Michael Waltrip participated in Busch Series and Nextel Cup practice sessions today, in preparation for the Nicorette 300 and Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He also qualified his #55 Napa Dodge for the Cup race.
The #55 took to the track 17th of the 52 cars attempting to make the field for the Golden Corral 500. Mikey turned his best lap in 29.233 seconds at 189.649 MPH, trailing pole-winner Kasey Kahne by 0.441 seconds and ranking 24th. He picked up speed from practice, where he ranked 31st. His 29.945-second lap at 185.139 MPH was 0.650 seconds behind Kahne's. Also of note is the fact that teammate Bill Lester successfully qualified.
Mikey completed two practices in his #99 Aaron's Dream Machine for the Busch Series' Nicorette 300. He was 23rd in the first session, turning his best lap in 30.685 seconds at 180.675 MPH. He was 0.683 seconds slower than pace setter Carl Edwards. In second practice, he was 0.523 seconds behind session leader Denny Hamlin with a 30.544-second lap at 181.509 MPH. He was 16th on the speed charts. Tomorrow, he will be the 25th of 47 drivers to make a qualifying run.
Coverage of tomorrow's Nicorette 300 begins at 3:00pm ET on FX. The Golden Corral 500 will run on Sunday, starting at 1:00pm on FOX.
