about $10 a quart and probably is stuck in a corner of your garage - attests to their ingenuity, or lack thereof.

The track didn't send a representative to the news conference at which McMurray spoke Monday morning. But NASCAR did.

Ramsey Poston, the managing director of corporate communications, said that officials, as always, walked the track before Sunday's race.

"There was nothing to suggest there would be any problem," he said.

The unseasonably cold Florida weather undoubtedly contributed to the conditions that created the hole. You wonder if there was an engineer who could have anticipated what happens when cold weather, a lack of sunshine, hard driving and ancient asphalt meet.

The track was last paved in 1978.

Poston said, however, that the majority of the drivers with which he's spoken prefer the surface as it is.

He said he does not know how much repaving would cost or how long it would take.

Poston also said the hard-core fans he's talked to since the 500 via e-mail and Twitter praised the quality of the racing and did not complain about the delays.

I stood and watched for about 10 minutes. The sun was shining, and Monday was a slow news day. After being around thousands of people all week, I was finally alone.

Then I wasn't. A security officer drove up on a motorcycle and, a few seconds later, another security officer pulled up on a cart.

As much difficulty as the hole has caused, you'd think they'd want somebody to take it.

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McMurray, dad celebrate day after race - Florida Today

Posted: 15 Feb 2010 10:19 PM PST

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The great "where was Jamie McMurray's dad at the end of Sunday's Daytona 500" mystery was solved on Monday morning with a simple explanation.

"I stay up in Palm Coast, which is about 30 miles north of here, and I've been riding my motorcycle back and forth because it's easier to get in and out of the track," Jim McMurray said.

"When they had the second pothole episode, it was starting to get a little dark. I really didn't want to ride my motorcycle up the interstate 30 miles with all the people leaving the racetrack because not only do they drive fast and erratic, you never know what they've been drinking.

"So I knew I had plenty of time to get back to the place where I was staying, so I could watch the rest of it on TV. I got home just in time to watch it."

He ended up seated between rival race fans at a Palm Coast sports bar, yelling and crying with joy as his son scored one of the most improbable victories in the race's 52-year history.

There was a hitch, though. He had left his cell phone hotel room, putting him out of reach all day and creating some anxious moments after he hadn't answered his phone and didn't show up in Victory Lane, where Jamie McMurray's emotions surpassed those of any other winner anyone could remember.

But father and son soon tagged up via phone, and he was able to share Monday morning's traditional Champion's Breakfast with Jamie, the entire Earnhardt Ganassi pit crew and two of the co-owners, Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates.

Father and son, who have spent countless weekends together racing go-karts since Jamie was 9 years old still rendezvous occasionally at the track in addition to sharing lunch, playing golf, riding go karts or just plain hanging out and enjoying each other's company. The father still revels in the son's high moments and shares the low ones.

"Our relationship's gotten closer, and closer and closer. Every race you win is better than the one before, but we're going to have a hard time topping this one," Jim McMurray said.

The 500 victory was the fourth in McMurray's 259-race, eight-season career. He broke into NASCAR's elite level with then-Chip Ganassi Racing in 2002, moved to Roush Fenway Racing in 2006 and then back to Ganassi this season after losing his job as the fifth driver on a what had to become a four-man team under NASCAR rules.

But that's behind him. McMurray is happy and secure at Earnhardt Ganassi and the victory is and will remain his most special since the 500 is NASCAR's marquee event.

That his dad didn't get to share it in person left just a twinge of regret but not for long.

"When he called and he asked me 'What happened?' and I said, 'I didn't want to have to drive up the Interstate in the dark on my motorcycle' and he said, 'Good call, Dad,' " Jim McMurray said.

"He understood. I got up really early, didn't get much sleep last night, came down here, gave him a hug and told him I loved him."

Contact DeCotis at 242-3786 or mdecotis@floridatoday.com.

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