[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 25 (Thursday, February 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E249-E250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN RECOGNITION OF JAMIE McMURRAY'S WIN AT THE DAYTONA 500 IN THE NO. 1 
               CHEVROLET BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CAR

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. ROY BLUNT

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 25, 2010

  Mr. BLUNT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to America's 
great spectator sport, NASCAR; its most prestigious race, the Daytona 
500; and the 2010 champion, Southwest Missouri native Jamie McMurray. 
On Sunday, McMurray rode to victory in a Bass Pro Shops sponsored car. 
His stunning win sparked excitement among all NASCAR fans, especially 
those in Southwest Missouri, where he learned his racing skills.
  McMurray started 2010 without a ride, having been released from 
another team at the end of the 2009 season. When Springfield, Missouri-
based Bass Pro Shops owner Johnny Morris decided to return to NASCAR 
sponsorship with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, McMurray got the call to 
drive. McMurray won the Daytona 500 in the No. 1 Chevrolet Bass Pro 
Shops/Tracker Boats car, leading by only two laps, the least in the 
race's history.
  Jamie McMurray started stock car racing in the early 1990s on tracks 
in Bolivar, Missouri; Lebanon, Missouri; and at the I-70 Speedway in 
Odessa, Missouri. In 1992, at age 16, McMurray began driving NASCAR 
late models and raced in the NASCAR RE/MAX Challenge Series in 1998-
1999. By age 21 he had won the NASCAR late model division on the 
Lebanon track. In 1999 he began racing on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck 
Series circuit.
  McMurray's breakthrough came three years later, when he was offered a 
full-time Busch Series ride. He earned two victories on the Busch 
Circuit and finished sixth in series points. In 2003 as a NASCAR 
regular, he was Rookie of the Year.
  When NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Sterling Marlin was out with an 
injury, owner Chip Ganassi offered McMurray the seat to complete the 
2002 season. It didn't take long for Jamie to make his mark on the 
sport. In his second race with Ganassi in Charlotte, North Carolina, 
McMurray won the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway.
  Now in his ninth season, McMurray is racing for the new Earnhardt 
Ganassi team. In his first race of the season, he scored a victory in 
the granddaddy of all stock car racing events: the Daytona 500.
  Every racing fan in Southwest Missouri was thrilled that McMurray won 
the race in a No. 1 Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats car from the 
Southwest Missouri-based company. McMurray endured years of hard work 
on local tracks to earn his way into the winner's circle of America's 
greatest stock car event.
  For NASCAR fans in Southwest Missouri, I want to offer my 
congratulations to Jamie McMurray, Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats, and to 
their families and supporters.

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