NASCAR: Jamie McMurray to join Fox Sports for 2019 season
By Asher Fair
Former full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray is set to make the move to Fox Sports as an analyst on their NASCAR broadcast team.
Jamie McMurray, who has competed in the NASCAR Cup Series since the 2002 season and has competed full-time in the series since the 2003 season, will not be returning to the sport as a full-time driver in the 2019 season, although the possibility still exists that he will compete in the Daytona 500 for Chip Ganassi Racing.
It was first rumored in August that McMurray would be leaving Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the 2018 season and that Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kurt Busch would be his replacement behind the wheel of the #1 Chevrolet.
In September, it was confirmed that McMurray would, in fact, be leaving Chip Ganassi Racing following the conclusion of the 2018 season after spending 13 seasons and 12 full seasons driving for the team, and it was confirmed earlier this month that Busch is set to replace him behind the wheel of the #1 Chevrolet starting next season.
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Instead of returning to the Cup Series as a full-time driver next year, the 42-year-old Joplin, Missouri native is set to return in another full-time role.
McMurray is set join Fox Sports as an analyst on their NASCAR broadcast team beginning in the 2019 season. He is set to take part in the network’s “NASCAR RaceDay” pre-race coverage and its “NASCAR Race Hub” midweek news show.
Both NASCAR on Fox and McMurray announced this news on their respective Twitter accounts yesterday morning.
Welcome to the team, @jamiemcmurray! » https://t.co/rabksARJDP pic.twitter.com/b34fxzWRZc
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) December 12, 2018
Excited to join the @NASCARONFOX team in 2019, and looking forward to this next chapter of my career. Thanks to all who made it possible! https://t.co/WiGDIbgIQz
— Jamie McMurray (@jamiemcmurray) December 12, 2018
Here is what McMurray had to say about the matter, according to NASCAR.
"“As my driving career got closer to the end, I thought about doing TV but wasn’t sure until I did a couple of NASCAR Race Hub shows at the end of this year. I really enjoyed it more than I expected. It’s a whole new world, but that’s what I am most excited about – the new challenge and discomfort that comes with doing something completely out of my element.“There’s a good possibility that I could be in the Daytona 500 for most likely my last race of my career, or at least the foreseeable future. As of right now, it’s not done yet. But I think there’s a really good chance you’ll see that happen.”"
Over the course of his 17-year Cup Series career, McMurray has competed in 582 races and recorded seven victories, 63 top five finishes, 168 top 10 finishes and 11 pole positions. He earned his most recent victory in the October race at Talladega Superspeedway in the 2013 season, and he earned a career-high three victories in the 2010 season.
McMurray’s average career starting position is 18.1 and his average career finishing position is 18.2. He has led 1,897 of the 164,102 laps that he has completed and he recorded a career-high finish of 11th place in the championship standings in the 2004 season.
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Fox and Fox Sports 1 are set to combine to broadcast each of the first 16 races of the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season beginning with the Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 17, 2019. Be sure to tune in to Fox for the live broadcast of this race from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.