McMurray off to strong start with EGR at Daytona
Jamie McMurray's first race with his new team came with a few speed bumps and a shot at victory.
The team expected one and really needed the other.
McMurray, making his debut with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, drove to a third-place finish in last weekend's exhibition Budweiser Shootout. He overcame a little trouble on pit road, some awkwardly placed gauges and a window net that wanted to fall down, and gave his crew a huge confidence boost heading into Thursday's qualifying races for the Daytona 500.
``I think we needed that,'' crew chief Kevin ``Bono'' Manion said Wednesday. ``We got that one, short but efficient race under our belts. We made a mistake, the driver didn't yell at us and we all rallied together and said, 'Hey, we can get back to the front here,' and we did and damn near pulled it off.''
They might just be getting started, too.
McMurray's track record at Daytona International Speedway, his finish in the Shootout and his strong runs in practice have the No. 1 Chevrolet feeling pretty good about their chances heading into the qualifiers as well as the season-opening Daytona 500.
``Can we win the twins? Absolutely. Can we win the 500? Absolutely,'' Manion said.
McMurray, who has three top-10 finishes and a victory (2007) at NASCAR's most famous track, is equally optimistic about his chances.
``I feel really good about it,'' he said. ``Obviously, we have a good setup for this track. Yeah, I mean, I feel as good about this year as ever.''
McMurray has reason to be optimistic.
His four seasons at Roush Fenway Racing were uneven at best. He moved to Roush from Chip Ganassi Racing in 2006 to compete for a championship, and it never happened.
McMurray failed to make the Chase in each of his four seasons and started 2009 knowing he'd likely be out of a job at the end of the year when Roush trimmed its Cup operation from five cars to four as part of a NASCAR mandate to limit team size.
McMurray was ready for a change. It was made considerably easier when he reunited with Ganassi, who gave him his first Cup ride in 2002.
``Yeah, it's very similar and I already know everybody,'' McMurray said. ``I think that is the toughest part when you change organizations is to go in and (meet everybody). ... So going back there I already knew most of the guys that work at the shop and it's really easy to just be able to walk in and start up a conversation and it's not just a generic conversation. You are actually talking to them.''
The move hasn't been completely seamless. But the problems they encountered in the Shootout and in practice have been somewhat expected.
``It's like when you borrow somebody's car and say, 'Where the hell are the wiper blades?''' Manion said. ``And then you shut the lights off. You're in these things for 500 miles, and to perform at your best, you need to be comfortable with your surroundings and the way everything fits.''
In the Shootout, McMurray complained about not being able to read a couple of gauges when he sank into the seat, then asked for some zip ties to fix the window. He also struggled to re-ignite the engine after turning off the power to save some fuel. None of them turned out to be huge problems. In fact, Manion welcomed the communication - something he seemed to be missing with Martin Truex Jr.
McMurray and Manion had more open dialogue in practice Wednesday - part of the process of feeling each other out.
``I said, 'Let's do this and that and he said, 'Man, I'm a one-change type of guy,''' Manion said. ``That's part of it. Now I know that he doesn't like doing two things because you're maybe not sure what helped the car.
``I'd still say we're definitely in our early developmental stages on the relationship side of what makes him tick and what makes me tick,'' Manion added.
McMurray has three career Cup wins, including his victory at Talladega last season, and set a NASCAR record by winning in his second Cup race while driving for Ganassi in 2002. A victory in the Daytona 500 would make his debut with his new team one of the most successful ever.
And Manion feels good about his chances, especially at Daytona.
``It's no secret that Michael Waltrip is a pretty good drafter. It's no secret that Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. is, and it's no secret that Jamie McMurray is,'' Manion said. ``He proved that the other day and in practice. He not only has the gift of gab, but he has the gift of speedway racing. There's a handful of people that have it, and he's one of them.''
