By Greg Grisolano
ggrisolano@joplinglobe.com
Billy Street still recalls a trip to the 1994 Daytona 500 championships, to which he was accompanied by his wife and his young friend Jamie McMurray.
“My wife and I were talking about it (Sunday), because it was 16 years ago that we were all in Daytona together,” said Street, 46, of Joplin. “We were hanging out in Universal Studios. To think he went on to win the race after hanging out there and watching it is something.”
Joplin native McMurray held off a hard-charging Dale Earnhardt Jr. in Sunday’s running of the Daytona 500, then broke down in tears in Victory Lane after being the first to cross the finish line in the “Super Bowl of NASCAR.”
He set a NASCAR record by leading the race for only the final two laps — the fewest of anybody who ever won the Daytona 500.
Back in time
The 1994 Daytona 500 recalled by Street was the first of two consecutive victories Sterling Marlin would claim at the fabled track. Less than a decade later, in 2002, McMurray would race into NASCAR’s history books by subbing for an injured Marlin and cruising to a first-place finish at the UAW-GM Quality 500 in Concord, N.C., only his second race.
“There’s a lot of people thinking that it came all too easy because he won in his second race out, that that may have made him think this is a whole lot easier than it is,” Street said. “But he’s been through a lot, and to get to do this is just amazing. He grew up racing those go-karts, and all he ever wanted to do is drive race cars. He’s put a lot of work and commitment into it, and he’s got the ultimate prize now.”
Still hoarse
At his home in Joplin, Mark Womack said, he and 10 of his friends were on their feet cheering for McMurray’s improbable victory.
“Gotta love that, don’t you?” said a still hoarse Womack on Monday. “I mean, the guy actually broke down. To see the man cross the line and see him humble himself enough to break down in tears was a beautiful sight. That’s a man who really loves this sport.”
McMurray’s thrilling finish in a race that was the kickoff to the sport’s season comes after a difficult 2009 campaign that left his driving future in question.
McMurray was dropped by his former team, Roush Fenway Racing, during a time when the sport is suffering from a reduced number of sponsors and fewer cars. McMurray now races for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team.
Danny Felker, a former employer of McMurray’s in Joplin and himself a dirt racer, said he thinks the win solidifies McMurray’s career.
“He’ll probably be able to finish his career (in NASCAR) because I really thought he was done before,” said Felker, who owns and operates 66 Truck and Foreign Salvage on West Seventh Street. “When he got ousted from the Roush team, it looked like he was done. It was going to be hard for him to find another job (at that level) because the economy is bad and there aren’t a lot of seats right now.”
Dirt vs. asphalt
Felker recalled that when the teenage McMurray worked under him in the mid- to late ’90s, they would tease each other about the merits of racing on asphalt as opposed to dirt.
“We all dirt-raced, and he pavement-raced,” Felker said. “We all gave each other a hard time, because he’d say you can’t make it to Daytona off of dirt. And we used to tease him with, ‘Well, you ain’t making no money off of pavement racing,’ but he showed us, I’d say.”
Felker said he still talks to McMurray’s father, Jim, on a regular basis, and sent his congratulations on to the family.
“(Jamie) won the biggest race he could ever win, and that will always stick to his name,” Felker said. “He’ll always have a job now. Sponsors will want to put their name on his back because he’s a former Daytona 500 winner. He’s going to be on Letterman (Monday night). How huge is that?”
Mayor’s reaction
Joplin Mayor Gary Shaw said Monday that the city e-mailed Joplin native Jamie McMurray to congratulate him on his victory at the Daytona 500 on Sunday. He said the city would be exploring ways to honor McMurray’s victory.
