NASCAR Cup Series

Chase grid profile: Jamie McMurray, No. 16

Published Sep. 11, 2016 9:15 a.m. ET

Tim Durr

(Editor's Note: In the week leading up to the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup at Chicagoland, we will be profiling each of the 16 Chase drivers.)

Driver: Jamie McMurray

Seed: No. 16

Team: Chip Ganassi Racing, No. 1 Chevrolet

Crew Chief: Matt McCall

Best Finish: 4th, Talladega

Age: 40

Hometown: Joplin, Missouri

Jamie McMurray has been a perennial Chase bubble driver and finally broke into the field in 2015 for the first time. A bit of help from a Ryan Newman points penalty gave McMurray some breathing room heading into Richmond. It wasn't a relaxing Federated Auto Parts 400 as McMurray dealt with several 'win-and-in' drivers trying to find a way to bump him from the final Chase spot.

McMurray posted six top-10 finishes in the final 10 races of the season to build a cushion over the rest of the bubble drivers and outside of an accident at Daytona in July, McMurray never finished worse than 26th during the regular season.

Five-defining moments

1. GEICO 500 at Talladega -- After the 'Big One' nearly swallowed the whole field, McMurray rebounded from the damage he sustained to record a fourth-place finish, his highest of the season.

2. Coke Zero 400 at Daytona -- McMurray hit a rough patch when the Sprint Cup returned to Daytona in July. He recorded his only DNF of the season when he was caught up in this colossal crash.

3. Quaker State 400 at Kentucky -- The week after recording his worst result of the season, McMurray bounced back with a seventh place finish at Kentucky and turned his season in the right direction.

4. Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol -- McMurray marched through the field from his 28th place starting spot and finished eighth, his second of three-straight eighth place finishes.

5. Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond -- McMurray locked up a berth in the Chase for the second-consecutive season, but there were some nervous moments as he finished seventh at RIR.