Kevin Harvick had just used a dramatic last-lap pass to steal a Budweiser Shootout victory from him, and McMurray was already replaying the finish in his mind.
What could he have done differently? How did Harvick get by him? If he's in the same position during the Daytona 500, how would he defend the final lap?
In those first moments of Saturday night's defeat, McMurray didn't see the bigger picture: his second-place finish in the exhibition race was a tremendous start to what will be a critical season in McMurray's career. Roush Fenway Racing must drop a driver at the end of the year to reach NASCAR's mandated four-car limit, and McMurray could very well be the one to go.
"I think for sure it's a make-or-break season for me," he admitted. "But if I had to pick a scenario to be put in, I'm in one that's as good as it can get for me."
After a rocky start to 2008 -- McMurray briefly fell out of the top 35, quickly rebounded and began the long climb back up the standings -- he closed the year on a tremendous hot streak bettered only by his championship-contending teammate. While Carl Edwards won three of the final races of the year to steal the headlines, McMurray quietly racked up five top-seven finishes in the final six events.
Although he finished the season with three consecutive third-place finishes, he couldn't wait for it to end. The start of 2009 meant a reunion with old crew chief Donnie Wingo, a partnership McMurray is convinced will get him back to Victory Lane.
The two spent McMurray's first three seasons together at Chip Ganassi Racing, racking up 46 top-10 finishes and narrowly missing the Chase for the championship in 2004 and 2005. McMurray left Ganassi after the 2006 season to drive for Roush, and has so far failed to match the on-track consistency he showed when he worked with Wingo.
"Donnie is a really hard worker," McMurray said. "His work ethic, I would say, is as good as anybody's in our sport and he is the guy that asks the question and already knows the answer just to see what you'll say.
"I can't tell you how excited I am. I have everything I want and I think the comfort level and the confidence I have in Donnie and the entire team, I wouldn't trade them for anyone."
Also making the move this season to Roush was spotter Lorin Ranier, who also worked with McMurray at Ganassi. When Ranier took over the radio Saturday night, guiding McMurray through traffic and to the front, McMurray remembered just how good things were during the Ganassi years.
"To get to have both of them back at the same time, it's very comforting," he said. "It's really hard for me to explain to you the comfort or the confidence I have in those two guys. I feel like when we ran at Ganassi we ran really well and I didn't think we had near as good of equipment as what we do right now at Roush Fenway."
McMurray followed the Shootout performance with an average day in Sunday's time trials -- he was 26th fastest on the speed chart -- but Wingo believes the No. 26 Ford is strong enough to contend in Thursday's qualifying races. The twin 150-mile races determine the starting lineup for Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500.
"Our entire team is ready for the Daytona 500," Wingo said. "We feel that we have brought some extremely fast and powerful cars and Jamie has liked how this car handles. We had a great clean run in the Shootout and we'll take what we saw on the track, apply it to our car for the 500, and I think that we will see our No. 26 finish strong."
McMurray certainly needs it. He's got just two career Cup victories, none since 2007 when he nipped Kyle Busch by .005 seconds to win the July race at Daytona. The other win came in his second career start, a NASCAR record, when he drove for Ganassi as Sterling Marlin's injury replacement.
It set high expectations for McMurray, particularly after he maneuvered Roush's costly buyout of his Ganassi contract one year before it expired. He's so far failed to live up to the hype, and his standing with Roush is now in jeopardy.
Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth all signed contract extensions last season, and David Ragan just received a lucrative new sponsor in UPS. So regardless of his results this season, McMurray may ultimately be the odd man out when Roush is forced to reduce his five-car fleet.
McMurray won't worry about it just yet.
"We know that NASCAR has asked Jack to cut down to four cars for the 2010 season, but in regards to who it will be, it is only speculation now," he said. "So until they announce something, I haven't really thought about it, and it's not something that bothers me as we look ahead to this season."
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