Jamie McMurray’s post-Nascar racing life is quite busy. The Nascar on Fox analyst is not only busy with his day job, but he’s also coaching his 13-year-old son Carter, who’s racing karts.
To settle in the broadcast role since he hung up his helmet as a full-time Cup Series competitor has been a rewarding challenge.
“For me, working as a driver with a team, I spent 20 years working with teams and I was scared of missing that team aspect,” McMurray said. “With TV, I learned immediately it’s a huge team effort, as well. It’s been a smooth, fun, enjoyable transition.”
McMurray’s Nascar on Fox duties include analyzing races on “Nascar Race Hub” and on the main pre-race show, “Nascar Raceday.” It’s a fun job, but he has large goals for his second career.
“I would love to do the booth,” McMurray said. “I’ve had the opportunity to do four to five Cup races, a handful of Xfinity and Trucks. I enjoy that. Learning TV in a quick time, the studio is the best place because it’s a more controlled environment. You can have more discussions with producers and directors. I’ve tried to learn all of the different roles so you can understand and do your job better. But I’d really like to do the TV booth at some point.”
McMurray, a seven-time Cup Series winner, ran his last Nascar race during the 2021 Daytona 500. He feels comfortable with his decision to step away from the driver’s seat and has no plans to return to the Cup Series.
“I’ve had a few calls over the years with people who have wanted me to come back, and it’s easy to get excited about that,” he said. “But I really enjoy doing TV and getting to talk about it. I also enjoy not having the stress of being a driver. That’s a whole different level of things to worry about. A lot of times, if I find myself thinking about going to run a race, I just remember all of those moments and I don’t know if I ever want to be exposed to that again.”
Over the years, he’s maintained relationships with his former Cup Series peers and up-and-coming racers thanks to Carter’s budding career. Carter competes at the Trackhouse Motorplex, where his father often sees and chats with current Cup drivers. That, in and of itself, actually helps him as an analyst.
Carter’s focus is on the karting side, competing on road courses. This year, he’s begun to compete in legends cars and he’s set to run his first oval next weekend in Florence, S.C.
Jamie McMurray with his son Carter, who is racing karts throughout America.
“As a parent, the most frustrating and satisfying moment is sometimes within five minutes of each other,” McMurray said. “It’s a lot easier because he’s learned all of the basics and he’s been pretty successful. We started when he was 9 or 10, right before Covid.”
Eventually, Carter’s goal is to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a Nascar driver. Recently, a handful of sons of former Nascar drivers have risen to the Cup Series, including David Gilliland’s son Todd Gilliland, Joe Nemechek’s son John Hunter Nemechek and Jeff Burton’s son Harrison Burton.
Carter, he believes, has an advantage. Not only does McMurray have an established relationship with several teams for when his son is ready to compete at a higher level, but he has a coach who’s a Daytona 500 champion.
“When Carter and I watch a race on TV, I without thinking, will explain what I’m seeing and explain what that person should’ve done differently or what I would’ve done in that position,” McMurray said.
As McMurray focuses on the dual roles, he continues to pick the brain of play-by-play analyst Adam Alexander. He listens to Alexander’s advice and absorbs lessons from the way he provides insights for shows.
McMurray can be seen on “Nascar Race Hub” on FS1 at 6 p.m. ET each night.