Jamie McMurray Diary: Rockin' and rollin'

Rockingham was definitely a weekend of highs and lows. I was able to win my third straight Busch Series race at Rockingham as the No. 1 Dodge made it into Victory Lane on Saturday. That was an awesome feeling to win again at Rockingham, and to know I've won the last three Busch races there. We had a great car and I just really like that racetrack. I feel at home there.

	Jamie McMurray

We were looking really good in Sunday's Winston Cup race as the Havoline Dodge was running second, and I truly believe I had a shot to win the race.

We decided to pit around lap 105 during a string of cautions. That decision turned out to be costly for us as we restarted the race from the 24th position. On the restart, I tried to use patience to maneuver through the field and stay out of trouble.

Unfortunately, trouble found us a few laps later as Greg Biffle spun coming out of Turn 2. As everyone around him checked up, including myself, I got punted from behind by the 24 car and was sent spinning down the backstretch. While the Havoline Dodge did not make heavy impact with the wall, a hole was knocked in the radiator and we had to spend several laps behind the pit wall replacing it.

Once the repairs were made, we spent the rest of the race just riding around collecting points and positions as competitors fell out with problems. We wound up finishing 35th in the race. It was really frustrating because after the repairs were made, we still had one of the fastest cars out there.

But all you can do is put it behind you and get ready for the next race, and that's in Homestead, Fla. We get down there on Monday night and I'm on track all day Tuesday and Wednesday for Busch Series and Winston Cup practice. I'm running both races this weekend so I can get plenty of seat time on the newly configured track. The new design should allow for a better race.

I can't believe we've come to last race of the season. Time definitely flies by. Hopefully this time next week, I'll have the honor of being the 2003 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year.

Until next week, it's time to answer some questions.

Nice job on broadcasting the Busch race in Atlanta. If you had to choose between doing television and getting paid well or racing for nothing, which would you do?

--Christina Zitterich, Atlanta, Ga.

Christina, thanks for the compliment on my debut as a broadcaster. I had a lot of fun up in the TNT booth with Allen Bestwick and Benny Parsons. I definitely walked away from there having a whole new appreciation for the work that's involved in televising a race. As for choosing television over racing, I don't think that's even an option. I'd race for nothing just because it's what I love to do.

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Do you actually hear the command to "Start Your Engines" from the PA system at the track or do you get the signal from somewhere else?

--Lizzie, Madison, Wis.

It depends on the tracks. At some tracks you can hear the command to start engines, but not always. My spotter Lorin Ranier always comes on the radio and tells me when it's time to fire the engine. There's also a NASCAR official standing there that motions that it's time to start the engines.

I was wondering if sitting in the booth for Saturday's Busch race helped you out any for Sunday's race in Atlanta?

--Tony, Joplin, Mo.

I don't think it helped me out any, but it may have allowed me to see where everyone else runs on the racetrack at Atlanta. It just gave me a whole new perspective on how a race looks to everyone else who's watching it on television or in the stands.

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