Rusty Wallace (left) and Jamie McMurray Credit: Autostock

McMurray looks to be 2005 title contender

Not making the Chase for the Nextel Cup hurts, probably hurts more than even Jamie McMurray wants to admit.

But pretend for a moment there wasn't a Chase. Pretend NASCAR still used last year's points system.

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McMurray would be seventh in the points, 426 behind Jeff Gordon. McMurray would have already been eliminated from the championship race, exactly the same position he's in now.

Chase or not, McMurray has had a decent season. No victories, no poles, but gobs of top-10 finishes. And he's had a terrific finish to 2005, finishing in the top 10 in 11 of the last 13 races.

So don't cry for McMurray. He's not.

"We've had a shot to win two or three races, and I think if you'd add a couple of wins to the stats we have right now it would have been a great season," McMurray said.

"Everybody wants to win, but that's what makes it so great when you do win. You really appreciate the good times when you've been through the bad, but winning comes in streaks.

McMurray has been out of the top-10 just four times since the Pepsi 400. Credit: Autostock

"I think I've proved that in the Busch Series. I went a bunch of races without winning. and now I've won two in a row.

"I really believe that my team, as soon as we can win a race, that we'll win two or three, maybe four. We're strong enough to win races.

"I really believe we'll be a threat to win the championship. Even though we didn't have the season we wanted, we really weren't that far off, so I'm really looking forward to next season."

Along with the usual top drivers, one could consider McMurray a contender for the 2005 title.

Only Gordon, with 24, has more top-10 finishes than McMurray's 22 this season.

In the last 10 races, McMurray ranks fourth in points. In the last six, he's second behind Johnson.

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"With the exception of some of the problems we had early on - it seemed like we had all of the Ganassi engine failures early on in the season --but other than that, it's been pretty good," said McMurray, who blew three engines in the first 20 races.

"It seems like every single week we can finish in the top 10. Some of those weeks we can finish in the top five and some of those weeks we've had shots to win races.

"We've struggled a little bit in the pits, and that's probably cost us here and there, but other than that it's been pretty good."

For 2004, pretty good equals 11th place. That's where McMurray will finish, clinching that spot with a fourth-place in last week's Southern 500.

That earned him a $1 million bonus, sort of a Mr. Irrelevant prize for the best non-Chase driver.

"I don't know how much of that I'm going to get yet, but I'm big into retirement funds," McMurray said. "Most of my money will go for me to use at a later date."

McMurray has finished second twice (Martinsville, Sonoma). Credit: Autostock

Of course, McMurray is a long way from retirement. This is only his second full-time season in Cup racing, and the 2003 Rookie of the Year has improved on last year, when he scored five top-fives and 13 top-10s.

This year's record shows nine top-fives and 22 top-10s, and he's consistently been the best of the three Chip Ganassi Racing teams.

"I think a lot of (media) thought that when we didn't make the Chase, us and the other five or six teams, that maybe our season would be over with, but our team got stronger, it seems like," McMurray said.

"Luck started going our way where maybe we didn't have some of that earlier in the year, but from Richmond on it was really good.

"Every single week we were fast, and Talladega is the only race we really struggled at.

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"Even at Phoenix where I finished (24th), I was running eighth with 20 laps to go and had new tires where a lot of guys in front of me didn't, and (I) got together with the 88 and spun myself out."

Typical driver - always looks at the bright side. Though he and the No. 42 team missed the Chase, they accomplished the next goal in front of them by finishing 11th.

Now, the goal in the season-finale is to win. If not, McMurray knows his team is in a good position for 2005, when, hopefully, he'll make the Chase.

"Last year when we went to New York I think we finished 13th in points, and honestly I really didn't feel like I deserved to be there," McMurray said.

"I think that's reserved for guys that had a really good season. I'm looking forward to going this year. We didn't get to the Chase, so our next goal was to finish 11th and it's been a fairly successful season. I can't wait to get next year started."