McMurray, Truex having good seasons in new rides
Martin Truex Jr. moved to another team this season for a better opportunity. He left behind an open seat at Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing that Jamie McMurray was eager to fill.
After just a third of the season, both drivers seem far better off following their moves.
The two drivers head to Pocono Raceway this weekend thick in the hunt for one of the 12 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship berths. Truex is 14th in the standings, just 14 points out of Chase contention, and McMurray is 15th in the standings and 26 points out.
``I think our chances are really good,'' Truex said of his Michael Waltrip Racing team. ``I feel like we're getting stronger each week as a team. We've done a good job of being consistent up to this point. We're constantly working on trying to be more competitive, be quicker each week.''
MWR courted Truex heavily last season, which was an odd year for the driver. He was in the final year of his contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc., and that deal was absorbed in the offseason merger with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Truex had to make a decision fairly early if he was going to give the new organization a chance or test the free agent market.
The opportunity at MWR, which was offering team owner Waltrip's seat and sponsor, led Truex to make a change. So far, he has no regrets about taking over the No. 56 Toyota and pairing with crew chief Pat Tryson, who was lured away from Penske Racing.
Truex won the Sprint Showdown qualifying race to earn a spot in last month's All-Star race, and he's got four top-10 finishes this season. He had just six top-10s all of last year.
``Hardest part about it was making the decision, pulling the trigger to do it,'' he said. ``Everything has been going really well. The team has done a great job. They've got great leadership. Pat has done a great job. He's been easy to work with. He's been a lot of fun. He's very smart about his race cars.
``We've been having a good time with it.''
Same goes for McMurray, who found himself the odd man out when Roush-Fenway Racing had to drop a team at the end of last season to meet NASCAR's four-car mandate. By the time the decision was made to let McMurray go, Truex's old seat with Ganassi was the only attractive job still available.
McMurray had been down that road before: Ganassi hired him in 2002 and McMurray spent the first three years of his Cup career with that organization. He twice just missed making the Chase, and fled for Roush's team in 2006 with the expectation of running for a championship.
That never materialized and a frustrated McMurray needed a fresh start this year.
He sure got it, winning the season-opening Daytona 500 in his first race back with Ganassi. Although his consistency has not been there this season, McMurray has three runner-up finishes, including Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600 - a race he might have won if not for a late caution.
``Every race that we've actually finished without an issue, we've had a top-five car,'' McMurray said. ``We run second one week and 30th the next. It's just about being a little bit more consistent.''
But McMurray has been very pleased with his progress and the race cars he's receiving from Kevin ``Bono'' Manion, the crew chief who spent the last five years with Truex.
``Bono was my most pleasant surprise coming to EGR,'' McMurray said. ``I didn't know him. I had seen him interviewed on TV. I didn't realize how much our personalities were alike. He's become a really good friend of mine.
``We just seem to think alike. When we sit in our debriefs after practice, he doesn't talk a lot. He's just like, 'I want you to talk and I want to listen, feel you out.' He sits back and he just listens to what I have to say. Usually he thinks about it for four or five hours, I'll call him later on and ask him what he's thinking.''
Both drivers are clearly ahead of where they were this time last season - Truex was 19th this time last year, while McMurray was 22nd - and both are pleased with their current situations.
