McMurray began his season driving for EGR co-owner Chip Ganassi at Chip Ganassi Racing, winning in his second career Cup Series start. He drove four years for Roush Fenway Racing before re-joining Ganassi in 2010. He won three races with EGR in 2010, including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400. He finished 14th in the standings that season. In 2011, the team struggled and he finished 27th in the points.

He currently sits 19th in points this season, with no wins. He said:

We’re working really hard to get our program better. I want to be a part of this program and get it back to where this was in 2010. So absolutely everything is looking really good. We haven’t had a very good year, but our cars haven’t been very fast. [Teammate] Juan [Pablo Montoya] and I run within 50 feet of each other every single week. We’ve got to get our cars better.

EGR would not confirm or deny whether or not McMurray signed a contact extension with the team. Per the team, it is EGR policy not to discuss contracts.

Heroy led Dale Earnhardt Jr to two top 5 finishes in the Nationwide Series as a crew chief.

Team co-owner Chip Ganassi said:

We are very excited to bring Chris into the organization and to have him work with Juan Pablo. We think he will be a great addition to the Target team and believe his combined engineering and crew chief background should help him work well with both our engineers and competition folks to move our program forward. He has a great reputation in the industry and we are happy to bring him into the mix.

Montoya started 2011 with Brian Pattie atop the pit box, and he finished in the top 6 in two out of the first three races. After the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he sat fourth in points. Six races later, he dropped to 12th.

By July, he dropped to 17th in the standings and a change was made. Jim Pohlman took over on an interim basis.

With the news of the addition of Heroy, Pohlman will remain with EGR, but in a different capacity.

Lynse was a front tire changer with EGR’s No. 42 while Frey was a mechanic with the team.

Following the news of the arrest, EGR fired the two men. EGR co-owner Chip Ganassi released a statement in which he said:

I am extremely disappointed with the news that we received about two of our crew members.We have a zero tolerance policy in this organization and effective immediately both individuals’ employment has been terminated.

NASCAR, meanwhile, indefinitely suspended the two men for violating Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 19 (violation of the substance abuse policy) of the NASCAR rule book.

Team owner Chip Ganassi said:

We are pleased to have someone of Jim’s caliber to be able to place into this role on the No. 42 team. Jim has been with us a number of years and I have confidence in his abilities to move the team forward.

Montoya got off to a great start to the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season, finishing in the top 6 in two out of the first three races. After the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Montoya sat fourth in the championship standings. By the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway (six races later) he dropped to 12th place in the standings, and out of the Chase.

He has finished 20th or worse in five out of the last 10 races, and currently sits 17th in points, 59 points out of 10th.

With seven races to go until the Chase, this seems like a popular time for crew chief changes. Thus far, , Greg Biffle and AJ Allmendinger have new crew chiefs. Martin Truex Jr got a new crew chief last month.

Last month, rumors surfaced that EGR was considering a switch of makes from Chevy to Ford. Initially, team co-owner Chip Ganassi denied the reports. But, reports continued to come out that the team had been approached by Ford in July about a potential switch.

EGR officials said that they did speak with Ford, but denied that they would switch makes because of the long-standing relationship between Earnhardt  and Chevy. The Ford offer was said to be better financially for the team, but the team’s four wins, including Jamie McMurray’s big wins in the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, and Bank of America 500, obviously trumped the money.

But, in July of 2009, DeWalt announced it was leaving RFR and Matt Kenseth. A few days later, Jamie McMurray was given permission to talk to other teams about a ride for 2010, but RFR was still looking to keep him. The thought was that Crown Royal would move from McMurray’s car to Kenseth’s car, but if sponsorship could be found for McMurray, he would move to Yates.

About a month later, Irwin Industrial Tools announced it was leaving the team and McMurray, which only increased the likelihood that he would not stay with the team.  Shortly thereafter, Yates merged with Richard Petty Motorsports, which brought that team to the four-car limit, eliminating any space for an RFR driver.

Without sponsorship for the car, and no place for one of the teams to move, it became inevitable that one team would be cut. Based on performance, McMurray and David Ragan were the logical choices. Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth were all considered “safe” because they were consistently top performers.

Ragan and McMurray, however, both struggled. McMurray did have two wins to his credit, but he also had 43 finishes of 30^th or worse in four years (144 races) with RFR. Ragan, meanwhile, had 28 finishes of 30^th or worse in three years (110 races) with RFR, which would translate to 37 finishes of 30^th or worse in 144 races, assuming Ragan kept up his pace.

Statistically, McMurray would have been the wiser choice to keep. He had better percentages of wins, top 5s, and top 10s. He won about one percent of the races he ran. He finished in the top 5 in 7.6% of races ran, and in the top 10 in 22.2% of races ran. Ragan, however, never won, and finished in the top 5 7.2% of the time and in the top 10 17.2% of the time.  

But, Ragan had solid sponsorship from UPS and there was no indication that they were unhappy with Ragan. He was also under contract with RFR, while McMurray’s contract was expiring. So, he became the odd man out. He left the team and joined Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s No. 1 team. McMurray and owner Chip Ganassi worked together from 2002-2005, and McMurray won his first race (in his second start) in a Ganassi car. For Ganassi, I’m sure the signing was a no-brainer.

Looking at McMurray’s recent success, it’s easy to say that Jack Roush made a mistake letting him go. With wins in two of the biggest races of the year, the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, McMurray has not only solidified himself in the history books, but he’s shown the entire Sprint Cup garage that he’s a legitimate competitor week in and week out.

This season, McMurray has posted two wins, six top 5s, and seven top 10s. He was also very close to winning at Talladega, Darlington, and Charlotte, finishing second in each of those races.

In four years with RFR, he posted two wins, 11 top 5s, and 32 top 10s. In 20 races with EGR he has matched his win total at RFR, and is more than half way on his way to matching his total number of top 5s. Let that sink in.

If we were to assume that McMurray keeps up this pace over the next four years – which is highly unlikely, I know – that would mean he would post 14 wins, 43 tops 5s, and 50 top 10s in 144 races. RFR would certainly be happy with those numbers. So, it’s easy to assume Roush must be kicking himself for letting McMurray go.

But, I don’t think he is (or at least he shouldn’t be.)

McMurray had an expiring contract and no sponsor. Who’s to say McMurray would have re-signed with Roush without knowing if a seat was available? That scenario was more unlikely when EGR’s No. 1 became available, since I think McMurray wanted the chance to work with Ganassi again.

Statistically, and from a fan perspective, McMurray is a better driver than Ragan, but that doesn’t mean that sponsors agree. Ultimately UPS would have had to sign off on replacing Ragan with McMurray, and I’m not certain that they were prepared to do that.

Also, McMurray’s success with EGR and Kevin “Bono” Manion this season is the result of team chemistry – everything clicking. It’s highly unlikely that McMurray would have the same success with a different crew chief at RFR, which is current struggling as an organization.

We also can’t forget that Roush didn’t want to let McMurray go. He was looking for ways to keep him, but he couldn’t find a way.

In retrospect, letting McMurray go was a mistake. But, it isn’t one that Jack Roush should be kicking himself over.

With about 20 laps to go, McMurray took two tires after a caution for debris. He restarted with the lead, but was passed by Kevin Harvick shortly before the caution came out for a wreck between McMurray’s teammate Juan Montoya, who led the most laps, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. McMurray restarted with 10 laps to go in second, on the outside, and drove by Harvick within one lap. He then drove to victory.

McMurray said:

Honestly, when Juan was leading and I was in second [before the debris caution on Lap 137] — I’m a big believer in fate — I thought this was how it was meant to be. I won the Daytona 500, Dario [Franchitti] won the 500, and I thought Juan was going to win this one. I’m just shocked I won the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same year.

Top 5: McMurray, Harvick, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, and Tony Stewart.

Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Kurt Busch finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

Notables: Mark Martin (11th), Matt Kenseth (12th), Kasey Kahne (13th), Denny Hamlin (15th), Jimmie Johnson (22nd), Jeff Gordon (23rd), Dale Earnhardt Jr (27th), and Juan Montoya (32nd).

Hendrick Motorsports did not have a great day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson led early, but after about lap 30th he began losing the handle of the car and he lost positions. Around lap 70, he spent extended time on pit road, and ended up running around 22nd place.

By lap 84, he was 20 seconds off the lead, and wasn’t making up any ground. On lap 119, the team changed shocks under caution. Chad Knaus was trying to get the crew to hurry to beat the pace car to prevent losing a lap. But, the team did not make it. Johnson was a lap down. He never recovered. He finished 22nd.

Jeff Gordon was having a decent run for most of the day, but late in the race he reported that the oil and water temperatures were high. He faded to 23rd, where he finished.

Dale Earnhardt Jr had to pit early after Kyle Busch and Sam Hornish Jr spun, kicking wet grass onto the track, which was then caught on the splitters of several cars. Many of those cars began overheating and had to pit, including Dale Earnhardt Jr.

He spent most of the race running in the top 20, before he found his way into the top 15 with about 20 laps to go. He, like Juan Montoya and Greg Biffle, elected to take four tires when about six cars took two. Running in dirty air, Montoya’s car was nowhere near as strong as it was in the front.

With about 14 to go, Montoya got loose and hit the wall hard. He slid down the track into Dale Earnhardt Jr, who had nowhere to go. Earnhardt Jr’s crew made repairs, but his day was ruined. Montoya was also done for the day. They finished 27th and 32nd, respectively.

Activision will be primary sponsor on Aric Almirola’s No. 8 car for the Daytona 500. The paint scheme will feature the World Tour logo and the graphics from the game’s packaging. In later races, the cars will feature upcoming Guitar Hero titles.

Activision is familiar with Chip Ganassi and Chip Ganassi Racing as last season, Activision’s Guitar Hero brand was featured on CGR’s No. 40, driven by Dario Franchitti, before that team was closed in the middle of the season.

Even before Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s highly publicized departure from DEI before last season, the team was struggling to remain competitive. While Martin Truex Jr. made the Chase in 2007, Jr. lost six engines and crashed out of races twice.

As if losing Jr. wasn’t enough, the team had a mediocre, at best, 2008 season with Truex Jr. receiving a 150-point penalty and conflicting reports as to whether Truex had re-signed with the team.

At the end of the season, Mark Martin left the team for Hendrick Motorsports, like Jr. Paul Menard left, taking his sponsor with him to Yates Racing. The US Army left the team for Stewart Haas Racing. Everyone was abandoning ship.

At Chip Ganassi Racing, things weren’t much better. The team shut the doors to its No. 40 team and driver Dario Franchitti due to a lack of sponsorship money.

The team also fired Jimmy Elledge, which seemed to upset Juan Pablo Montoya. And, Montoya, at one point, was rumored to be leaving the team, while Reed Sorenson left the team for Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

When DEI and CGR merged to form EGR, they had Montoya, Truex Jr. and Aric Almirola under contract. They were missing a driver with a lot of NASCAR experience. They were missing a multiple race-winner. They were missing a veteran leader. In Labonte, they may have found all of that.

Labonte needs good equipment to be competitive, and EGR should be able to provide that. I know that the team has struggled, but some of that you have to put on its absentee owner, Teresa, who some say is not committed to winning.

Ganassi will be a presence at the track, and is committed to winning. He should be able to help keep the focus on on-track performance.

That, combined with Labonte’s leadership, should make any partnership a perfect match.