By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
The pot holes that caused the Daytona 500 to be stopped twice on Sunday also forced Jim McMurray to miss the end of the race.
McMurray, the father of 500 winner Jamie McMurray, watched most of the race from the team’s pit box. He stayed through the first track patching, which lasted more than 1 1/2 hours. But when a second repair became necessary, McMurray left the Daytona International Speedway for safety reasons.
“I rode my motorcycle to the track,” McMurray explained, “and where I stay is about 30 minutes away. With them having to fix the track a second time, I didn’t want to have to ride my motorcycle up Interstate 95 in the dark with people leaving the race going 80 miles an hour. I got back to the motel, went to a restaurant and watched the end of the race at the restaurant.”
From the restaurant McMurray saw his son lead both laps of the final green-white-checker finish and hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win NASCAR’s biggest race.
“People say, ‘I can’t believe you left,’” Jim McMurray said. “What they don’t realize is your chances of winning are not 1-in-43 but about 1-in-100. Was I disappointed? Yes, but when Jamie called and I told him why I left, he said ‘Good call .. I don’t want you riding at night with the traffic.’ Had we not had the delays, I would have been there the whole time.”
While he missed the Sunday night celebration, Jim McMurray was back at the track early Monday morning.
“I went back at 6:30 on Monday morning, went to Daytona USA where they put the car in the museum (to be displayed for one year),” he said. “I went to the champion’s breakfast they had for the fans who came in, and they had a question-and-answer period with Jamie and Chip (Ganassi) and Felix (Sabates) and Kevin Manion (crew chief). After that we went upstairs for a champion’s breakfast for the whole team.
“It was a great experience, something I’d like to do next year and the year after that.”
McMurray drove his son’s motor home from track to track early in Jamie’s NASCAR career, but he stopped doing that four years ago.
“Rusty Wallace retired four years ago, and we hired his coach driver, Tim Conch,” Jim said. “It was a perfect time for me to retire. He’s more Jamie’s age, real meticulous, keeps the motor home immaculate.
“I don’t travel any more unless I go to do something.”
Jim McMurray didn’t return to his home in Mooresville, N.C., until just before noon Tuesday.
“It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” he said. “I think my phone stops at 100 texts. I finally quit getting them. I think it’s full.”
