McMurray, Wingo reunion part of building 26 team (cont'd)

"It was tough because when I was with Ganassi, Donnie was the only crew chief I'd ever had in Cup and we consistently ran sixth to 11th or 12th every week and I can remember going home from races after running sixth and saying 'I'm sick of running sixth, I want to be able to win.' I remember thinking I needed a crew chief with an engineering background to be able to do better. I got that with Bob Osborne and that wasn't for me because our personalities clashed. But Donnie and I are such good friends and I think he's very underrated. He doesn't have an engineering degree, but he's incredibly intelligent, super-good with the data and I just think that he'll make a wonderful fit at Roush.

"It's important that Derek Stamets, our engineer, has stayed and that's going to help out Donnie. We didn't break the whole team up and Derek will really be the guy, along with the other engineers at Roush, that will really be able to get Donnie zeroed in quickly."

So far, that's the case for both men, and since Stamets worked a couple years at Ganassi with Wingo, that's another plus.

Wingo

"It's not like you've got a big hurdle to get over because Jamie and I stayed good friends, we always talked," Wingo said. "I know what he likes and what he don't like and that's something else you don't have to go through, but the biggest thing for me is just learning the processes and the way they do things [at Roush Fenway]. I like working at a place where they really strive to win and the drivers here help push the other drivers."

If, as McMurray said, Carter and Wingo are so much alike, it may not be long before McMurray and his reunited buddy are in Victory Lane.

"I think that Jamie was struggling with this [new] car -- I never wavered in my confidence that Jamie was gonna figure this stuff out and start running well," Carter said. "I always felt like Jamie was gonna do what he's been doing. I felt like it was there and that our cars were good because we had teammates that were out there running well."

Wingo seconded that and said he sees little difference in the McMurray he worked with at Ganassi and the driver he has now.

"The biggest thing that impressed me when I first started working with him was his ability to race," Wingo said. "We weren't always the best qualifiers, but when we got in the race, you could always seem to get the car better and always seem to have good runs and good finishes. But at the end of last year he was qualifying better so maybe if we get the cars right, he can qualify.

"I don't want to look stupid and come in here and say 'I don't want to do it like this.' I came in here saying, 'You continue to do what you're doing and hopefully we can continue to make that better,' because the way they ended the year, what would you do any different?

Carter said getting the proper chemistry between all the teammates took time. That mix is in place now, even if Wingo's replaced him.

"It is difficult to leave," Carter said. "But at the same time, part of building that [26] team is seeing it come together and seeing it perform and I think that's what we're seeing."