12 Questions with Jamie McMurray

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with Jamie McMurray, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver who is closing in on clinching his first career Chase for the Sprint Cup berth. McMurray, currently 76 points inside the Chase with two races to go, could clinch his playoff spot next week at Darlington Raceway.

Q: If NASCAR allowed you to listen to music while you were racing, would you want to?

A: No. Even when you’re out there running and they talk to you on the radio, your lap times seem to suffer a small amount. So I would find the music to be distracting.

Q: Where did your first paycheck come from?

A: I worked at a putt-putt course/go-kart track when I was 14. I was really into golf when I was younger, so I was the guy driving the tractor picking up the golf balls (on the driving range) and used the leaf blower to blow water or leaves off the putt-putt course. It was $3 an hour, I remember that.

Did you get free putt-putt?

Unlimited. They had batting cages, too. They ended up putting bumper boats in, and I remember getting to do that. It was really fun, because I was young and I was really into that at the time. My friends would come out and it was just a really fun job.

Q: Who is an autograph you got as a kid that seemed to be a big deal to you at the time?

A: I don’t think I’ve ever received an autograph. No, I don’t think so — not that I can remember.

Just never had any interest in getting one?

I would rather have my picture taken with someone than get an autograph. I don’t quite understand why you want someone’s autograph. To me, if I met someone that was famous — maybe a singer or something — I’d rather have a picture because that goes a lot farther.

Q: Where’s a place you’ve never been that you’d like to go visit?

A: I’m pretty content at home. We travel so much and I think it’s so dangerous to travel the world right now.

Q: Do people ever accuse you of being addicted to your phone?

A: No. (Wife) Christy and I have lived in a few different houses since we started dating, and in every house we’ve always left our phones by the front door or maybe in the kitchen. And when I walk in at night, I plug my phone into the charger and I sometimes don’t ever check it for the rest of the night.

Sometimes if I’m waiting for a phone call or there’s something going on, I’ll keep it by me. And when it’s near me, she’ll get a little bit annoyed I’m on it because you tend to pick it up during commercial breaks and stuff like that when you’re watching TV. But for the most part, we leave our phones kind of away from the rest of our house.

I remember being at church and there was a lady pastor who was talking about how every time she got in her car, she got on her phone and her kids thought that was normal. I remember her sermon using that as an example. And when we go to our friends’ houses, their phones are typically near them and our friends are always on them, right?

When it’s you, you don’t realize it’s rude, but when you’re trying to talk to someone and they’re on their phone, it’s distracting.

Q: If a genie promised you a championship in exchange for never being able to do your favorite hobby again, would you accept that offer?

A: I don’t really have a favorite hobby, so that wouldn’t be a very hard trade for me. There’s nothing I’m super passionate about anymore other than hanging out with my kids.

Q: What’s your preferred method of dealing with an angry driver after a race?

A: I typically don’t confront anybody immediately afterward, because I just assume people are like me in that if you give someone a few hours, maybe you let them go look at the replay and you hope they’re understanding and realize you didn’t do it on purpose. I guess it depends how guilty you are.

I’m really fortunate that I race everyone really clean. When I have gotten into people and text them or confront them afterwards, I’m typically very sincere. I’ve wrecked very few people on purpose, so I typically just go up and look them in the eye and say, “You know I didn’t mean to do this. I know you’re frustrated at the situation, but you have to understand it wasn’t on purpose.”

Do you think the way you’ve raced people over the years gives you the benefit of the doubt when stuff happens?

I hope so. Our sport has just changed so much. We’re at Bristol, and I look back to the Dale Earnhardt getting into Terry Labonte (incident) — we just don’t have that anymore, right? And we don’t have that because people retaliate immediately the following week. Everyone has learned that if it’s your day and you’re driving up through the field, people just race differently than what they did 15 years ago — for the better.

Q: Do you ever get mistaken for another driver or celebrity?

A: Yeah, kind of. You know, people always call me “Jeremy.” That seems to be popular. Even Robbie Reiser from Roush still calls me “Jeremy.” I’m positive he knows my real name; I don’t know if Jeremy just comes out easier or what.

They’re doing more work by calling you that because it adds an extra syllable.

Yeah, I know. And I just typically don’t respond. (Laughs)

Q: If you had a time machine and you could travel to any year and race, where would you go?

A: If I could go back to any year? (Thinks for a moment, then shakes his head.) Yeah, I’m good.

Q: Would you rather have the ability to fly or be invisible?

A: I think I’d rather be invisible. I think everyone would like to know what people really think about them, and it would be interesting to sit in a room and listen to people talk about you and see what their real feelings are.

That might be kind of tough if someone says something bad.

I don’t know. I feel like I try really hard to always do the right thing. So I guess you’d want to see if people really respect that.

Q: I’ve been asking each person to give me a question for the next interview. The last interview was with Jeb Burton, and he wanted to know: How many times have you peed in the race car? Because he says he never has.

A: More than not. You just kind of pick that battle, and you’re sweating so much anyway. Typically if I do use the restroom in the car, I always just pour a bottle of water on me. And you’re not going a whole lot if you have to use the bathroom during a race anyway.

Plus, if a man has ever tried to pee sitting down with his knees above his waist, it’s a lot harder than you think it is. But instead of being uncomfortable, I just do it.

Q: And do you have a question I can ask the next driver? It’s Carl Edwards.

A: Who is your favorite teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing and why?

Q: Finally, how did this interview go on a scale of 1-10?

A: If a 10 is being what I expected, then a 10. (Laughs)

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

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