Michael Waltrip crossed the stripe backwards in the grass in the Hershey's Kissables 300, this afternoon's Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway. After spending 39 laps in the top 10, his #99 Aaron's Dream Machine became entangled in a last lap crash that relegated him to 15th.
Sunshine greeted the teams and fans who gathered at the Daytona track this afternoon. While fans may have welcomed the 79-degree weather, the warm temperatures proved to be a menace for drivers. The track was 111 degrees prior to the start. The heat made for a slick racing surface and tight hot rods.
Mikey gained admittance into today's race through 2005 owner's points. He rolled off the grid 42nd, and was marked last at the 1:30pm green flag. Pole-sitter JJ Yeley hopped in front of second-starter Aaron Fike to lead the first lap; Clint Bowyer took to pushing Yeley's #18.
After the first circuit, Mikey had reclaimed 42nd from Steve Grissom. Early on, he reported that his car was perfect - just slow. He maintained the position the next time around the track, when Ken Schrader lost a left rear tire in the middle of a turn. Despite a midpack collision with the wall and a flight down the track, the field avoided Schrader's #66 Duraflame Ford. Mikey drove all the way down the pavement to escape contact.
NASCAR drew the first caution for Schrader on lap 4. Mikey gained 41st with the #66's departure. Some drivers chose to pit under yellow, including Joe Nemechek with a loose brake line.
Yeley led the single-file restart on lap 7, with Mikey riding 36th. Reed Sorenson got around the Aaron's Dream Machine two laps into the run, and Todd Kluever and Mark McFarland followed suit the next time around the track. Mikey was 39th on lap 10.
At the front of the field, Clint Bowyer's #2 drove outside Yeley's #18 for the top spot. The pair ran side-by-side. Paul Menard pushed Yeley to a solid lead. With no help, Bowyer dropped.
Four laps into the run, the Aaron's Dodge grew stronger. Mikey got around Kluever, McFarland, and Ashton Lewis Jr for 36th on lap 11. He passed Steadman Marlin and Danny O'Quinn the next time around the track for 34th.
The outside line gained momentum, with Bowyer leading the charge. Elliott Sadler took Bowyer and Yeley three-wide for the top spot. Bowyer and Yeley made side-contact. Yeley backed off to avoid a wreck, enabling Bowyer to grab the lead going into lap 15. Jeff Burton's #21 immediately challenged Bowyer's #2. Mikey was marked 32nd on that lap, having passed Tracy Hines and AJ Foyt IV.
Burton took the lead the next time around the track, with help from Greg Biffle's #16. He maintained the top spot for three laps, before Kasey Kahne shot ahead of the #21, with help from Brian Vickers. Biffle jumped ahead of the pair and was marked as the leader on lap 20. Schrader returned to the track shortly thereafter, nineteen laps down.
Mikey passed Jason Keller for 31st on lap 24. Rounding Reagan Smith and Elliott Sadler, he gained 29th three laps later.
Sadler's #90 dropped through the ranks with a flat left rear tire, and headed for the pits. When he returned, his Ford began smoking again. Sadler was returning to pit road, and Mikey was up to 24th, when the yellow flag waved.
The second caution came on lap 30 for a three-car accident. Johnny Sauter blew his right front tire, shot up the track into Aaron Fike, and down the track into Reed Sorenson. Mikey narrowly avoided Sorenson's flying #41. NASCAR assessed a one-lap penalty to Joe Nemechek after Nemechek's #87 soared through the accident scene; Nemechek's brakes had failed, following his lap 4 difficulties. The leaders pit, and Jon Wood had to be pushed back into his stall. Kasey Kahne picked up the lead, with Mikey up to 16th.
Racing resumed on lap 35. With a push from Dale Earnhardt Jr's #8, Brian Vickers challenged Kahne for the top spot along the outside two laps into the run. Vickers was marked as the leader on the next circuit, but continued his side-by-side battle with Kahne. Kahne's #9 reclaimed the top spot on lap 39 - the same lap that Mikey lost two positions, falling to 18th.
The yellow flag waved for the third time on lap 40 for another multi-car accident. Paul Menard and Carl Edwards had been running side-by-side with a few feet between one another when Jason Leffler shoved his nose between the pair. Leffler hit Edwards' #60, and then Menard's #11. He turned the #11 into the #60, sending Edwards up the track and into the wall. Edwards shot down the enbankment, and ran nose-first into Anthony Foyt. Foyt became the next driver behind Fike to fall out of the race. Edwards completed 65 laps; Menard turned 78. Leffler went on to finish 6th.
Cars stopped off Turn 4, as NASCAR put the field under a red flag to clear the debris. NBC pit reporters spoke with Menard, who reported that Leffler had bump-drafted him down the backstretch. Mikey was marked 22nd under the red, with Kahne in the lead. When the field returned to yellow, Mikey was scored 18th. The top seventeen drivers chose to stay on the track; Mikey pitted.
Kahne led the lap 45 restart, with Mikey riding 23rd. Kahne and Sadler battled side-by-side over the top spot. Earnhardt Jr was all over Kahne's rear fender and pushed the #9 into a more solid lead. Meanwhile, Mikey lost a spot one lap into the run.
Lap 47 saw Earnhardt Jr jump ahead of Kahne. While Kahne's #9 was all over Earnhardt Jr's #8, he was unable to grab back the lead. Earnhardt Jr rode first on lap 48. Tony Stewart had passed Mikey, putting the #99 into 25th. Mikey took two positions the next time around the track.
The fourth caution came on lap 51. John Andretti's #10 made contact with the left rear corner of Paul Tracy's #34. Behind them, Joe Nemechek got into the back of Steadman Marlin, and David Green somehow sustained front end damage. Some leaders chose to pit.
Mikey was 13th on the lap 54 restart, with Earnhardt Jr in the lead. Kevin Harvick got around the Aaron's Dream Machine one lap into the run. Mikey lost more positions to Burney Lamar, Todd Kluever, Reed Sorenson, and JJ Yeley within the next two laps. He was now marked 19th. Stewart moved him one more spot back on lap 59. Lap 60 saw Mikey fall to 22nd.
At the front of the field, Biffle pushed Kahne ahead of Earnhardt Jr. When Kahne dropped down in front of Earnhardt Jr's #8, Biffle blew by him along the outside. Biffle's #16 led lap 64.
When Biffle took the lead, Mikey began making up ground. He was 21st on lap 64, 20th one lap later, and 17th the lap after that. He got around Leffler on lap 67 for the 16th position. Reutiman got around the #99 on the next lap, while Yeley slowed and smoked with a flat left front tire. Mikey picked up 15th with Yeley's dropped, then grabbed 14th by getting around Ashton Lewis Jr on lap 70.
Jamie McMurray jumped to the front on lap 71. The next time around the track, Mikey was 13th; he was 11th one lap later. The Aaron's Dream Machine broke into the top 10 for the first time on lap 74.
Dropping inside, Junior took the lead with a push from Biffle, going into lap 75. Mikey had picked up 9th when the yellow flag waved.
The fifth caution on lap 77 for debris; Andretti's #10 had lost a right front tire and snapped into the wall. The leaders pit. The #99 team put air into the right rear tire, and took out air in the left rear to loosen the hot rod. They also gave Mikey a track bar adjustment before returning him to the track.
Earnhardt Jr led the field to the lap 81 restart. Mikey was 7th, and picked up 6th one lap into the run. He went side-by-side with Burton's #21 on lap 83, pushing Tony Stewart's #33. Burton jumped in front of Mikey, then dumped out of line. Mikey was marked 7th on lap 84, but lost a number of spots as Burton's #21 slowed dramatically. As the #21 pitted, Mikey fell to 11th by lap 85.
Passing David Reutimann's #12 put Mikey back in the top 10 on lap 86. The pair fought over the 10th spot for the next few laps, up to the next caution.
The yellow flag waved for the sixth time on lap 90 for debris in Turn 3. Earnhardt Jr was still in the lead, with Mikey in 10th. Everyone but Earnhardt Jr's #8 pit. Mikey rationalised his stop by saying that, if everyone else was getting four tires, he "needs new shoes too".
The #8 led the lap 94 restart with Mikey in 15th. The field went a few seconds of green before going back to yellow.
A multi-car wreck on the restart drew the seventh caution on lap 95. Greg Biffle had stalled to keep off Brian Vickers and got hit from behind by Kyle Busch. Busch pushed Biffle into Vickers, who spun and nailed Kasey Kahne. Kahne's #9 shot down the track and collected Regan Smith. Mikey barely got by the mess and came out 10th.
Racing resumed on lap 99. Mikey advanced to 6th within the first circuit, as Stewart was all over Earnhardt Jr for the lead.
Debris in Turns 1 and 2 prompted the eighth caution on lap 101. Mikey was marked as 4th.
Mikey looked outside immediately after the lap 103 restart. He hung out Denny Hamlin's #20 and took 3rd. David Green spun, but racing continued. Bowyer dropped inside the #99 on lap 107, and the pair made side contact. Stewart made a charge for the lead one circuit later, with a push from Mikey.
Hamlin tipped Busch into McMurray, sending McMurray's #64 through the grass and bringing out the nineth caution on lap 109. NASCAR allocated Hamlin to the rear of the field for aggressive driving. Hamlin headed to pit road as the pace car left the track, but jerked the wheel and returned for the restart.
Stewart led the lap 111 restart. Mikey rode 4th, and expressed a committment to stick with Bowyer's #2. Earnhardt Jr shot up and down the track in 2nd, blocking any semblance of a charge from the #2 and #99.
Reutimann's #12 cut a right front tire and hit the wall, spurring the tenth caution on lap 113. Under yellow, Mikey said over his radio that he was looking for help from behind. Crew chief Cully Barraclough told NBC that "the young ones would do well" to follow Mikey. He also mentioned that Mikey stated that, if Bowyer was going to drive like that, Mikey may not follow him.
Earnhardt Jr shot to the outside and rode side-by-side with Stewart upon the lap 116 restart. Mikey ducked down low, and took the race for the lead three-wide. Bowyer backed the #99. The field went three-wide, three-deep over the top spot. Mikey was marked 2nd on lap 118, with Stewart maintaining the lead. Bowyer pushed Mikey ahead of Stewart, but as the pair crossed the stripe side-by-side with three to go, Stewart maintained the top spot. Mikey was 2nd. With backing from Lamar, Stewart shot further ahead of the Aaron's Dream Machine. Although he was 2nd on lap 119, Mikey lost ground and fell to 9th going into the last lap.
Stewart crossed the stripe first, winning the Hershey's Kissables 300. Much of the field crashed behind him off Turn 4, including the #99. Clint Bowyer and Burney Lamar were battling over the 3rd spot when Bowyer got into the side of Lamar. Lamar's #77 wiggled, and backed up the field. Elliott Sadler knocked Stacy Compton loose, Denny Hamlin got into Sadler. Ashton Lewis Jr soared into the #99, and Mikey shot across the grass and crossed the stripe backwards in the lawn. Kenny Wallace and Reed Sorenson were also involved.
Unofficial results varied within the next hour. The Speed channel reported Mikey as having finished 9th; minutes later, NASCAR.com scored him as 2nd. The official site later moved Mikey to 9th, and ultimately placed him 15th.
Be sure to watch Mikey tomorrow in the Daytona 500! Coverage starts at 1:30pm ET on NBC.
