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[/media-credit]Last season marked a memorable year for 2011 Barrie Speedway Pure Stock Champion Shawn Murray as he became the first driver from Canada to win the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Division III Championship.
“It was an unbelievable experience to be racing against people from all over North America and to finish first overall was one of my greatest accomplishments,” Murray says. “Probably my most memorable championship of all three.”
As a result, Murray got to go down to the NASCAR Hall of Fame last year and be honored as part of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Banquet. Murray says the experience was more than he ever thought it would be.
“The total atmosphere the excitement was overwhelming and something I will never forget,” he says. “They totally know how to make you feel like that you have really accomplished something in racing; also, making some friends down there that I will have the rest of my life.”
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[/media-credit]So when it came to the 2012 season and through a partnership, the decision was made to move up to the Wahta Springs Late Model division at Barrie Speedway.
“At the start of the season we were hoping to be able to compete for a top 5 spot at some point in the season and keep up with some of the top runners,” Murray says.
Mid-summer would be where Murray would hit his stride, scoring his first feature victory on July 28th. He followed that up with three more feature victories. In the end, Murray finished sixth in the track point standings, following four feature wins, 14 top fives and 28 top 10s in 34 feature starts. In the end Whelen Series standings, it places him as the highest finishing rookie of the year. Track standings have him finishing to Thayne Hallyburton, 22 points behind.
“All and all, our rookie year was more than we had ever hoped for,” he says.
In making the transition, Murray says it was tough learning how important communication with his crew chief is.
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[/media-credit]“I was lucky enough to get a great crew and very experienced crew chief (Ray McCaughey) who knew exactly what adjustments to make on the car to make it competitive,” he says.
For the success this season, there’s a lot of people that Murray says are on his list of people to thank.
“First I would like to thank all my crew guys and their family for allowing them to come every week – Guy, John, Drew, Chris and Griffin,” Murray says. “Also would like to thank Kyle from Baker Performance Parts for giving me the opportunity to race his late model this year. Dwayne Baker for all his advice and encouragement, and Sherry for all her support.
“Now to my crew chief Ray McCaughey, I can’t thank him enough for having faith, patience and encouragement and total dedication to me. His vast knowledge of how to make the car fast, all the success this year is because of him.
“Now onto the people that got me onto the track, Glenn from Lake Simcoe Heating and Air Conditioning, Tom from the Hitch House, Cheryl from Grantmyre Painting, Mr. Coates, and Jane from Financial Transitions, without great sponsors and people like this our season would never have happened.”
Murray got started in racing after a friend of his, Jim Anderson, called him on a Saturday morning and asked if Murray wanted to go to the races to watch Anderson’s friend Steve race a mini stock.
“After that night went back a couple more times with Jim and was hooked,” Murray says. “Bought a car near the end of the season and then started racing in the mini stock division. Always had an interest, as a little kid my dad would bring my brother and myself to Barrie Speedway to watch.”
Murray would win the Pure Stock Track Championship in 2006, before taking three years off to work on John Gaunt’s NASCAR Canadian Tire Series pit crew.
“I learned that attention to detail is huge on any race car, that taking notes, exact measurements is key to a fast competitive car,” Murray says of that experience. “I also learned that to be a successful driver in any series you need to have a dedicated team.”
Gaunt is one of the two drivers that Murray calls his racing hero due to Gaunt’s determination and the total determination of his team.
“Also a very patient driver,” he says. “I have learned a lot from him over the years and have some of the best memories racing with him and Kerry Micks, I really likes Kerry’s aggressive driving style – if he has a 10th place car he will get up on the wheel and drive it into 5th place, he is also not afraid to use the ‘chrome horn’.”
In his own experience of racing, Murray says his biggest lesson is patience and to take the advice of seasoned veterans.
Well for most drivers their memorable moments have come on track, Murray says that his most memorable moment in racing is meeting his future wife Sue at the track.
