to 7th. McMurray looked to grab a top 10 at New Hampshire until he lost a cylinder in his engine and finished 26th. As a result, he dropped to 9th in the standings. Over the next few races he didn't pick up many points due to a 40th at Watkins Glen. At Bristol, he rallied back for an 11th, which kept him in 10th place in the driver standings. He went on to make the Chase for the first time in his career, seeded 12th in the standings. At Chicagoland, McMurray started 13th and finished 16th. At New Hampshire, he started 23rd and finished 14th. Heading into Dover, he started 11th due to rain washing out qualifying. He was 11th in the points, just two points above the cut line for who would be eliminated from the Chase going into the Contender Round, and one point above Dale Earnhardt Jr., who marked the cutoff line. During the race, McMurray would be locked in a constant battle with Earnhardt for control of the final transfer spot. Ultimately, Earnhardt finished third and McMurray finished fourth, which tied them in points, which was broken in favor of Earnhardt, which cut McMurray from the Chase. On September 19, 2015, McMurray joined NASCAR on NBC for the Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland as a guest analyst. At Martinsville, McMurray looked to be set to finish 1 lap down in 24th place. However, after a caution with less than 50 laps to go, caused by Matt Kenseth intentionally wrecking Joey Logano, McMurray got back on the lead lap and after a pit stop, had the fastest car in the field. McMurray, with the fastest car, charged through the field after a restart, to finish second behind Jeff Gordon. McMurray started out the 2016 season with a 17th place at Daytona. During the next 3 races he finished 16th, 16th, and 21st, before getting his first top ten - a tenth at Fontana. McMurray would spin at Martinsville, and finish outside the top 20. After finishing inside the top 20 over the next 3 races, McMurray would be involved in the big one at Talladega. However, he would rally back for a fourth place, his first top five, and second top ten of the year. The next two weeks were rough for McMurray, as at Kansas, he was penalized by NASCAR and forced to repair damage from