JV, who had qualified in sixth place in his Bill Davis Racing Toyota, opted to give up his great grid slot to start the race at the back of the field as not only was it his debut but the Talladega Superspeedway is also one of the most dangerous and demanding stock-car tracks.

"We decided to do it Sunday morning," he told the Associated Press. "It was the logical thing to do. Our car was set up for qualifying and we didn't know how it was going to handle. Starting from the front or the back doesn't really change anything.

"I had more to learn from the back, anyway. Also, it was to show respect to all the guys fighting for the Chase. I was thankful for them allowing me to race here, which is really special to me. It was just a way of saying thank you."

However, it wasn't an easy race for Jacques who bounced off a wall at one point, lost third gear, and eventually brought his car home in 21st place.

"Early in the race was tough for some reason," he said. "I was really tight. I almost ran into a couple of people on the inside line because of that. I didn't want that to happen, so I moved up to the high line. That's why I got into the wall.

"On one of the big wrecks, I slammed on the brakes and went down to the apron, but got sandwiched between a couple of cars. I lost the shifter ball and the radio plug came loose, and I lost third gear on the last restart. So we had a lot of things going on. But it was a great day to learn and I'm quite happy with the result."

He added: "The goal was to stay out of trouble and not make enemies so next time I come back everything will be a little bit easier. We accomplished that."

His drive also earned him praise from reigning series Champion, Jimmie Johson. "I saw him a little bit and he was just doing fine," Johnson said. "He got through the race and I'm sure gained some respect from the other guys and trust. I'm sure he'll say that was a good day."

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