NASCAR's newest winner takes fast track to fame

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jamie McMurray sat on the couch in his hauler, his hand casually resting on his girlfriend's knee.

He smiled and laughed -- even blushed a little -- as he talked about how much his life had changed since he met the woman he calls his good-luck charm just over six months ago.

Cielo Garcia, NASCAR's former Miss Winston model, really didn't have anything to do with McMurray's rise from a nobody in the Busch Series to a somebody in the Winston Cup series -- a status cemented Sunday with his victory at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

But you won't convince NASCAR's newest "young gun" of that. Hired by Chip Ganassi just over six weeks ago, McMurray is certain Garcia had a lot to do with it.

So far, McMurray, 26, has been a breath of fresh of air.

"Jamie showed a lot of heart when I first met him," Ganassi said. "He's got great communication skills, and I think what you see is a genuine person."

Unlike most of the Winston Cup winners, who can rattle off the name of every sponsor who ever gave them a dollar, he was emotional, excited and downright giddy in Victory Lane.

Driving Sterling Marlin's car after he was forced out of it two weeks ago with an injury, McMurray hardly knows the names of his crew members -- let alone all the sponsors. So he did the best he could, hoisting one of the sponsors' beers up for the cameras and urging America to "Go buy some Coors Light."

Then he turned to Garcia, who lost her job as Miss Winston two weeks ago when McMurray was promoted to NASCAR's top series, and let her gingerly wipe a tear off his cheek.

"Everything in my life has changed since I met her," McMurray said. "I was living in Kentucky, I was driving in the Busch series, I wanted a Winston Cup ride but didn't know if I would get one.

"Then I met her. I moved to Charlotte, I got a job with Chip and now I'm a Winston Cup winner. It's just been unbelievable. It's like a dream I don't want to wake up from."

It was almost deja vu from a decade ago, when another young, excitable driver would celebrate each win with his former Miss Winston girlfriend and praise her for her role in his success.

Jeff Gordon went on to marry Jennifer Brooke Sealy -- although they are in the process of divorcing -- and win four Winston Cup titles.

McMurray could well be on his way to the same superstardom.

Although few had heard of him when Ganassi plucked him out of the Busch series six weeks ago to drive a third Winston Cup car for him next season, true racers had been aware of McMurray's talent level for years, certain he'd eventually get a big break.

Tony Stewart, the Winston Cup points leader, was 14 when he met McMurray in their early go-karting days and recognized his potential.

"Jamie was probably 10 or 12, and I don't know how tall he is now, but I'll bet he wasn't over two feet tall -- he was the smallest kid I'd ever seen in a go-kart in my life," Stewart said. "But he won most of the national races in his division that year in his class."

McMurray wasn't toiling in the Busch series when Ganassi hired him for a ride originally earmarked for Ricky Rudd. But when Rudd went elsewhere, Ganassi took a gamble and listened to team manager Andy Graves' recommendation to take a look at McMurray.

Then, when Marlin was injured, the team turned the No. 40 Dodge over to McMurray so he could get some early experience.

McMurray's anonymity was partly due to his never having won on either the Busch series of the Craftsman Truck series.

"Everyone wondered why Chip would hire me because I had never won a race," McMurray said. "Well, what they didn't realize is that I am never on a series long enough to win a race. I could have won in trucks, but I was hired to move up to Busch before I had enough time.

"And I might still win in Busch before the season is over, but if I don't, it's because I'm going to Winston Cup."

Now that he's a Cup winner in his second start -- a NASCAR record -- McMurray doesn't have to worry about the critics who said Ganassi made a mistake in hiring him.

"I thought it was going to be just unbelievable pressure to prove I belonged," McMurray said. "Now it's just going to pressure to keep winning. But I can handle it. I've got my good-luck charm."