McMurray To Run Special Paint Scheme To Support Joplin

McMurray's special paint scheme

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Jamie McMurray will be running a special paint scheme in Sunday's Coca Cola 600 in support of his hometown of Joplin, Missouri, which suffered through a devastating tornado on May 22.

McMurray, who grew up in Joplin, will be driving his usual no.1 Chevrolet Impala with Convoy of Hope and "Joplin, MO" on the quarter-panels in place of his usual sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, who will also be helping McMurray in raising funds and donations to help support the victims of the tornado.

"Everyone that’s involved with our NASCAR program, whether its sponsors or team owners or crew guys all came to me before I could get to them asking for ways they could help," said McMurray. "So I thought that was really cool for our community to try and give back to them."

McMurray's childhood home was among those destroyed by the twister, however none of his family currently lives in Joplin, and he didn't personally know any of the victims.

"I had friends send me pictures of the neighborhood that I grew up in, and it’s gone," said McMurray. "I don’t have any family there anymore. I do have a lot of friends still there. Everyone that I know or at least friends talking to friends, I haven’t known anyone that’s lost their life. I have a lot of friends that have lost their homes."

McMurray plans to visit his old neighborhood on Thursday along with Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, bringing donated supplies and food from Convoys of Hope.

"I wanted to go there," said McMurray. "There’s something special about your hometown. It’s just hard to explain. I wanted to go there on my own and just see everything. I’ve been glued to the TV for the last six days just watching everything and trying to remember what things looked like before. So, I want to go there and see it for myself."
Pete McCole/AR1.com