It was announced this morning that retired driver Jamie McMurray will return to the wheel of a NASCAR Cup Series race car after being away from the sport for 2 years. The Joplin Missouri native is a past champion of both Daytona's Rolex 24 hour endurance race as well as the Daytona 500. He also has past victories in the summer race at Daytona and victories at Talladega making him a favorite for the win every time he is on the high banks.
McMurray will be driving in the #77 Chevrolet Camaro and it will be sponsored by Advent Health. While on paper this is a Spire entry, it was reported by Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass that the ride will be prepared by Chip Ganassi Racing, the team McMurray raced for in the majority of his Cup Series Starts.
In a release, McMurray commented with the following. “It doesn’t get any better than the Daytona 500, and I am so excited to have the opportunity, thanks to AdventHealth, to run this race one more time. I have enjoyed my time out of the car as an analyst covering NASCAR, but nothing can replace the feeling of actually racing.”
McMurray has 7 career wins in 583 starts, most recently in 2013 at Talladega.
The 2021 Daytona airs on Fox on February 14th.