McMurray wasted little time getting noticed

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jamie McMurray is batting .500 in NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing.

	Jamie McMurray needed only two starts to snag his first Winston Cup victory. Credit: Autostock

Two starts -- one win.

By leading four times for 96 laps, McMurray held off a hard-charging Bobby Labonte by .350 seconds to win a rain-delayed UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Not bad for a driver who is supposed to be just filling in for the injured Sterling Marlin to gain some experience. McMurray gained quite a bit on Sunday.

"I don't believe it," McMurray said. "It's really a hard situation, with Sterling getting hurt and everything. This is my worst track. Lorin Ranier (spotter) helped me and I learned a lot from my Busch team.

"When we were leading with 100 (laps) or something to go, I figured we were about fifth. They kept making the car better all day --- what a race car. Chip (Ganassi) and Felix (Sabates) have a first-class operation and gave me a great opportunity."

VIDEO CLIPS Jamie McMurray visits Victory Lane in just his second Winston Cup start. Play video Jamie McMurray gets the better of Bobby Labonte in the final laps. Play video  •  Results  •  Standings  •  McMurray wins in second Winston Cup start

In 64 Busch Series starts, McMurray's best finish was a second-place effort behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond International Raceway last month. Ganassi saw something in the 26-year-old McMurray, so he tapped him to drive his third Winston Cup team next year.

And, on Sunday, by virtue of a season-ending neck injury to Sterling Marlin, Ganassi saw McMurray drove to Victory Lane in the No. 40 Dodge.

"This team is all about motivation and heart," Ganassi said. "Jamie showed a lot of heart when I first met him. He's got great communication skills and he wants to be here.

"This is another stepping stone toward what we're looking for. I told Sterling this was his team and to get his (butt) back here."

"They took a chance on me," McMurray said. "I hadn't won in Truck or Busch. They put me in first-class equipment and I made the most of it tonight."

Not only did McMurray force the NASCAR world to sit up and take notice with his effort on Sunday, he set a modern-era record for fewest starts before a first Winston Cup victory. He broke Kevin Harvick's record, set last year when he won at Atlanta in his third start after taking over for the fallen Dale Earnhardt.

	Jamie McMurray has plenty of reason to smile. Credit: Autostock

And, don't think that McMurray's win didn't go unnoticed by his fellow Winston Cup Series drivers.

"It's amazing," said Rusty Wallace, who finished fifth in the No. 2 Ford. "I've seen crazier things happen and I congratulate him. That's got to feel really, really good."

Tony Stewart, who finished third and retained the series lead by 97 points over Jimmie Johnson, knew McMurray from their days on the go-kart circuits and was happy for the Winston Cup Series' latest winner.

"He (McMurray) was running in the rookie-junior class and I was running the junior class," Stewart said. "I never dreamed I'd ever see him in the Truck Series, Busch or Winston Cup. Man, I'm really happy for him.

"And, to be honest; I'm very, very happy to for the team. We're all sad that Sterling had his injury like that. You hate to see somebody that has worked that hard in this series get knocked down from for the rest of the year.

"That's a good pick-me-up for that team."