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Jamie McMurray’s Victory: A View From The Stands By L.M. Burke
October 17, 2002
As the laps began to wind down, race fans started looking at each other with raised eyebrows. “You think that rookie’s going to win?” one asked. With McMurray out front, scanner enthusiasts jumped from frequency to frequency, trying to gauge whether Bobby Labonte had enough to catch the #40. The Labonte-crazed screamed each lap, happy to see their driver’s return to contention. Sterling Marlin fans sat in shocked disbelief, having previously resigned themselves to a quiet finish to the season with Marlin sidelined by his neck injury. McMurray’s stunning lead suddenly gave them hope. McMurray led by about ten-car lengths in the final laps, and the “maybe so” silent glances began in the stands. “If this rookie wins, that’d be a record,” an old-timer noted. “Second start and he wins? At Charlotte? Unheard of,” he said as he shook his head in amused wonder. Labonte fans even started to concede that it didn’t look like the #18 had enough for the Silver Bullet. Maybe McMurray’s win was inevitable. With two laps to go, hardly anyone sat. Rising to their feet with rousing cheers, fans screamed loudly, pounded their fists in the air, encouraging the rookie on as though the applause would help him to the checkers. The silent glances between fans turned to twinkles of incredulous wonder, all exchanged with broad smiles. On the white flag lap, the Interstate Batteries Pontiac suddenly gained on McMurray. A roar erupted from the crowd as over 140,000 fans cheered at the close finish. This was racing at its best. McMurray pulled out and Labonte never had another shot at him. Jamie McMurray, in only his second Winston Cup start, claimed his first NASCAR Winston Cup victory. Those checkers flied, and the stands exploded in rousing cheers for the young driver. Fans high-fived each other, knowing they had just witnessed racing history. As the crew ran across the infield and met the #40 car at the Start/Finish line, a crew member knelt at the side of the car and bowed in a “we’re not worthy” salute. Fans throughout Lowe’s Motor Speedway imitated the gesture and honored the rookie. With the smoke from McMurray’s burn out billowing across the track and into the stands, everyone knew that no one would ever ask, “Who’s that in the 40 car?” or “Jamie who?” ever again. The young man who stepped from the shadows into a spotlight all too bright, all too large had proven to everyone why Ganassi snatched him up, for he is a winner. As McMurray pulled the Silver Bullet into Victory Lane, new and old race fans laughed in jubilant celebration. Some shaking their head in shock, some chuckling in disbelief, others conceding an “atta boy.” Now, that’s racin’!
Other articles by L.M. Burke illnesses through research and teatment
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