Small-town boy hits the big city

Awards week a whirlwind of new and fun experiences

Well, I made it through my first trip to New York City. I must say I was a little overwhelmed by the whole experience. New York City is a little too big for this boy from Joplin, Mo. Don't get me wrong, I had a good time, but I was ready to get back home when it was over. It was a cool sight to see all the snow that fell while we were up there.

My week leading up to attending the NASCAR Winston Cup Awards Banquet was quite busy. On that Tuesday, I was invited to attend a ceremony at the White House with President Bush where the top ten in points along with the Rookie of the Year were recognized. That was a neat experience, and I managed to take a napkin with The White House seal on it as a memento.

We flew up to New York City on Wednesday, and I spent Thursday making the media rounds. I appeared on the ESPN2 show Cold Pizza and got to hang out with music star Leann Rimes. Man, can she sing! From there I signed autographs with Matt Kenseth at the NBC Studios, and then we attended the annual NASCAR press conference and got a sneak peek at the new NASCAR IMAX movie that will hit theaters next March. All in all, Thursday was a jam-packed day.

We attended a breakfast on Friday morning, and then we had rehearsals for the awards ceremony. That was my first time using a teleprompter and it made for a very fun rehearsal. After a few rewrites and edits of the speech, I was ready for the big night.

The Rookie of the Year presentation happened pretty early in the evening. I know there's been a lot written and said about my acceptance speech, so here's my take on the moment. Before I was introduced, a video was played highlighting the best moments for the Havoline team during the 2003 season. It kind of hit me all at once and I was overwhelmed by the whole experience, so I knew when it was time for me to speak, it was going to be hard for me to hold back tears.

I was doing pretty good until I got the part where I thanked my girlfriend, Cielo. As I began to thank her, I fought to hold back the tears. But I tried to make some one-liner jokes to lighten up the moment, and feel like I wound up pulling it off. It was just a cool moment and I felt very honored to be there. It's just another part of my dream that became reality.

This is my last journal for the readers of SI.com and I hope you've enjoyed the weekly column in 2003. Hopefully I've been able to provide some insight into more of the personal side of a driver's life. I want to thank everyone for their support during 2003 and I'm looking forward to a very successful 2004 season with the No. 42 Texaco/Havoline race team.

Enjoy the Holiday Season!

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