Jamie McMurray Diary: Lugnut cost team plenty

We had a great run this past weekend in Texas. The Havoline Dodge finished 10th in Sunday's race, and it looked like we would have a shot at a top-five finish before we had a lug nut problem during the last pit stop.

	Jamie McMurray

After qualifying 24th, I tried to be patient and use my head to stay out of trouble in the early laps of the race. We caught a caution flag during the middle stages of the race, and that saved us from going a lap down.

Our car was really good on the long runs, and as the laps clicked off, we had worked our way into the top 10. Several of the leaders had just pitted when the caution flag waved, and that caught a lot of guys one lap down. We got another lucky break since we had not pitted yet.

When the race restarted, we were sitting in second place. We were able to hold a position in the top five, but our last yellow-flag pit stop cost us dearly.

One of the lug nuts on the right-rear tire came off during the pit stop, and the crew had to stop and put in back on, which cost us a lot time on pit road. When the race went back green, we were sitting in 14th.

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But, you'll have that kind of stuff happen, and all you can do is put it out of your head and focus on getting back to the front. I was able to pass a few guys on the track and we finished 10th, which is a strong showing for the Havoline team. This is the same car we finished fifth with earlier this year at Rockingham, so it's definitely become my favorite car in our stable.

We finished 11th at Bristol and 10th at Texas, so we're starting to get back to running consistently, which is my main goal this season.

Now we head to Talladega this weekend, and anything can happen there. You hope you can avoid "The Big One" and bring the car home in one piece with a good finish.

Here's to a safe race this weekend at Talladega.

Now, on to some questions.

How much does your experience driving in the Busch series carry over into Winston Cup races?

-- Kevin Peterson, Las Vegas

Kevin, that's a good question. Yes, I think you can learn a lot by running in the Busch races on Saturday. I know already this season we have run a setup on my Busch car that worked really well, and we put it on my Cup car for Sunday's race and had good results also. Plus, the more seat and track time you get, the better you run because you're learning more about the track.

Jamie, I'm a big Sterling Marlin fan. Is he as much of a prankster as people say he is?

-- Richard Whittington, Forestville, Md.

Sterling is a blast to be around. He's always pulling practical jokes on us, and you just have a fun time when he's around. He always has a story to tell, too. The thing I like about Sterling the most is he's just himself. I feel like when he tells me something about a track or the car, he's being real and honest.

How easy or difficult has it been gaining acceptance by veteran drivers?

-- Andrew Garwood, Nevada, Mo.

I think with anything, you have to earn the respect of those who have been doing this for a long time. I feel like the veteran drivers have welcomed me, and I think getting to run the last six races last year in Sterling's car helped establish some trust in my driving abilities. But I'm sure I'll be reminded this weekend at Talladega that I'm still a rookie!

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.