Born: Jan 3, 1976
Hometown: Joplin, MO
Resides: Lake Norman, NC
Car Number: 26
Primary Sponsor: Crown Royal
Primary Series: Sprint Cup
Team: Roush/Fenway Racing
Make: Ford
James Christopher "Jamie" McMurray (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 1999 Jamie ran full Craftsmans Trucks. In 2000 he ran 15 races and posted a few top fives and top tens.
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 shocked the Nascar world 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 original 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.
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