This is how silly season ends, not with a bang but with a long-expected and finally-confirmed move: Jamie McMurray will be driving the #1 car for Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing in 2010.
McMurray, of course, was the odd man out when NASCAR laid down a four-car maximum rule for team owners. Earlier this summer, Jack Roush decided to keep David Ragan and let McMurray go, which led to the awkward scene of Roush congratulating McMurray after Jamie won the Amp Energy 500 in Talladega a couple weeks back.
The #1 has an open seat because Martin Truex Jr. hopped ship for a new ride at Michael Waltrip Racing, and McMurray fits the bill perfectly -- a talented, telegenic, sponsor-pleasing kind of driver. With everybody else spoken for, he was the marquee free agent of 2009, but with few seats available, it wasn't like he had a whole lot of choice.
In a podcast with us a few weeks back, McMurray expressed disappointment with the way that his time at Roush-Fenway had worked out. He hinted that being one of the lower men on the totem pole may have worked against him. But at EGR, he'll be teamed with Juan Pablo Montoya and will be able to grab more of the spotlight.
Hopefully McMurray's bad experience with Target won't cause any intra-team problems. (Video features a touch of bad language and one naughty gesture.)
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