Driver is hired for No. 1 car

Jamie McMurray has been hired to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

The hiring gives one of the last remaining open seats for 2010 to McMurray. It also reunites McMurray with car owner Chip Ganassi , who gave the driver his first Cup ride in 2002.

McMurray drove 114 races for Ganassi, but left after the 2005 season to join Roush Fenway Racing. He is losing that ride because Roush must drop one team to meet NASCAR's four-car limit that begins next season.

AGENT OF CHANGE: Although he's 29, Denny Hamlin knows he hasn't been around NASCAR long enough to have the kind of credibility to affect change. But that hasn't stopped him from trying to knock down barriers with NASCAR.

Hamlin wants to be a voice heard in the garage area. But is anyone willing to listen?

"I feel like they're just maybe a little bit more responsive to other guys," he said.

Few argued the influence Dale Earnhardt had with NASCAR. Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon now command the same kind of respect. When they talk, everyone, including NASCAR, listen. So how does a younger driver get anyone to consider his ideas?

"I don't know, be around longer I guess. I don't know. Win more races, championships, things like that," Hamlin said. "Ultimately, credibility goes along with on-track performance and respect of your competitors."

DRUG TESTING MARKS: The drug testing policy for NASCAR is the fifth-best in professional sports, according to a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal .

Of the 22 policies reviewed, NASCAR's policies earned a score of 90 of 100.

NASCAR ranked ahead of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and the PGA Tour.

The four sports ahead of NASCAR were: International Boxing Federation and U.S. Boxing Association; the International Olympic Committee; International Tennis Federation and the International Association of Athletics Federations for track and field.

NASCAR conducts random tests on drivers, crew and officials. A positive test for drugs leads to an automatic suspension.