Jamie McMurray Diary: Bristol was a challenge

Bristol was definitely an exciting weekend for everyone on this Havoline Dodge team. What started out as a pretty good day on Friday quickly turned bad as I spun the car in the turn and backed it into the wall in the closing laps of practice. I had been running in the top 10 on the speed charts and felt like we'd be in good shape for qualifying.

	Jamie McMurray

The damage was bad enough that we had to pull the backup car out, but the guys on the team never missed a beat. The backup was a brand new car that had only been tested once earlier this year at Rockingham. Its first two laps on the track were in qualifying, and we were able to place the Havoline Dodge 26th on the qualifying charts.

After qualifying, we had to change the engine, and per NASCAR's rule, we knew we'd start the race from the 43rd position on Sunday.

During the race I tried my best to avoid all the wrecks, and we had used pit strategy to work our way into the top 10 when I was collected in a wreck with Ward Burton and Robby Gordon. The car suffered some body damage, but we were able to make the repairs and only lost one lap.

I spent the rest of the race trying to get back up to the front and continue to miss all the wrecks. When the day was over, we finished 11th, and I'm very pleased with that effort. To look at where we started and to what we were able to accomplish during the race, that shows the strength of this team.

Now, I'm getting ready to head to Texas. I have a commercial shoot before heading to the airport. I'm running the Busch series race this weekend as well, so I get on the track Thursday.

I'm looking forward to racing at Texas. The fans are always so excited to have us there, and the track is very fast. My family is coming to the race, so it will be nice to catch up and spend time with one another.

Answers to Questions:

Jamie, who inspired you to get involved in racing?

-- Anastasia Waddell, Sanford, N.C.

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My dad has been the biggest influence in my racing career. He's been around racing since I was little, and he's the one who help get me started in the go-karts. Now he drives my motor coach. He's definitely been a big supporter in my career.

Has your No. 42 team built all new cars this year or do you race some of the cars passed down from the 40 or old 41 team?

-- Linda Howard, Springfield, Ga.

For the most part, we have all new cars for the Havoline team this year. All the bodies are new because of the rule change during the offseason. There might be some races where we'll run a car that the No. 40 and No. 41 teams ran last year, but the majority of our cars all are new.

Do you think NASCAR is doing all it possibly can to make this sport as safe as it can be?

-- Alicia Blosser, Wakarusa, Ind.

I definitely think NASCAR is constantly looking at ways to make the sport safer, and I applaud all the efforts they've made in the last two years. It's also up the driver and team to make sure all the safety measures are in place with the racecar. Here at Chip Ganassi Racing, we're always working on ways to make the cars safer.

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.