When a story will not go away they say it has legs. Stories continue to run about Jamie McMurray potentially leaving Roush Fenway Racing. And why shouldn't they? The picture is about as clear as mud. If Greg Biffle signs for another round with Roush Fenway this week then Jamie is in a position where he almost has to go to Roush and say O.K., what are your plans not only for 2009 but also for 2010?
In the interim, here is what Jamie had to say in an interview at Pocono.
Q: What are you doing next year?
A: The same thing that I'm doing this year: the Crown Royal, No. 26, with Roush Fenway.
Q: Why do you think (Jim) Utter (Writer, Charlotte Observer) thinks otherwise?
A: I don't know. I'm not a speculator.
Q: There's plenty of silly speculating going on. Are you putting out any feelers?
A: No, I have not.
Q: Have your representatives?
A: Not that I am aware of.
But really folks, how else could Jamie have answered these questions? While I want to believe Jamie, is it not possible he might have really been thinking.
Q: What are you doing next year?
A: Too bad I can't tell him my manager tells me, unofficially of course, that if Tony Stewart leaves Joe Gibbs that Joe would like to talk to me.
Q: Why do you think (Jim) Utter (Writer, Charlotte Observer) thinks otherwise?
A: He has pretty good sources and if I find out who leaked this I'll kill them.
Q: There's plenty of silly speculating going on. Are you putting out any feelers?
A: Of course I am you imbecile, don't you know I am on the short end of the stick at Roush given my performance this year and that NASCAR is forcing Roush to cut a team by 2010?
Q: Have your representatives?
A. Well of course they have, while the directions I have given them are unofficial directions, they already knew that Jack needs to sign Crown Royal up for another deal and it isn't unreasonable to believe that if Greg signs with Roush again next week that another announcement will follow that Crown Royal will be moved over to the 16 as his sponsor in a multi-year deal.
So there you have it, the politically correct answers on one hand and on the other what really might have been going on inside the brain of one Jamie McMurray.
Roush Fenway Racing's Jamie McMurray led the final of six test sessions held at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Monday and Tuesday. Has he adjusted his car so that it is yawed out like Carl Edwards' has been running his on those mile and a half tracks where he has been successful?
Crew chiefs and engineers took the yawn out of Sprint Cup testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) and put in the yaw. The hope is to close the gap between Roush Fenway Racing's Carl Edwards and the rest of the field at 1.5-mile tracks such as LMS. Edwards' car, according to several crew chiefs and drivers, has been dominant in part because he has been able to handle a setup in which the rear housing is turned to the right, making it appear the car is going sideways down the straightaways. This gives Edwards more yaw -- movement in the back end -- that creates more downforce and allows him to make a better transition going into the corners.
"I think everyone sees it, even on TV," said Denny Hamlin, who is sixth in points. "It's very, very noticeable for us drivers. To those that don't really know the nuts and bolts of the cars, they don't really see it. We see it, the attitude of his car is a little bit more I guess 'yawed out' more than everyone else's. There are reasons for that. We as a team are starting to pinpoint that and really starting to show up."
Many teams used the two-day test at LMS to experiment with setups similar to what they believe Edwards has. NASCAR allows only a quarter-inch adjustment in the rear housing and monitors it with gauges. Tony Eury Jr., the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. can't go quite that far without making the car tough for his driver to handle.
Earnhardt crashed during Monday's practice sessions at Lowe's.
Four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon said that much yaw makes his car very tough to handle. Two-time champion Tony Stewart said everybody is trying to get a feel for it.
Now we know whats been bugging Jeff.
"It's a driver feel, there's no doubt," Eury said. "Some drivers like it. Some drivers don't."
Edwards apparently does. He's used it to win at 1.5-mile tracks at Las Vegas and Texas and the 2-mile California Speedway. He was headed for a win at 1.5-mile Atlanta before his engine expired late.
“It’s tough to explain racing to the media, to the fans, to people on the outside — how important the crews and the cars and the chemistry are and having all of them at one time, how great that is,” (Jamie) McMurray said. "You get an offer from a team that has ... a winning thing going for it, and you take it." McMurray did, and in 2006, he began driving Roush Fords.
Last year, he finished 17th, got just one victory — in July at Daytona — and people began wondering. McMurray didn’t wonder, because he understands how racing goes. But that doesn’t mean he has been satisfied.
“When I got over here,” he said, “I thought that everything you need is here and I thought it (success) would just happen. But, racing’s hard.”
The current season has been another challenging one for McMurray. There have been lots of freakish happenings and lots of rumors about his future with Roush.
“There’s always pressure,” McMurray said, “but none more so than what I put on myself.”
Geoff Smith, president of Roush Fenway, said his team remains patient with McMurray.
“We have not soured on Jamie by any means,” Smith said.
Making things even tougher on McMurray this season is the quick start of his four teammates. Two are in the top 10 in points and the other two are in the top 18. McMurray, meanwhile, is 25th. Yet there was no hint of frustration in his voice as he talked about his season last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
“It’s always tough being on a multi-car team,” Smith said, “when a couple of your teammates are clicking and you’re not. I’ve seen some drivers prone to big mood swings. Jamie has the good outlook. He’s determined to make it better.”
McMurray was asked if he thinks the corner has been turned. He took a deep breath.
“We have all the tools,” he said. “We just have to use them.”
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