Is Jamie McMurray Out At Roush?

Posted by Jeremy Dunn Jun 3, 2008

Jamie McMurray's days at Roush Fenway Racing appear to be numbered. The Charlotte Observer reported that McMurray is already searching for future employment with another team. Although McMurray denied the report, there must be some truth to it. McMurray has underachieved ever since he made the transition from Chip Ganassi Racing to Roush Fenway Racing.

Following the 2009 season, Roush Fenway Racing must downscale to four teams. Currently at five teams, one driver will be the odd-man out. Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth are three of the most talented drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage, so clearly, Roush and his staff will do everything they can to keep those drivers in the stable for the duration of their careers. That leaves the twenty-two year old David Ragan, who is beginning to show promise, and Jamie McMurray, who has been in the sport since 2002 and only has two career victories. Clearly, Ragan is the logical choice.

McMurray, once considered one of NASCAR's top rising stars, has stuggled to find any consistency with one of NASCAR's top teams. There is no doubting his talent, as he is typically competitive on tracks such as the road courses, restrictor plates, and short tracks, all tracks that require more from the driver. His struggles on the intermediate speedways could be due to the inability to verbally relay to the crew chief what the car needs to handle better.

If McMurray does leave Roush Fenway Racing after the season, he could land at Roush's sister team, Yates Racing, or perhaps DEI or Richard Childress Racing. McMurray probably has one chance left with a solid organization.