Jamie McMurray Diary: What might have been

Well, we managed to score another solid finish with the Havoline Dodge this past weekend in Phoenix. I'm still not overly thrilled with our 12th-place finish, but not completely disappointed either. We struggled with the car during the race, and at the end we were on much older tires than everyone else, so I was just trying to hold on and protect my position.

	Jamie McMurray is closing in on Rookie of the Year honors. Credit: Autostock

In hindsight, we probably should have pitted during one of the late race cautions and taken four tires, but that's the thing about racing. Sometimes gambles pay off, sometimes they don't.

All in all, it was a decent day for the Havoline team. We were the highest-finishing rookie and held our ground over Greg Biffle in the Raybestos rookie standings. I think it's going to be hard for Greg to catch us with only two races left, so that's a pretty cool feeling to think you could be Rookie of the Year.

We also moved up to 14th in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings and are not that far behind getting into the top 12, so all in all, Phoenix was a good day for the Havoline team.

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Before I got to Phoenix last week, I was in Los Angeles taping episodes of the game show Pyramid. I have to say that was probably the most fun I've had in a long time (outside of driving a racecar). I've watched the game show before, so I was familiar with how to play it.

I thought I did pretty well at it. I was paired up with a fan for two different episodes, and the clues I gave helped one fan win $25,000 and the other $10,000. Joining me on the set for the taping were fellow NASCAR drivers Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. It was a neat experience to be part of something like that. I can't wait to see how it comes across on television when the shows air the week of November 10.

I left Phoenix last night and flew to Las Vegas, where I'll spend most of the week. I have several appearances for Havoline in Las Vegas around the APEX trade show. I get back to Charlotte late Wednesday night, and then drive down to Rockingham on Thursday.

I'm really looking forward to Rockingham this weekend. I'm running the No. 1 Yellow Dodge this weekend at Rockingham in the Busch Series race, and it's the same car we dominated and won the race with at Rockingham back in February.

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We're also taking the same Havoline Dodge that we finished fifth in at Rockingham in February, so I'm really excited about our chances for both races this weekend. I don't know what it is about that track, but it's my favorite and I feel at home when I race there.

I'm sorry I'm not going to be able to answer any of your questions this week, but I've been gone from home since last Tuesday and haven't had a chance to read through them. I'll pick back up with them next week after Rockingham.

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