Jamie McMurray Diary: Rough time at Loudon

Well, New Hampshire was definitely not kind to the Havoline team. We struggled in the early part of the race, then got track position and led for a few laps and were running fourth when a part broke on the right front and the car spun around as I headed backwards into the retaining wall between turns one and two.

	Jamie McMurray is looking forward to getting Loudon out of his mind. Credit: Autostock

It was a pretty hard hit, but not near as bad as the hit I had earlier in the year at Las Vegas. It probably looked worse on T.V. than it actually was. Don't get me wrong, it was a hard hit and we definitely destroyed a racecar, but it could have been a lot worse. My lower back was a little sore afterwards, but I'm fine and ready to race at Pocono this weekend.

We struggled with the Havoline Dodge throughout the weekend at Loudon, but got track position halfway through the race and I think we could have gotten a top-10 finish, but all you can do is put it behind you and get ready for the next race.

It also wasn't a good race on Saturday in Loudon for the Yellow Dodge. Once again we had a strong car and were running in the top five went the engine let go with a few laps left.

All in all, New Hampshire is a weekend that I soon want to forget.

It's been a pretty slow week this week as we get ready for Pocono. We're taking a car that we tested with last week at Indy and it was really good. Sterling Marlin ran really good last time at Pocono, so we're going to put his setup on our car and go out and run laps during practice. I feel like I learned some things last time at Pocono that should make us better this time around.

I'm looking for good things this weekend with the Havoline Dodge at Pocono.

Now, on to some questions.

Do you always want to drive in NASCAR?

--Alycia Smith, Burlington, Ontario, Canada

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Alycia, yeah, NASCAR Winston Cup racing is where I've always wanted to be. I'm living my dream and can't imagine doing anything else. I've never had any interest in running open-wheel cars or any other type of car. I hope I get to live my dream for a long time.

What is the status of the FX Reality Show?

--Holly Harrington, Stewartsville, N.J.

Holly, from what I'm hearing (and I only know very little), it looks the FX Reality Show may not get off the ground until early next year to run in conjunction with FOX's coverage of NASCAR racing. But stay tuned, because I've learned that things can change quick in television.

Do you enjoy the devotion that some of your fans give you?

--Tenleigh Hallier, Asheville, N.C.

You know, I think I have some of the best fans out there. There's a group of my fans called 'The Blue Crew' that post messages on my website and always have encouraging words to say. I do read the message board from time-to-time and I always get a kick out of what is posted on there. The support from the fans means a lot to me, because without their support, I wouldn't be able to do what I love to do ? race.

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

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