Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Jamie McMurray, the veteran Chip Ganassi Racing driver who enters Saturday night’s race at Kentucky Speedway ranked 16th in the Sprint Cup Series standings.
Q: What is an errand or chore in your daily life people might be surprised to learn you do yourself?
A: I do a lot of daily errands. We have a five-gallon water cooler, and I go to the store and refill that. I take our kids to swim lessons. I make lots of trips to hardware stores. I think all the stuff I do is normal stuff.
Q: If you could do any race over again, which race would you choose?
A: That’s hard. I don’t know. Maybe one of the races where I finished second, but I don’t really care to relive those. I believe you make good decisions, bad decisions and you live with it.
Q: The longest race of the year is 600 miles. How long of a race could you physically handle without a driver change?
A: It depends on the track you’re at. A place like Daytona and Talladega, you could go a long time – maybe 2,000 miles. Road courses are much harder on your body, and when I’ve done the sports car races (at Daytona), I’ve done three hours at one time and you’re ready to get out. That’s mainly because the seat doesn’t fit you and you get cramped up. But in a NASCAR car where the seat fits you, you would die of boredom at a place like Daytona or Talladega before the car got tired.
Q: Let’s say president of NASCAR was an elected position voted on by the drivers – and you decided to run. What would one of your campaign promises be?
A: Shorten all the races to two and a half hours long. I think most people would agree with that. I hope at some point, they do shorten the races. I’m all about tradition; however, we live in a different world than we did 25 or 30 years ago. I just think people view races in a different way now. Four hours of trying to get someone’s attention is too long. I know there are a lot of other obstacles to overcome, but shorter races would be a really good step.
Q: At the start of this year, exactly 2,900 drivers had ever raced in the Sprint Cup Series. Where do you rank among those 2,900?
A: I don’t have any idea. I guess you just would look at statistics and that’s where you’d rank. It’s really hard to compare because a lot of it has to do with team, equipment and situation. So I don’t know.
Q: What do you think your reputation is – and is that reputation accurate?
A: I don’t know. It’d be interesting to see what people said if you asked them about different drivers. But I don’t know if it’s accurate because I don’t know what it is. I’ve never surveyed anybody on my reputation.
Q: A famous chef wants you to invest in the new restaurant he’s opening, but he wants you to pick the cuisine. What type of food would your restaurant serve?
A: Pizza would be a good one. My kids like pizza right now, and typically pizza joints are loud and extremely kid-friendly. So I’ll go with that.
Q: What is the most daring thing you’ve done outside of racing?
A: This might not seem daring to others, but flying with the (U.S. Air Force) Thunderbirds – that was a big step. I was a little terrified to go do that. I feel like when people are asked to do that, there’s no one who is in the middle – you’ve either wanted to do that for years or you’re very hesitant to do it. I would not have done it, but my wife (Christy) convinced me it would be fun.
What I remember, other than being nauseous for two days afterward, is when the doctor checked my blood pressure and things prior to going up. I remember the doctor saying, “Are you OK?” I said, “I’m fine.” She’s like, “Are you nervous?” “Yes.” I think the anxiety was really getting to me and it showed up in my blood pressure, and I didn’t know if they were going to let me go.
One thing people don’t realize is when you get in that airplane and they shut the canopy, it’s only six or eight inches from your head on every side. I’m really claustrophobic. It’s one thing when you get in a race car and it’s this tight, confined area – but you’re in control of getting out at any point. When you look down in the plane, you’re sitting on a rocket you can pull and eject yourself.
So I was extremely nervous. I am not a risk-taker at all. I always look at the risk vs. reward, so I don’t take risks.
But you drive 200 mph in a pack at Daytona.
Yeah, it’s weird. I feel very in control of that. That doesn’t scare me at all. I don’t even know that I get a rush out of the speed. I just like the challenge of racing. It’s weird. You should ask Clint Bowyer, because he makes me laugh so much about it. He’s like, “Jamie, you’re scared of everything – but you’re the guy who is five-wide on a restart on the top (lane) an inch from the wall. You’re a maniac!” I just laugh at that, because I’m really not into any thrill-seeking at all.
Q: In a move to generate more excitement, NASCAR decides in an upcoming race it is going to require every driver to have a passenger in the car. You get to pick the passenger. Who do you choose?
A: I want my son (Carter) to ride with me. I don’t know that he would know better of what’s right or wrong, to be scared or not – but I know that it would be a thrill for him.
Q: How often do you talk inside the car without hitting the radio button?
A: I talk a lot. I think most guys do. A lot of times people will ask me why I’m so calm on the radio and I don’t express frustration. I have frustration, but you have to consciously hit a button and then cuss and scream. I just do it all without hitting the button. I don’t feel the need to express to the world what I’m thinking at the time. Some guys like that. I don’t.
Q: Who will win the Sprint Cup in 2021?
A: Chase Elliott.
Q: I’ve been asking each driver to give me a question for the next interview. The last interview was with Trevor Bayne, and he wanted to know: “If you could add any short track to the Cup schedule, what would it be?”
A: I would add North Wilkesboro because it’s close to home. I never got to race there – and I’m OK with that, because it would make me older -- but I never heard anyone say anything bad about that place.
And do you have a question for the next interview? It’s scheduled to be Kevin Harvick.
How much longer do you think you’re going to race?
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
