Jamie McMurray Diary: Learning experience

I knew my first trip to Pocono was going to be a learning experience, but I had not planned on us having problems like we did. From the time we unloaded, we struggled with the Havoline Dodge.

	Jamie McMurray finished 32nd last weekend at Pocono. Credit: Autostock

I think a lot of it had to do with me still trying to figure out the best line to run around that place. It seems like we could get the car to work in one turn, and then it would be off in another turn. We ended up qualifying 28th, and with both of our practice sessions getting washed out by rain Saturday, I had a feeling Sunday's race would be interesting.

We struggled with the Havoline Dodge in the early and middle stages of the race, but by the time the race was reaching the end, we had finally found the right adjustments to make and the car was handling pretty good.

I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that I had no previous experience at the track and I wasn't sure what to tell crew chief Donnie Wingo to do to the car to make it better. In the end, we finished 32nd.

All in all, I think we learned a lot that we can bring back with us when we head back up there next month.

ALSO  •  SI.com archive

This week has been a busy one for me, but nothing that has to do with racing. My furniture arrived this week for the new house, and Cielo and I have spent most of our days, and even nights, working on different projects for the house.

I'm looking forward to going to Michigan this weekend. We're taking the same car that we ran at Fontana and almost won the race with. It's also the same car we ran at Rockingham, Texas and Dover earlier this year. It's my favorite car that we have, and since Michigan is a sister track to Fontana, I'm looking for us to have a strong run this weekend.

Do you like night or day races better?

-- Adrienne Woolsey, Highland, N.Y.

That's a tossup. It's always cool to race under the lights because it reminds me of the days racing Saturday night under the lights at the local short tracks around Joplin, Mo. The race weekend schedule is definitely shorter when we run Saturday night races, but I still like the day races, and then it's a good balance to have both.

Do you feel that the rookies in the Cup Series are getting as much attention in the press as they deserve?

-- Rob Harmon, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Well, I can only answer for myself, but I'd have to say that for me, I think the media has been very helpful to my career to this point. I've gotten to know several of them pretty well, especially the people at Fox, and I feel that they have always been fair in their coverage of me.

When you get a chance to go home and see your family, what do you do for fun?

-- Shannon Rainwater, Joplin, Mo.

When I do get to go home, which is not often, I usually just spend my free time with my family. I really don't do anything different than when I'm at home in North Carolina. Just relax and watch TV and movies and catch up on things that are happening in their lives.

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. Enter your question below, and Jamie will answer selected questions in future installments of his diary.