McMurry looks to take career to next level

Up until now, Matt McMurry's career achievements have been preceded by, "youngest ..."

As in, youngest driver to graduate from the Bob Bondurant School of Performance Driving at age 12. Youngest driver to participate and finish the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which he did at age 16 years, 202 days in 2014. Youngest driver to race a Prototype in the Rolex 24 at age 17 for Michael Shank Racing in 2015.

Now, the Phoenix native is ready to shed the "youngest" label and let his racing accomplishments stand on their own.

"In years past, it was more like drinking from a firehose," McMurry said. "Getting the age records required it. I'm 19 now, I've raced and tested all sorts of cars, on tracks all over, and now I feel like my eyes and mind are able to be down the road."

McMurry will be driving one of the top contenders in the GTD class in the Rolex 24. He shares the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R with Patrick Lindsey and Jorg Bergmeister.

Landing the Park Place ride for the Tequila Patron Endurance Cup races on the IMSA WeatherTech Championship took plenty of preparation. Last year, he ran in LMP2 for Algarve Pro Racing in the Asian Le Mans Series; Prototype Challenge for BAR1 Motorsports; and GTD for Park Place Motorsports, building both his experience and résumé.

"It's all about setting myself up to be in the right place at the right time, so that I can capitalize on opportunities when they arise," McMurry said. "There's a lot that goes into the right place at the right time.

"Part of it is impressing people on the track and showing that I'm as quick as anyone in any car. For the last year I've had one foot in GT and one in prototypes because I wanted to be ready for opportunities in both platforms. Qualifying on the front row at Petit Le Mans in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, being as fast or faster than veteran pros in LMPC last season, running quick times in the Ligier JS P2 for Algarve ... these are examples of what I can do and what I aim to do every time in the car."

Regardless of the type of car, McMurry takes the same hard-charging attitude.

"Every lap in practice or the race is qualifying, as far as I'm concerned and unless told otherwise on the radio," he said. "Another ingredient is wins and podiums, and a personal goal this year is to throw down some "Did you see that?" highlight reel moments ... stuff that makes team managers emphatically think things like: wow, that was quite good, did you see that, we need that in our car!

"The other part of it is getting to know more and more people. This never stops and I've had the good fortune of meeting a ton of people already, since I've been in the sports car paddock in the U.S., Europe and Asia since I was 16 years old three years ago. This year I plan to spend part of every weekend meeting people I don't know yet, as well as saying hello to all my friends. I've learned how much of a role relationships play in how opportunities arise.

"Long story short, I want to show that I'm quick, strategic, connected and can help teams succeed."