McMurray gets early baptism at Ganassi.

Jamie McMurray has been announced as the replacement driver for the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge and will drive in six of the final seven Winston Cup races this year before his full-time debut with the Chip Ganassi Winston Cup team in 2003.

When Jamie McMurray rolls onto the track wearing the famous black Chevron/Havoline colours next February at Daytona he will have a good idea of the scrutiny he will come under after being confirmed as the new driver of one of the most noticeable cars on the 2001 grid, the #40 Chip Ganassi/Felix Sabates owned Coors Light Dodge Intrepid just vacated by former Championship leader Sterling Marlin.

Jamie McMurray has been announced as the replacement driver for the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge. McMurray was recently announced as the driver of the new for 2003 Havoline Dodge for the Ganassi team in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. McMurray will drive in six of the seven remaining races on the 2002 Winston Cup schedule starting this weekend with the EA Sports 500 at Talladega in what promises to be a high-pressure, if tremendously valuable learning experience.

McMurray is currently racing full time in the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division. He will continue his driving duties for the No. 27 Williams TravelCenters team for the remainder of the 2002 Busch schedule.

McMurray will also compete in the remaining 2002 Winston Cup schedule except for the Martinsville race on October 20, which is a conflict date with the Memphis Busch Series race. No replacement driver has yet been named for the #40 at Martinsville although Ganassi is likely to enter an experienced hand to help the #40 team in the Owner's Standings.

Set to run this weekend at Talladega in any case with a third Ganassi owned Dodge (No.42), McMurray will still be eligible for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title in 2003 as he will have made less than seven Winston Cup starts prior to the 2003 Daytona 500.

McMurray is currently racing in his second full season in the NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division. He currently sits eighth in the Busch Series championship points standings and has accumulated three top-five and 11 top-10 finishes during the 2002 campaign. McMurray's most recent top-10 finish was this past weekend at the Kansas Speedway where he finished in the 10th position.