Jamie McMurray was running inside the top 10 for most of the day until a late-race crash dropped him to 40th. Credit: Autostock

McMurray has change for better, until late wreck

Temporary crew chief Norris could be permanent for next season

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- It remains to be seen who is hired as Jamie McMurray's crew chief next season, but it was hard not to notice the debut of Chad Norris.

Jamie McMurray hasn't had a top-10 finish since August. Credit: Autostock

Checker Auto Parts 500 Results Pos. Driver Make 1. Kevin Harvick Chevy 2. Jimmie Johnson Chevy 3. Denny Hamlin Chevy 4. Jeff Gordon Chevy 5. Carl Edwards Ford 6. Mark Martin Ford 7. Kasey Kahne Dodge 8. Kurt Busch Dodge 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevy 10. Jeff Burton Chevy • Complete results, click here • Driver standings, click here Victory LaneKevin Harvick celebrates his Checker Auto Parts 500 win Top finishersKenseth and Johnson talk about their day at Phoenix Final lapsKevin Harvick holds off Jimmie Johnson for the win at Phoenix Out frontJimmie Johnson charges through the field to take the lead Sign up for TrackPass now BUY THE NEXTEL i836

It is no secret that McMurray has been one of the premier disappointments of 2006, and that was what made his performance at Phoenix all the more surprising.

McMurray spent all day in the top 10 before crashing with 40 laps to go. Before the wreck, the sight of McMurray high on the lead lap was a sharp contrast to his miserable season.

"It sucks to crash out with that many laps to go, but at the same time, we have run so bad all year, it makes you feel good to run well," McMurray said.

Roush Racing shuffled its crew chief lineup before the Checker Auto Parts 500, temporarily promoting Norris, who replaced Bob Osborne for the final two races. Osborne returned to the No. 99 team of Carl Edwards, and Edwards went on to finish fifth on Sunday.

Roush Racing has already openly searched the Nextel Cup and Busch garages for McMurray's replacement. However, the move of Norris atop McMurray's pit box could be a permanent one.

"There is a good possibility that Chad could be the crew chief of the 26 team next year," McMurray said. "We have two other people we are looking at, but Chad did a really good job this weekend.

"He is a good motivator and he is very hungry to do the job, and that is what we need, because it will take a tremendous amount of work to rebuild our team for next year."

Norris has served as car chief for McMurray for most of the season. He came over to the No. 26 team when Osborne was named crew chief in the spring, but McMurray's slide has continued as the season has progressed. Coming into Phoenix, he hadn't had a top-10 finish since early August.

McMurray didn't have much of a reason to be optimistic about Phoenix after finishing a lap down here in the spring. Instead, something funny happened: Norris brought an old car for McMurray to drive at the 1-mile Arizona oval, and McMurray found the handling he had missed all season.

"We had a really good car. It's a car we haven't really raced all year," McMurray said. "It's really old. Our short-track program has been so bad that we decided to bring a different car here with a different front-end package on it."

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The car spent 229 laps in the top 10, but it didn't survive. On Lap 272, McMurray was turned by Tony Stewart, sending him hard into the Turn 1 wall.

"That's the way our season has been all year," McMurray said. "I'm a little bit frustrated and upset right now, but at the same time I just want it to be over with.

"It's very tight off Turn 4 and Tony could have let me go there. I don't know if he was upset there or exactly what he was thinking, but my spotter said, 'Outside,' and I just kind of held where I was and I don't know. That's the way it is."

Stewart, who finished 14th, said the sun was a factor.

"The sun was down, and it kind of caught me off guard," Stewart said. "I didn't even realize I had him picked up until he got sideways. It's a weird deal, for sure.

"It stinks because Jamie was having a good run. That's the best run he's had all year."