Team Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Car/Make No. 42/Dodge Sponsor Havoline Crew Chief Donnie Wingo
STATS	2003	CAREER
Rank	13	13*
Wins	0	1
Top 5	5	6
Top 10	13	15
DNFs	5	6
Top Finish	3	1
*Indicates best career points finish

2003 recap
The good: Not a bad rookie season for McMurray, especially considering that he finished 13th after a troublesome start in which he 25th 12 races into the year. McMurray and Co., coming off a high from 2002 in which he won one of the six races in which he competed while subbing for the injured Sterling Marlin, needed some time to adjust to the 42. The new team gelled right around the halfway mark and shot from 20th with 10 races to go to his finish of 13th.

The bad: Even though McMurray stumbled out of the gates, it's hard to necessarily call that bad. Perhaps we were spoiled by recent rookie classes that entered the Cup level and competed for victories and titles right away. Still, rookies need time to develop and it takes some teams longer than others to gel. But if there was a weakness in his year, it was minor miscommunication and lack of chemistry in the early part of the season.

Key stat: 95.6. That's the percent of laps run this season that McMurray completed.

2004 outlook
What needs to be done: The team needs to pick up where it left off, clicking on all cylinders and taking the calculated risks that won them nine top 10s in the final 16 races.

Guarantee: McMurray will get emotional during a post-race interview at least once or thrice this year.

Prediction: If the 42 can operate at the level it was late last year, they'll be contending for a top 10 points finish -- maybe even a title.

Did you know: McMurray races remote control cars -- not just for fun, but also to improve his hand-eye coordination to help him on the racetrack.

Your take
Will McMurray get out of the gates quicker in his sophomore campaign? Can he get into the new 10-race Championship Chase? Share your thoughts on McMurray's prospects for 2004.