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Subway 500 - Jamie McMurray Notes

Jamie McMurray

Martinsville Speedway
.526-mile speedway located in Martinsville, Va.
NNCS: Subway 500; Sunday, October 21, 2007

FAST FACTS:

In his last four starts at Martinsville Speedway, Jamie McMurray has posted three top-10 finishes.
In nine career Cup starts at Martinsville Speedway, McMurray has one top-five finish and six top-10 finishes.
13.9 – McMurray has both an average starting position and finishing position of 13.9 at Martinsville Speedway.
Martinsville Speedway is McMurray’s second-best track on the NASCAR circuit behind California Speedway.

Jamie McMurray - NNCS ADVANCE
Team: No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Larry Carter
Chassis: RK – 463 Last raced at New Hampshire; Sept. 2007, Finished 11th
Backup – RK – 462 Last raced at Martinsville; April 2007; Finished ninth

McMurray on racing at Martinsville Speedway:“The No. 26 Crown Royal team had such a good run at Martinsville in the spring race, I’ve certainly been excited about returning to the track. Martinsville is one of those places as a driver that you either really like racing at, or don’t like visiting there at all. I’m one of the guys that really enjoys racing at Martinsville. In the spring race we qualified second and finished in the top 10, which was our second top-10 finish in the COT in two weeks. Hopefully, this weekend we can have a repeat performance at Martinsville. It would be great to grab another pole and have an even better finish than the spring.

“Last weekend I thought we had one of the best cars on the track. We were just really unlucky with our pit stop timing there at the end of the race. We had a top-five car that finished 24th. It’s frustrating because I know how good our cars have been recently, we just haven’t been able to put together both a strong car and a good finish. Hopefully this weekend at Martinsville, our luck will change a little and we can have a better run.”

Crew Chief Larry Carter on racing at Martinsville Speedway:
“I’ve always enjoyed racing at Martinsville as a crew chief. I remember when Rusty (Wallace) scored his last NEXTEL Cup win there in 2005. It was an exciting race and one that I will always remember as a crew chief. This weekend, I know we are taking a strong car and it’s even better because this is a track that Jamie runs really well at and a track he enjoys racing at. We are taking RK-463, which is a “sister car” to the one we took to Martinsville last time. We had a tough stroke of bad luck last week at Lowe’s. Hopefully we can shake that from our backs and have a good run this weekend with our No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion.”

~Race2Win

From a Corn on the Cob Stand to the NASCAR Garage
 
Larry Carter 
 
 
 
CONCORD, N.C. (October 17, 2007) - For Larry Carter, crew chief of the No. 26 Crown Royal team, the return to Martinsville this weekend takes him back to a win in 2005, as well as memories of spending two weeks every fall at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, N.C. At the young age of 10, Carter began working at "Hill's Corn on the Cob," a stand at the N.C. State Fair every fall.

"I remember my first job at the stand was to sit in the corner and fill soft drinks all day," Carter said. "I remember we'd sell drinks for five cents, 10 cents, and 15 cents. And we first started selling corn on the cob for 25 cents apiece. That was a good deal back in those days."

 
In 1969, while attending the state fair, Carter's father bought the stand from the previous owner for $300. When he got home that evening, he called his two other brothers and told them that they each owed him $100. >From that point on, the Carter family owned the infamous "Hill's Corn on the Cob" stand at the N.C. State Fair.

Carter started working at the stand in 1972 and continued to work every fall until 1995. "Even when I first started working in NASCAR, I'd save up my vacation time and take off during the week of the state fair so that I could go up there and work in the stand," said Carter.

"Going to the state fair for me was like going to a big reunion. You'd run into all your friends, family, old teachers and coaches. It was really a place for me that I'd see a lot of old friends. There are people at the fair that I remember playing with when I was just a kid out there. We kind of grew up together. I remember spending a lot of time with my Dad and uncles. Boy, do I have some stories that I could tell you about the fair and watching it grow over the years.'

The times have changed since the day you could buy an ear of roasted corn for just 25 cents. Now, when you visit "Hill's Corn on the Cob" stand, you can order an ear of corn for $2.50, fresh squeezed lemonade for $2.00 and a soft drink for a $1.50.

"When we first started selling lemonade we'd go through 10 bushels a day. That's a lot of lemonade," Carter said when asked about memories of the stand.

"One year, I told my uncle that I thought we should raise the price of our corn from 25 cents up to 50 cents. At first it didn't go over very well with the family, but we tried it the following year. Although we sold about 10% less corn, we did increase our profits by 70%. Not bad for a little corn on the cob stand."

This Sunday morning in Martinsville, as Carter prepares the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford Fusion for Sunday's race, thoughts of the state fair in N.C. won't be far from his mind.

"I wish we were just a little closer and I'd try to make it down there on Saturday afternoon," said Carter. "Our family still runs the stand and it's still in great condition. I'll for sure be thinking about it this weekend. I know my wife and son are heading up there for a couple days to help out. Maybe they'll even sell a few ears of corn while they're up there."

Go Mac at Martinsville!  I hope he brings home a top 5 or a win. :)