Jamie McMurray Diary: No fun at The Glen

I wish I had an exciting report for you from our trip to Watkins Glen, but if you watched the race, you already know that we struggled with the Havoline Dodge last weekend and finished 22nd in the race.

From the time we unloaded at Watkins Glen, we fought the handling on the car. We couldn't get the nose of the Havoline Dodge to plant to the track, and fought a pushing condition throughout the weekend.

	Credit: Autostock

During the race, I just tried to keep all four tires on the track and away from the "kitty litter." We actually lucked out and gained several positions in the closing laps as some guys in front of us had problems. All in all, not a great weekend for the Havoline team, but we've already put it behind us and are gearing up for this weekend.

I'm really looking forward to getting back to Michigan. We're taking the same car we ran third with at Indy. We finished 14th at Michigan back in June with a car that had been our best performing car, and now with our new car that we ran at Indy, I'm looking for good things this weekend in Michigan.

Everyone on this team is excited about going to Michigan and we really feel like this will be another opportunity for us to show the strength of our Havoline Dodge, and hopefully we can get it into Victory Lane.

As for the days leading up to Michigan this week, they've been somewhat busy. I had some media interviews to do on Monday, and then we taped a piece for Totally NASCAR at an Xpress Lube on Tuesday (I won't reveal anymore right now) that should air in the next few weeks.

After the taping, I drove down to Spartanburg, S.C. to visit my Busch team's race shop to get fitted for my seat in the Yellow Dodge that I'll be running this weekend in the Busch race at Michigan. After that, I headed out to the house that I'm renovating.

Now, to some questions...

How do you feel about Bristol and going back under the lights?

--Nick DeNunzio, Conneaut, Ohio

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Nick, that's a good question. I love racing at Bristol, especially at night under the lights. There's so much excitement around that race, and it's a race that always seems to have some great last lap finishes and usually a little 'heated arguments' between drivers and teams when it's over. I remember the first time I race there. It was amazing how quick we turn laps around that place. It's truly an awesome experience to race at Bristol.

This time at Bristol is going to be cool too because we've got two special announcements that we're making, so stayed turned to hear more about them.

How does it feel to be leading a race with only 20 laps to go (like you did at Indy a few weeks back)?

--Kevin Peterson, Las Vegas, Nev.

Kevin, I can't even begin to tell you all the thoughts that were going through my head at Indy when we were leading with a handful of laps left. It was hard to stayed focus, but as a driver, that has to be your main goal. If you loose any ounce of that concentration, it'll cost you on the racetrack.

Are you really starting to buckle down in the second half of the season since the points are getting tight with you and Greg Biffle?

--Tiffany Fulk, Heyworth, Ill.

Tiffany, I feel like we've always been focused on our performances throughout the season. We've had some weekends and Greg has too. In the end, our goal is to stay focused on what our team is doing and try to run consistent each week, and if you do that, I think the points will take care of themselves. Now that doesn't mean I'm not paying closer attention to the rookie points these days (smile).

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

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