Conversation: Jamie McMurray

CONCORD, N.C. -- It's been quite a year for Jamie McMurray.

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McMurray went from a Busch Series top-10 driver with no victories in September, to being named the new Winston Cup Series driver for the Havoline-sponsored Dodge for Chip Ganassi.

He was then thrust into Winston Cup duty when Sterling Marlin suffered a season-ending neck injury. Ganassi called upon McMurray to take over the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge.

Some wondered why this 26-year-old was being pegged for the ride. In the last month, he answered those questions with some impressive results.

McMurray talked with NASCAR.com's Tim Packman to talk about his month and the the newfound fame that comes along with it.

It has been quite the month for you, with wins in each series. How has it all been for you? You could almost be called "Mr. October" of NASCAR.

It's just been really busy. Which is good, because I haven't had time to think about everything that has happened. I don't know; it's been busy and exciting. I just hope I get to be Mr. November, too.

	Credit: Autostock

In September, people where heard asking "Jamie McWho" when you were named the new Winston Cup driver for the Chip Ganassi team. Now, you have race trophies with your name on them as a winner. Has that been special for you?

Yeah, I haven't won a trophy in like three years. I went to Tony Stewart's house this summer and saw this trophy room he had and I was just amazed at all the trophies he had in there.

These trophies are more special than a go-karting one or a Late Model one. This just means so much more. I remember my mom throwing out go-kart trophies after awhile because they were collecting dust.

I'll certainly appreciate these trophies forever.

You going to let mom throw these out or dust them at all?

No, I'm going to keep these at my house (laughs).

You had your picture on the front page of the Charlotte paper after your win there. Have people been noticing you more since then?

Yeah, I think so. The next week, we flew to Memphis for the Busch race and the security guard noticed me -- that was kind of cool. He's a Sterling Marlin fan and just happened to recognize me.

People don't recognize me; they recognize Cielo and me. It's kind of funny. Just me - no. And, then they see Cielo and they are checking her out because she's so beautiful. It's like they're thinking, 'That might be McMurray, too.' (laughs)

	Credit: Autostock

Really, after the Atlanta win in the Busch car that night me, Cielo, Chip (Ganassi) and Andy (Graves) went to dinner at a steakhouse. I literally could not sit there and eat dinner with all the people coming over.

It's always worse at a race because all the fans are in town. But, it's kind of cool right now.

Tell me about going to the grocery store the morning after the win in Charlotte when you went in to get a couple of copies of the paper.

We got up early in the morning and went up to get a paper to read. I had my Coors Light hat on and it still smelled like beer from Victory Lane the night before. I bought some newspapers.

The guy at the register looked at me, looked at the paper, looked back at me and shook his head like, 'Nah, that can't be him.' So, that was kind of cool.

Let's look ahead to next year. People forget that you're just kind of hanging out in the Coors Light car. With the history of the Havoline ride in this sport, what does that mean to you?

Oh, it means a bunch. It's an incredible sponsor to get to work with. And, I'm sure they are excited, too. With the success we've had, I'm really excited about going into it and hopefully the fans are, too.

	Credit: Autostock

I know that Havoline has just about the most loyal fans of any other car. I'm amazed at the number of people that have come up to me and told me how long they've been with Havoline since Davey Allison and everyone else.

Then, they tell me how excited they are to have me. That means a lot to me to have fans come up to me and say that.

I'm excited about that and getting to be involved with Ganassi Racing and what an organization it is. I think some people are asking if I'm worried because I'll be going to a different team.

But, I really feel like we'll have the same success next year.

How has your relationship been with fans through the years -- and now?

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It's been pretty good. Really, I didn't have fans until about two weeks ago. I think people always asked for your autograph because you're a driver. I really feel like it's grown in the last two weeks, like you said, just getting noticed at public places and T-shirt sales have gone crazy the last few weeks.

The fans, to me, are still kind of cool. I think it's neat getting noticed and sign autographs --- sometimes. When you're having a good day, it's great. Of course, when you're having a bad day it's not great.

That's all part of it. If it weren't for fans, you wouldn't be able to do what you're doing. The cheers you hear at the beginning of a race, and even the boos for Tony Stewart, I think is cool. Anytime you can get the crowd to participate, whether it's good or bad, I think that's a great thing.

You want to keep them on the good side of you, don't you?

	Credit: Autostock

I don't know; Tony Stewart wins a lot of races and he gets booed. So, it might not be all that bad (laughs).

You have raised a serious debate with your win at Charlotte. Is it car or is it driver?

I think it is both. I think that the best driver couldn't do it in an average car, and the average driver couldn't do it in a great car. It takes everything.

I definitely have a car capable of winning every week and there are a lot of drivers out there capable of winning, too. There's this deal called chemistry. I used to brush that off thinking there was no such thing as chemistry.

But, there really is and you most definitely have to have that. I think it's both car and driver. There are a lot of great drivers that don't get the chance to get into great equipment. I got to step into the best Cup ride there is with an awesome team.

Ok, let's get a little personal here. You talk about Cielo. How does a Busch driver win over a Miss Winston? That just isn't right.

Yeah, I don't know. I ran into her at Rockingham in the spring race this year and we started talking on the phone and we actually did that before we met face-to-face away from the track.

I liked her and she liked me. It was more those phone conversations than it was physical attraction. Then, I ran into her and she's beautiful. But, she says I wasn't too bad looking, either (laughs).

You know, you meet someone you like and you like them. If you can find someone who likes what you do, that makes it even better.

There were some things said and written that you got the ride because of Cielo. We both know that's not true, so here's your chance to answer that.

	Credit: Autostock

Well, I think we've joked about that since I met Cielo my luck has been pretty good. I haven't had any bad luck. I think a lot of that has to do with my attitude being better because I'm so much happier.

Honestly, not that I wasn't happy before, but when you bring something special into your life, and you really like it, it makes everything better. It's kind of been a joke I made a few weeks ago, but my luck has changed.

Chip made a comment about that, too. But, they explained to me why they hired me and I know some folks were skeptical about that. Instead of me telling them, 'I could do it, I could do it,' I just kept my mouth shut.

Hopefully, our results have proved we are capable of doing it and that they made a wise choice in hiring me.

Yeah, but Cielo's luck changed, too. Didn't she lose her job as Miss Winston because she is dating you?

Oh, I think her luck is getting better. I think it's getting better every week. (Laughing) She didn't give up a whole lot for that, but hopefully she came out ahead.