Conversation: J. McMurray

Kasey Kahne may be able to pull a rabbit from his helmet in the popular Nextel commercial, but it's his co-star Jamie McMurray who is performing magic this season.

Since the April Cup race in Martinsville, the driver of the No. 26 Ford has maintained a close striking distance of the Chase and climbed as high as seventh in the points after the Talladega race.

According to McMurray, more structure in his life and a new crew chief has garnered the driver five top-10 finishes so far this season -- a performance worthy of an Oscar over McMurray's last season.

So what's up with the spiky-haired superstar?

To find out, I caught up with McMurray back stage just before the taping of a celebrity cooking show where he was the sous-chef.

Q: OK so the chef (Fred Bohn of Dover Downs is Cooking) rated you 5 on a 10-point scale in the kitchen. What gives?

McMurray: I guess if he were to drive a car I'd have to rate him a 5 out 10 too. But no, I don't claim to be a good cook. It's hard, but if they let you have an open range with butter and ranch dressing than anyone could cook. Whenever you try to make something healthy, it's hard to make it taste good. I do watch the Food Network a lot and am trying to eat healthier, a lot of organic foods. The rule of thumb is: If it tastes good, it's probably not good for you. Now Sushi, that's on my diet. I'm always a fan of the rolls. I like tuna and salmon. I like the hell out of it.

Q: Speaking of things that are bad for you, tell us about your signature drink.

McMurray: Yeah the Crown Royal slushy! We made those last year on Memorial Day. I had a party on Memorial Day, everyone came over: Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. I bet we made about two and a half gallons. We probably used just about two and half gallons of Crown Royal too. Those are the tastiest things in the entire world. I learned how to make them on this cooking show last year and acted like it was my own recipe.

Q: Several reality TV shows have popped up in NASCAR in the last few years and you're staring in the most recent installment debuting this month on ABC, Fast Cars & Superstars - Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race.

Is there more acting in your future?

McMurray: I don't think so. Nextel was pretty gracious in letting Kasey and I just be ourselves when we shot the commercial. If you had to try and act like someone else it's hard. A lot of times they want you to act a certain way, but part of the reason why the commercial was so funny is because they let us be ourselves. That made it easy.

Now the reality show, I really don't know how that's going to turn out. I haven't seen it yet. I think it will be interesting for the fans. It's a different reality show ... they haven't really done anything like this. Sometimes what you see or what you film, you don't understand everything else that's going on, so you don't know what it's going to be. I only know my little part.

Q: During the Dodge Avenger 500 in Darlington, S.C. you had to drive with one hand, because you lost feeling in your left arm and then your legs fell asleep. Are you still having problems?

McMurray: Yeah it kind of happens every week, my legs fall asleep. I think some of the problem is from all of the training I've done and maybe over working my muscles. Also, some of it is putting my vertebrae in a bad position. We actually poured a new seat insert in my Cup car to get my back in a different angle. I also think it's part of being 31 [years old]. When I was 23 I could be at a wrong angle and it didn't matter. It won't start bothering me until after about an hour in the car. The Coke 600 was difficult.

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It's incredible, when something doesn't hurt you, you don't notice that part of your body. But when it hurts, wow, there's a lot going on down there. I don't really know what's going on exactly. We may see an orthopedic surgeon. It's kind of scary. Everyone has had their leg or foot fall asleep and it's not that big a deal, but when it happens every single weekend at high rates of speed, you want to make sure you get that fixed.

Q: Admittedly you're happier and healthier these days and stepping with more confidence. What changed?

McMurray: Well since I had such a bad year last year, it made me go out and hire a trainer, and I got a new crew chief. Since then, it's all kind of worked out.

My life is a lot more structured than what is was last year. I feel very good about my team and my crew chief. I pretty much wake up at 6:30 a.m. every morning with a routine. I do my workout, my diet is very structured, and everything is better structured. When you don't have structure you're junk.

I hired a trainer, so it's nice to have someone pointing you in the right direction.

My trainer is the same guy who trains Ricky Carmichael. And he's not all about eating power bars and bulking up. I told him I didn't want to look stronger, I just wanted to be fit. He tells me something to do and I believe it. And if someone is going to make you work and run everyday you better like them.

Q: You turned 31 at Dover -- Happy Birthday. What have you learned since you arrived on the Cup scene in 2002?

McMurray: I've learned a lot. Recently, someone told me -- picture yourself in five years. Gosh I look back at what was important to me five years ago and what is important to me now, it's so different. I just can't imagine what will be important to me in another five years from now. Life changes so fast.

I think the thing I've learned the most is think before I talk. I don't know, I still talk a lot, but I think a lot more in general. Sometimes you say things and think 'I can't believe I just said that.'

Q: More and more NASCAR drivers are forming their own charities. You started yours in May 2006 and chose autism, why?

McMurray: My niece is autistic, so it's important to me. I understand how it is to live with a child affected by autism. I want to do whatever we can, to one day find out what causes it, and at the same time, help the families who already struggle with it.

Lots of people support the Victory Junction Gang Camp and other charities, but I chose autism because it's something that I believe in, and I think you need that in order to come up with creative ideas and ways to support the cause.

The coolest thing is when a family, a mom or a dad come up and tell me their story and I see them wearing our hats with the puzzle piece [Autism logo] because they are helping to create awareness for autism.

Q: Last season you nearly grabbed your first victory with Roush Racing and finished second at Dover trying to hold off teammate Matt Kenseth. What happened this year?

McMurray: We had a fast car, we had fast lap times, but we just didn't make the right adjustments throughout the runs that afternoon. This wasn't the best weekend for us. We had the same setup going into the race as the rest of the Roush cars, but we didn't make the right changes that we needed on our No. 26 Ford Fusion. We'll put it behind us.