Team & Driver Features
Interview With Chris McMurry
By Interview: Ken May
Feb 24, 2006, 22:19

From the grid iron days as a wide receiver at Northern Arizona to the Board Rooms of Corporate America, Chris McMurry has been an example of hard work and success time and time again. Entering his 6th season in the American Le Mans Series, success continues to build for Chris and the 2006 season looks as promising as ever. After the recent successful test session preparing for the upcoming Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, I was able to catch up with Chris to ask a few questions....No doubt, Chris is eager to get the season underway and with a "new" car, don't be surprised to see him regularly on the podium throughout 2006...Ken May


KM: Chris...2006 brings a lot of new and exciting challenges for you, but before we chat about this season, lets rewind and talk about 2005. Lots of peaks and a few valleys for you as a driver and your team...

CM: Peaks and valleys is a great description. The Sebring win was a great way to start off the season, and was a moment I'll never forget. The other wins, Lime Rock and Road America, were nice, too. But Sebring was well deserved. We ran hard and clean for 12 hours, and that's what it is about.

The other peak was driving the Courage C65. It was a very predictable and reliable car, and the AER provided silky smooth power. All in all, a true pleasure to drive. The C65, in true modern racer style, invited me to go faster, since it worked better at higher speeds. This was a new sensation to me, as the other cars I've driven, the Pilbeam MP84/91 and a Star Mazda, were just the opposite: the faster you went the wilder it got.

On the valley side, we gave away the championship and many victories. I don't want to get into the reasons for some of it, but those close to the goings-on understand we should have walked away with the top prize. That's not to take anything away from Clint Field; he had a breakout season, and really made no mistakes all year. Had both Miracle and Intersport run every lap of every race, Intersport would have prevailed; the Lola was a generation newer than the Courage and it showed. But since the Lola had its share of new-car challenges, the door was left wide open for us.

KM: As you mentioned, the Miracle Motorsports Courage of 2005 was a wonderful piece of machinery, and most of us will never be able to experience anything close to being behind the wheel of the rocket..can you elaborate more on the C65?

CM: The biggest difference was that the faster you went in the Pilbeam, and less so in the Star Mazda, the more you felt your life was in jeopardy. The Courage, on the other hand, wanted more and made you more comfortable the faster you went. I'll never forget this realization during the winter test at Sebring. I'd go through turn one a little faster each lap, and say to myself, "Huh, it feels better the faster you go. Cool!"

I did find the Courage more challenging than the other cars in terms of finding set up changes that would solve handling issues. The other cars were much more sensitive to change, and literally any characteristic could be dialed in or out. With the Courage, however, we made big changes and small changes, and other than too little wing impacting oversteer, the handling never did change much. In fact, we fought significant understeer all season, and we got devoured in slow and medium speed turns. I think tires were a factor, and it showed most at Laguna where BK's Courage, which was notably under-powered, was turning comparable lap times because they were clearly getting through the many medium and slow speed corners better.


KM: 2005 continued your partnership with your good friend Jeff Bucknum and jumping now to 2006, sees that partnership ending....feelings on that?

CM: Oh, I wouldn't say it's ending. Jeff and I are best of friends, our families hang out together, we own some real estate together, and we're constantly in contact discussing the long-term future. I'd say there is a 100% chance you will see us drive together again at some point in the future. And, don't be surprised if our kids do as well; we've talked about starting a karting team that stars the next generation of Bucknum's and McMurry's. In fact, just this afternoon my eight-year-old son Matt bested his fastest lap time at a local circuit, and Jeff's six-year-old son Spencer is following in daddy's fast footsteps, too.

That said, I'm very happy to be reunited with my good friend Bryan Willman for 2006, and new friend Michael Lewis who I am totally impressed with. Bryan and I partnered with Jeff from Petit Le Mans 2001 through the 2004 season, and we each helped each other get into sports car racing. Michael is a great guy who is passionate, committed, follows through, and is about as well-balanced as they come ... and he's damn fast too. I'm pretty sure fans will see the best that Michael and I have to offer this season, as something of a pleasant rivalry has started to see who's fastest on a given day.

KM: 2005 saw the Miracle Motorsports team go to LeMans...and there is no secret your team this year will have an operating budget a little lower than Miracles....any hope you would accept an invitation to Le Mans?

CM: I don't think I would agree with the assumption. In fact, I'd say the domestic budgets for the two teams are comparable (i.e., if you take the amount of money Miracle invested in doing the 24 Hours of Le Mans out of the equation). If our test in California is any indication of how the season will go, Autocon will put a solid product on the track each race. We're not doing this program on a shoestring, because that is a recipe for disappointment. As for Le Mans, Autocon has no plans to attend, although I have made a number of calls to teams, in the event an opportunity arises. I did the 24 Hour in 2003, thoroughly enjoyed it, and want to do it again.

KM: The livery of the ex-Dyson car is striking....how did it come about?

CM: My day job is as CEO of McMurry (www.mcmurry.com), the largest marketing communications firm in Arizona. Our business is full of creatives, and I've learned that if you want a creative person's best work, you should give them a little direction, and a lot of freedom, and that's the approach we took in working with ESBG Design (www.esbgdesign.com). The little direction included: a) be sure to use blue and gray/white, since the team trailer was already dolled up in those colors, and b) try designing the graphics so that the vinyl falls onto somewhat natural flat spots on the car (so that the vinyl application wouldn't require the assistance of a cosmetic surgeon).

Bryan and Michael weighed in with their opinions as the designs were presented, and like every other topic our Autocon driver trio has had to discuss, we reached consensus remarkably easily. There's incredibly chemistry in the group. Our driver uniforms from Stand 21 will carry a similar look. Being a marketing guy, I always like the teams to look good. It's good for the sport, the series and it's good for the team, too.

KM: Don't get me wrong, love the color and design Chris, but ever think of doing the "Buy A Square" theme like in 2004?

CM: Didn't think about it this year, because our funding dynamics were different versus prior years. When we did the squares program, we were really in need of sponsorship, and really in need of getting some doors opened. We sold the squares for $5,000 each, sold a bunch of them, had a great time with the sponsors (both during the season and at our incredible year-end sponsors bash in Las Vegas), and that resulted in establishing relationships that exist today and whom will make contributions to our 2006 program: Rockford Fosgate, JeanRichard, AECOM and so on. There could be a time for the squares in the future, who knows. The idea was borrowed from Jan Lammers, and it is a very smart approach since selling million dollar sponsorships is extremely difficult.

KM: The sponsorship necessary is all set for 2006? If there were interested parties that wanted to have some real estate on the LOLA, still room?

CM: Being a business person, I'd say there's always room for more. Can one ever have enough business? Our Sebring sponsor will be announced any day now (it's a done deal, just awaiting release to press), and our team site (www.autoconmotorsports.com) will be up shortly, and it will present our 2006 sponsors. We are fully funded for the season, but you can see from the most highly-funded teams what extra monies can do for performance.


KM: A lot of fans wonder how driver deals are made .. how did Mike Lewis and Chris McMurry hook up?

CM: In dark alleys. On napkins. At least that's how this one happened. I met Michael Lewis for the first time at the last race (Laguna) last season. I figured if Bryan liked Mike, then there was a good chance I would as well. Our short conversation literally went like this:

Mike: "You wanna drive with us next year?"
Chris: "What car will you be using?"
Mike: "We're thinking of getting a newer (but not new) Riley & Scott."
Chris: "Hmm. I'd be interested if you bought a Dyson Lola."
Mike: "That's not a bad idea."

Rocket science, isn't it!? I'm not kidding, that's how it went down. Total of about 30 minutes. Willman stuck his head into the conversation, we grabbed a list of '06 ALMS races, picked the ones we were each interested in, shook hands, and that was that. A few weeks later the team had a Lola.

KM: Testing a few weeks ago went very very well....has to give you an optimistic view for Sebring....still, Sebring and her bumps, can only be found at Sebring....what are the plans (goals?) for you come March 18th?

CM: We're under no illusion that we'll have the pace of the Audis or the Dysons. But, our car, as can be seen from the test, is pretty well sorted out, and we're hoping that our reasoned pace will make the Lola a happy, willing partner for 12 hours. As Bryan noted during the test, if ever there was a time for a small privateer team to win Sebring, this year might be it, since the heavily-funded teams are all bringing new equipment to the show.

At Sebring and throughout the season, I think there will be a nose-to-tail race within the P1 race that fans will enjoy watching, and that's Autocon versus Highcroft. The two teams will be collaborating a bit, but on the track it'll be "all's fair in love and war." I know we're looking forward to that, and I suspect Duncan is as well. I'm pretty sure fans will see these two teams on the podium with some frequency during the year.

KM: Are there 'gentlemen agreements' in place between Duncan and your team to share data?

CM: Seems we should be betting the keys to our respective cities each race. Maybe Michael Lewis will wager his vintage Indy car or Trans Am Jaguar for something in Duncan's garage! Seriously, I'm sure there will be great collegiality between the teams, cooperation and assistance as needed. But, let's not forget we are competing against one another, so there's probably a line that won't be crossed, so to speak. Hard to say where the line is. We'll probably find out once we go live. So far, there has been cooperation. Technically we bought the car from Highcroft. And we're both running Dunlops. So there is some background and there has been common ground from the outset.

KM: The one thing that is predictable about Sebring is that nothing is predictable, you standing on the podium is not a long shot....how about on the top step? If you are on the top step, how long until your flight arrangements are confirmed to Paris?

CM: Okay that's a zinger of a question. I think about Sebring (and LeMans) differently than any other race. Most races you go into them thinking, "Okay, we should win this one," or some sort of clear outlook. Sebring, you just show up and go, and let the chips fall where the may. You just never know about this one, and if we pulled it off, it would be incredibly special for us, and for anyone who pulls for the privateers. I don't want to think about it too much, because that's never a good omen.

KM: Ok, 2006 is the ALMS with Mike and Bryan "Shrek" Willman, any other racing plans for you?

CM: Michael is scheduled for 9 races, 8 for me, and 6 for the Willmanator. Michael and I are talking about adding races to my schedule. We'll see what develops there. I'm pretty sure he'll do some racing in his Trans-Am Jaguar, and I'm making an effort to be at Le Mans. That's probably about it though.

KM: One last question, at the end of this season, when you look back....what do you want to see?

CM: I think our season would be very successful, from an on-track standpoint, if we managed to win once, and found ourselves on the podium 3-4 times. We need to be smart and reliable, and be there at the finish. I'm very much looking forward to driving the Lola, and taking my driving to the next level. Every year in the ALMS has been an evolution for me. Other than that, I'm looking forward to building my friendships with Michael, Bryan and the team, and meeting more people in the ALMS paddock. At the close of this season, I believe I will have something like 35-40 ALMS races under my belt, and although I'm not a big limelight guy, I do take pride in being a consistence presence on the scene and positive contributor in the paddock.

KM: Thanks for spending time with me and here is wishing the team has to make plans for being at Le Mans after your automatic bid with an overall victory in a few weeks!

CM: Fingers crossed. Cheers to you Ken, and all of your readers. See you all in a few weeks. Be sure to stop by Autocon for our new team calendar!

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