James Murphy Racing (JMR) was launched in 2001 by Tom Murphy and James Murphy. The team, orginally called Murphy Racing, began construction of their first AMCA Nationals chassis during the summer of 2001/2002. The car was constructed from a Redline Racecars "U-Weld" kit and took approx. 6 months to complete. The car (numbered Q63) debuted at Rockhampton City Speedway on the 27th of April 2002. Due to budget constraints the car did not have the level of parts and equipment as some other cars, but the team used their two races in the 2001/2002 to sort the car and get valuable test laps under their belt.
The 2002/2003 season saw the car upgraded with new springs and shocks, as well as receive minor tuning to the motor. The team raced at 5 race meetings this season with James behind the wheel, finishing 12th in the QLD Country Cup with the team's first top 5 feature finish coming on the 5th of July 2003 at Mackay. The 2003/2004 season was set to be a big season for the team, with a brand new motor constructed by Evan Dunnett for the team. Evan, a former speedway racer, also assisted the team with car setup and other tuning for the entire season. This was James' most competitve season to date, with numerous top 3 race finishes including two 2nd places. The team finished the season 2nd overall for both the Rockhampton Track Championship and the North Queensland Championship.
The 2004/2005 season saw a shift in focus for the team. The team concentrated on travelling to more tracks this season to gain more experience at different tracks. The team updated the body of the team's 63 car to a "late model" style Ludlow designed body. The team suffered a few setbacks with major damage inflicted on the car, including the team's biggest crash at Toowoomba in April 2005. However, the team with James behind the wheel of the 63 car, brought home their first feature race win in January 2005 at the team's home track of Gladstone Speedway.
During the 2005 off season the team were forced to replace the front end of the 63 car due to the major damaged sustained at Toowoomba in the past season. The team also purchased a brand new Redline factory built series 4 chassis (later branded chassis #03) with the intention of replacing the team's first chassis for the new season. Bigger plans were afoot for the team however, with the intention of expanding the team to 2 cars for the new season. The team purchased a complete series 4 racecar from Dave Reuter (later branded chassis #02). This was a brand new car that had never raced and the team were excited about how this car was going to perform. The team debuted this car in December 2005 with Wade Taylor joining the team as their second driver. James continued to race in chassis #01 with the intention of changing over to the new car once it was sorted. The new car however suffered major engine failure on during its first race, with the team forced to use their standard spare engine in the car for the remainder of the season. Wade finished the season in this car, with James remaining in the 63 car due to his championship position. This was James' best peformance in the championship, clamining many podium finishes and another feature win came during January of 2006 to go onto claim the North QLD Championship win and place 3rd overall for the QLD points championship.
2006/2007 was a reduced season for the team, the #01 chassis had been retired and with Wade Taylor leaving the team at the end of the 2005/2006 season, James crossed over to the #02 chassis. James competed in 5 races for the season, racing under the 36 number. James raced at the QLD Title in Rockhampton in March 2007, qualifying for the A-Main for the first time in the team's history. James finished 12th in this race.
The team is currently preparing for the 2007/2008 season, with plans of finishing the team's #03 chassis and recruiting a second driver for the team.
