Jamie McMurray Diary: Vegas unlucky for rookie

Well, Las Vegas will definitely be a race weekend that I won't soon forget. The weekend started slow as rain pushed practice and qualifying back on Friday. Qualifying was rained out for the Busch cars, so the field was set according to 2002 car owner points, which placed the No. 1 Yellow Dodge 24th on the grid.

	Jamie McMurray

My No. 42 Havoline Dodge was pretty quick during Winston Cup practice, and I thought we'd be pretty good in qualifying, too.

While I was on the track for Busch Happy Hour, Michael Waltrip got into the back of me, and we both hit the wall hard. My car burst into flames. I got out of the car pretty quickly, and both Michael and I escaped injury.

Other than having a sore neck, I was ready to jump in the Winston Cup car and qualify. Our car was pretty quick, and we wound up 12th on the qualifying sheet. I was pretty happy with the qualifying run.

In Saturday's Busch race, we had to start at the back of the field since the crash in practice forced us to use our backup car. The backup car was really good, and we worked our way into the top 10 by the middle of the race. Unfortunately, a dead battery ended our day early.

In Sunday's Winston Cup race, we were making gains and worked our way into the top 10. We really felt like we had the opportunity to score another top-10 finish. About halfway through the race, it felt like something broke in the rear end, and I spun the car coming off Turn 4. From that point on, we struggled with the handling of the car and never figured out what went wrong. We finished 32nd, but considering how the weekend went, I'm happy we were able to finish and get some more experience.

I got back from Las Vegas early Monday morning and have spent most of the week relaxing and getting ready for Atlanta this weekend. I have a few phone interviews to do Thursday, but other than that, I'm enjoying some down time.

We tested at Atlanta last week and feel pretty good about our chances of having a strong run this weekend.

Now, let's get to some of your questions.

Jamie, it seems as if you have been a "media darling" lately. How are you adjusting to being in the spotlight, and what do you do to prepare for interviews?

-- Jamie Maynard, Napa, Calif.

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I don't really look at myself as a "media darling," but it does seem that a lot of people have been interviewing me lately. I have to say that I really enjoy working with the media and doing all the interviews. It's fun if you make it fun, and there are some great people who work in the media. As far as preparing for interviews, I usually just answer honestly. If it's a big national media spot, I'll go over some talking points with my PR guy, and I'll have an idea ahead of time as to what type of questions will be asked. Hopefully, the interviews will keep coming.

What do you think about NASCAR's decision to realign the schedule in 2004? Are you a traditionalist, or would you like to see some of the older tracks replaced by larger facilities?

-- Linny, Springfield, Ga.

Of course, I'd love to see tracks like Rockingham and Darlington stay on the schedule. Especially Rockingham. But on the flip side, from a marketing standpoint, I understand NASCAR's need to continue to break into bigger markets for sponsors that spend a lot of money in the sport. I'm just glad I'm not the one who has to make the decision.

Jamie, this is the first time I have seen teammates compete for Rookie of the Year. What do you think it will be like going against teammate Casey Mears for those honors?

-- Jenni Haifley, Finksburg, Md.

To be honest with you, the rookie title is not my main focus for this year. Don't get me wrong, it would be nice to win Rookie of the Year, but my main goal is to run consistently each week -- not run well one week and then struggle the next. If we run consistently, the points and rookie standings will take care of themselves. Casey and I work really well together, and there's going to be races where Casey is going to have a better day than me. Our goal here at Chip Ganassi Racing is to work together to make sure all three teams are competitive each week.

Jamie McMurray drives the No. 42 Texaco Havoline Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. His diary will appear weekly on SI.com.

Jamie will devote a portion of his diary each week to answering questions from SI.com users.