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Sprint Cup
CUP: McMurray A Suitable 500 Winner
Jamie McMurray has a new suit...
Jamie McMurray won three races in 2010, including the season's two biggest, but missed the Chase. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Drivers entered in the Daytona 500 get the word from NASCAR’s public relations staff every year: Bring a suit to Daytona Beach, Fla. If you win the race, you’ll need it.
Almost invariably, the winning driver doesn’t bring along a suit.
Jamie McMurray, a first-time winner in Sunday’s race, was no exception.
“Nobody’s going to do that because that would be a sure way to jinx them,” McMurray said Tuesday.
So it was that when McMurray arrived in New York City Monday for the annual round of television appearances and media interviews awaiting the Daytona 500 champion, he didn’t have a suit. First stop in Manhattan was a department store, where he bought a suit, had it tailored on the spot and barely had enough time to make it to the studio for the taping of David Letterman’s show.
“I was afraid I’d be nervous there, but I didn’t have time to even think about it,” McMurray said. “Three minutes later, I was walking out there.”
McMurray’s schedule has been wall-to-wall since he won Sunday night’s race in a dramatic finish, outrunning Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the finish line and sparking an emotional celebration.
He slept a few hours Sunday night, awakened at 4:45 a.m. Monday, attended the “induction” of his winning car at the Daytona 500 Experience, did another round of interviews, then flew on a NASCAR plane to New York City for Monday and Tuesday responsibilities. Then it was on to San Francisco Tuesday afternoon for more media events.
“For me, it’s been about learning how special this really is,” McMurray said. “I’ve told everyone that guys like Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick have sent me text messages and told me that I really need to enjoy the media tour and everything that goes along with it and make it fun and take pictures and take it all in.
“It’s hard to explain how special this has been to me. Winning the race was unbelievable, but everything else that goes along with it, whether it’s the talk shows or the media coverage you get for your team and your sponsor, is unbelievable.”
Among the phone calls and other contacts he has had was a text message from former 500 champion Dale Jarrett, whose simple note to McMurray was, “Hey, it’s D.J. Welcome to the club.”
“I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” McMurray said. “What a great text message.”
The emotions and impact of the event are still startling McMurray, he said.
“I wish I could express the excitement that runs through your body at that moment” when he realized he was going to win the race, McMurray said.
After victory lane ceremonies, an official told him that the winner’s trophy could be shipped to his home. “I said, ‘No, I’ll take it now,’ ” McMurray said. “It went to my motorhome. I wanted it.”
And he also has a new suit.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
Almost invariably, the winning driver doesn’t bring along a suit.
Jamie McMurray, a first-time winner in Sunday’s race, was no exception.
“Nobody’s going to do that because that would be a sure way to jinx them,” McMurray said Tuesday.
So it was that when McMurray arrived in New York City Monday for the annual round of television appearances and media interviews awaiting the Daytona 500 champion, he didn’t have a suit. First stop in Manhattan was a department store, where he bought a suit, had it tailored on the spot and barely had enough time to make it to the studio for the taping of David Letterman’s show.
“I was afraid I’d be nervous there, but I didn’t have time to even think about it,” McMurray said. “Three minutes later, I was walking out there.”
McMurray’s schedule has been wall-to-wall since he won Sunday night’s race in a dramatic finish, outrunning Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the finish line and sparking an emotional celebration.
He slept a few hours Sunday night, awakened at 4:45 a.m. Monday, attended the “induction” of his winning car at the Daytona 500 Experience, did another round of interviews, then flew on a NASCAR plane to New York City for Monday and Tuesday responsibilities. Then it was on to San Francisco Tuesday afternoon for more media events.
“For me, it’s been about learning how special this really is,” McMurray said. “I’ve told everyone that guys like Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick have sent me text messages and told me that I really need to enjoy the media tour and everything that goes along with it and make it fun and take pictures and take it all in.
“It’s hard to explain how special this has been to me. Winning the race was unbelievable, but everything else that goes along with it, whether it’s the talk shows or the media coverage you get for your team and your sponsor, is unbelievable.”
Among the phone calls and other contacts he has had was a text message from former 500 champion Dale Jarrett, whose simple note to McMurray was, “Hey, it’s D.J. Welcome to the club.”
“I was like, ‘Wow,’ ” McMurray said. “What a great text message.”
The emotions and impact of the event are still startling McMurray, he said.
“I wish I could express the excitement that runs through your body at that moment” when he realized he was going to win the race, McMurray said.
After victory lane ceremonies, an official told him that the winner’s trophy could be shipped to his home. “I said, ‘No, I’ll take it now,’ ” McMurray said. “It went to my motorhome. I wanted it.”
And he also has a new suit.
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
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