Jamie McMurray: "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." Credit: Autostock

In Review: J. McMurray

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jamie McMurray's season can be defined with one little word. One itsy bitsy, tiny word. Two letters. One word.

If.

If he had made it into the Chase for the Nextel Cup. If he didn't get a 25-point penalty at Bristol. If, if if.

JAMIE MCMURRAY •   Driver Page •   2004 Stats •   Driver vs. Driver •   World of Dodge •   Superstore: McMurray gear VIDEO Awards ceremony McMurray talks to Shannon Wiseman in New York In review McMurray talks about his strong second half •   More McMurray videos

Unfortunately for McMurray, that one small word made a big impact on his season. And it can be boiled down, fairly or unfairly, to a mistake on his Chip Ganassi Racing team's part.

At Bristol in March, McMurray's primary No. 42 Dodge failed inspection before qualifying. The X-measurement on the rear window was incorrect, and NASCAR impounded the car.

Even though McMurray used a backup car to finish eighth, the damage had been done. NASCAR later docked McMurray and the team 25 points, and those points became crucial later in the season.

After the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond, where McMurray finished ninth, he was 15 points short of 10th place.

If he hadn't had that penalty ...

McMurray, though, tried to downplay the significance of the penalty.

"I think that's what everybody looks at the most as to why we didn't make the Chase, but we shouldn't have been that close," McMurray said. "We should have been somewhere in the top seven in points, and it shouldn't even have been an issue. Everyone wants to look at that.

"All we had to do was finish one spot better in three or four races, and we would have made it. It's easy to look at that, but the engine failures obviously hurt us a lot and the point penalty at Bristol hurt, but it's hard to put it on just one thing."

Credit: Autostock

While McMurray did have six DNFs in 2004, team co-owner Felix Sabates blamed the team's failure to reach the Chase on NASCAR.

"It comes down to those 25 points," Sabates said. "That's what it comes down to. You can say, 'Well we had blown engines.' But everybody else had blown engines. Everybody had wrecks. That's part of racing. The 25 points was not part of racing. The 25 points was robbery."

Despite the setback, McMurray and his team didn't fret during the Chase. McMurray reeled off eight top-10 finishes in the final 10 races to lock down 11th place and a $1 million bonus.

McMurray scored the third-most points in the Chase and would have finished tied for sixth with Mark Martin if -- there's that word again -- there was no Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Penalty or not, McMurray had a solid season. No, he didn't win, but McMurray was a top 10 machine, scoring 23 top-10 finishes. Only Jeff Gordon had more.

And McMurray's nine top-fives were ninth among all drivers.

"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.

McMurray with crew chief Donnie Wingo Credit: Autostock

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

The strong conclusion to 2004 helped McMurray score the fourth most points in the second half of the season, only 55 behind champion Kurt Busch.

And it also helps position McMurray for a strong start to 2005.

"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.

"I think I've proved that in the Busch Series. I went a bunch of races without winning and (then I) 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 (in 2005). 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."

If ...