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Nascar and Racing

So-So Stats Mark McMurray's Roush Era

Posted Jul 30, 2009 10:18PM By Geoffrey Miller (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Jamie McMurray, Roush Fenway Racing

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Jamie McMurray NASCAR Roush Fenway Racing Sprint Cup pocono raceway Yates Racing GanassiWith his sponsor gone and a pending NASCAR rule ready to dismantle his race team, there's not a bit of surprise in the NASCAR world that Jamie McMurray's time is likely ending with Roush Fenway Racing.

There's no shock, no outcry and nothing being written saying McMurray shouldn't have drawn the short stick in RFR's transition to the NASCAR-mandated four-team cap in 2010, and the reasoning is quite simple.

Why? It's as simple as looking at the incredibly unimpressive numbers Jamie McMurray has compiled since his Roush debut in 2006.

Just to gauge how far off his No. 26 Ford has been since his first Daytona 500 with RFR in 2006, just look at how the Joplin, Mo.-driver has stacked up against the three of his teammates that have been on the RFR roster since McMurray completed his move to Roush.

In a basic stat, teammate Matt Kenseth has earned a whopping 51 more lead-lap finishes than McMurray's 68 in the three and a half year stretch totaling 128 races. Granted, Kenseth likely leads all drivers in the category seeing as how he has failed to finish on the lead lap just 9 times, total.

Another comparison, though, doesn't make McMurray look a whole lot better when he's also placed against other RFR teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards. Biffle has totaled 112 lead lap finishes while Edwards has picked up 104 -- a number that McMurray would only top if Edwards took a one season hiatus and McMurray completed each and every lap of that season.

And yes, all four drivers -- Biffle, Edwards, Kenseth and McMurray -- have competed in the exact same number of races since 2006. The numbers also stack up against each other quite fairly because each RFR team has nearly identical equipment. In fact, since leaving Ganassi Racing after the 2005 campaign, McMurray's average finish has actually gotten worse -- from a 16.2 at Ganassi to a 19.1 at Roush.

Just last season, I pondered what about McMurray still makes him desirable to team owners when his name was being thrown in the NASCAR Silly Season rumor mill.
All those factors aside, though, if you're a car owner are you hiring McMurray?

Sure, the guy has two wins in his career and the argument could be made that he drove for Roush during two of the team's "off" years in Sprint Cup competition, and the crew chief carousel on top of the No. 26 box hasn't helped either.

McMurray seems to be one of the stand up guys in the garage area as he stays out of trouble and doesn't get into many controversies with drivers on track. He's mostly a clean racer and gets an A+ for out-of-the-car sponsor representation.

But is that enough for you? Do you think McMurray deserves another shot at the Sprint Cup level? Can he be a consistent top finisher or just another flash in the pan?

I like McMurray a lot -- what's there to hate? -- but when you look at the numbers, he just hasn't come through. Slow cars at Chip Ganassi Racing was his crutch when Jack Roush signed him for what was reported to be $20 million a year in 2005, but the performance in the Fords at Roush hasn't done much for that.
Truth be told, it'd be pretty easy to state the same case again this time around as the rumors of McMurray's ouster from Roush are seemingly coming together in a firestorm of bad news for the two-time Sprint Cup race winner.

Just months ago, however, it seemed like all the disappointment and all of the unimpressive finishes were starting to disappear from the team.

McMurray finished the 2008 campaign on an especially hot note, piling up 5 Top-10s in the final six races -- including three consecutive third-place finishes to wrap up the season. The No. 26 appeared to be firing on all eight cylinders, but the success didn't even come close to transferring to 2009, just as it has failed to do -- in most part -- for the Roush operation this season.

Questionable, however, was the fact that McMurray's team changed crew chiefs during the latest offseason as Donnie Wingo, former McMurray crew chief from his days at Ganassi Racing, replaced Larry Carter. The move was heavily blessed by McMurray but second-guessed by many who saw McMurray finally put together a string of good races before having the whole system unravel to point A again.

The move hasn't paid off, and now, McMurray has been given the option to talk with other teams as RFR tries to find a sponsorship for him as a satellite operation of Yates Racing. Many have speculated that McMurray's first NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi is interested in bringing Jamie back to his NASCAR operation, but that tree has yet to bear fruit.

McMurray has certainly had his chance to at least run competitively with his teammates despite Roush weathering a pair of "down" seasons during his tenure, and he's failed to meet those expectations. So, just as a I asked last season, would you hire Jamie McMurray?

It may become null and void if he takes a role with the RFR satellite operation of Yates Racing, but that team appears to be unsponsored and lacking a clear future.

As for me? I'll keep shopping.

Tags: Ford, Jamie+McMurray, Roush+Fenway+Racing, Sprint+Cup

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