Spencer

Las Vegas is a great place to visit and race. We came out a day early and visited some of the casinos with some of the crew members. We had a great time. The casinos didn’t get me this time. My pockets a little bit thicker this week than when I tested out here.

My favorite casino game is craps. The key to playing craps is patience. I think it’s smart to know when to bet. There’s a lot of dumb bets you can make. You can bet on five or six numbers, but I think that’s a mistake. I think you need to believe in one or two numbers. I don’t have favorite numbers, it’s just a gut feeling when I’m at the table.

If a player rolls a nine, I’ll bet the five and the six or the four and the five. Just watching the dice. You never know what’s coming out. I bet the pass line and two numbers and if they hit, they hit. I’m not a professional by any means, but I’ve gotten them and they’ve gotten me -- and that’s gambling.

We qualified really well in both the Busch and Winston Cup cars. Saturday we didn’t run well with the Busch car, but I changed my luck in the Winston Cup race.

The Target Dodge was really good during the race, but the track really got tight for us. We could never get the balance back after that first run. The guys did good today in the pits. The motor was great and the car was prepared great. Getting a top-10 in the third race with a new team -- that ain’t too bad.

It was a hell of a race there at the end with the new tires. Leading the race felt good, but after 50 laps or so I felt the track getting slicker and the rubber getting on it. I knew my car was starting to slip. I knew the shocks my teammate Sterling Marlin had on versus ours were better, and that’s what we need to do as a race team.

We’re building a good relationship between the Target team and the Coors Light team. We’re starting out with a clean book, and we’re running a lot of Sterling’s stuff, and that’s why we ran so good Sunday.

I knew Sterling had the car to beat after the race went on. His Coors Light Dodge had good balance and a lot of grip, and it stayed with him all day. That’s what you need. When the balance goes away, you usually have a little something wrong with the front shocks or the rear shocks. I’m just glad Sterling won that thing.

Jimmy Spencer is the driver of the No. 41 Target Dodge Intrepid R/T. He will be providing a regular diary to ESPN.com throughout the Winston Cup season.