Motorsports

McMurray, crew vow to race on

By wire services
Published August 18, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Jamie McMurray fell agonizingly short of qualifying for NASCAR's playoffs last season, missing out on a spot in the Nextel Cup Chase for the Championship by 15 points.

His entire team believes if McMurray had made it in, he might have won the title.

Determined not to be shut out again this season, McMurray's challenge is a lot tougher this time. Aside from his on-track battles, he must fight the perception that his Chip Ganassi Racing team will treat him like a lame duck because he has announced plans to leave for Roush Racing.

"Obviously the first couple of weeks it was pretty tough, but I told (the team) what the situation was and told them I wouldn't give up," said McMurray, "and I told them I didn't want them to give up on me."

McMurray is the first to acknowledge crew members were stunned and even hurt when they learned he had signed to drive for Roush in 2007. It didn't help when he said publicly that he'd prefer to get out of his current contract early so he can start his new job next season.

But with owner Chip Ganassi steadfast in his refusal to let McMurray out of his deal, McMurray now is concentrating on keeping his team focused on getting into the Chase.

Few outside his team think he can do it.

Why should the members of the No. 42 crew, who devote all their time and energy into making McMurray go fast, break their backs for a driver who ultimately doesn't want to be with them?

Because that's their job, crew chief Donnie Wingo said.

"Sure there were some hurt feelings in the beginning, and I think maybe that's because a lot of us think we're a better team than the group he is headed to," Wingo said. "But we get paid to win races and there's no point in not giving it everything we've got."

So, with McMurray clinging to the ninth spot in the standings, the team promises to continue to push hard this season. The top 10 drivers in points are assured of a spot in NASCAR's 10-race playoff format, as well as any other driver within 400 points of the leader.

But what about next season, which the entire team knows is McMurray's last? McMurray already is being referred to as a lame duck for 2006, a characterization that infuriates Ganassi.

"What exactly is a lame duck?" he asks, his voice rising. "Is (NFL announcer) John Madden a lame duck? He is leaving ABC next season to go to NBC, so is this entire year a lame duck year for him? No. He's still going to do his job to the best of his ability.

"You do your job, you try to win races and you give it your all. Jamie and the 42 team will continue to do that."

"There's nothing more I want to do than prove all of you wrong who said that we were going to fall apart when (the Roush contract) was announced," McMurray said. "That just kind of drives me and it's driving my team right now."

TIRE SOLUTION: NASCAR has finally stepped in to eradicate the excessive tire problems teams have experienced this season. A new camber rule limiting the angle of the front tires to 8 degrees will be in place starting this weekend at Michigan.

BOSS GETS BURNED: Tony George's Infiniti Pro Series team lost 16 points and was fined an undisclosed amount by league officials after its No. 20 car was found with improper exhaust systems. The pro series is a developmental circuit for the IRL, which was founded by George.

FAME INDUCTION: Former NASCAR champion and current TNT/NBC television analyst Benny Parsons is among nine people who will be inducted into the Motorsports Racing Hall of Fame of America in Novi, Mich., tonight, just 5 miles from where his racing career began in 1960. He briefly drove a cab in Detroit before starting to race.

FAME TOUR: Touting a rich racing history and the city's role as NASCAR's current hub, Charlotte, N.C., leaders presented their pitch to build a hall of fame for the stock car series.

[Last modified August 18, 2005, 01:05:19]