Michael Waltrip finished 22nd in the Nicorette 300, today's Busch Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After gambling with an alternate pit strategy to the leaders, his #99 Aaron's Dream Machine lost the lead lap five laps from the end after enjoying eight laps in the top 10.
Mikey ranked 26th in Busch Series qualifying yesterday afternoon; however, with Ken Schrader's drop to the rear of the field, the #99 advanced one row and rolled off the grid 24th. At the start of today's 195-lap feature, pole-sitter Kyle Busch got a jump on second starter Ryan Newman and held onto the top spot to lead throughout the first run. Mikey, however, was unable to maintain 24th. Kevin Harvick and Jay Sauter got around the Aaron's Dream Machine during the first lap of the race. Reed Sorenson passed one lap later. Sorenson cracked into the side of Kevin Conway, sending Conway's #58 skidding back through the ranks. While Mikey got around the #58, he lost spots to Jon Wood and David Green. He was 28th on lap 4. Mikey was able to get around Jay Sauter on lap 7 and Aaron Fike one circuit later, and he held onto the 26th spot until the yellow flag waved.
The first caution came on lap 12. Anthony Foyt's #38 had scuffed the wall, and behind him, Scott Lynch made contact in the same spot and spun. Lynch's #34 Hunter's Hope Foundation Chevrolet fell out of the race after completing just ten laps.
Mikey was 20th under the yellow flag, but gained 20th after some drivers made stops. Jason Keller and Kevin Conway made repeat stops for extensive repairs under yellow, and Schrader went to the garage to have a jacking bolt replaced.
Busch's #5 Lowes Chevy led the lap 17 restart. Mikey was 20th, but gained a spot to John Andretti two laps into the run. He got around Tracy Hines for 18th on lap 21. Two laps later, he was 17th.
At the front of the field, Matt Kenseth's #17 Ameriquest Mortgage Ford dropped inside Busch's Chevy and took the top spot in Turn 1 of lap 26.
Following the lead change, Mikey began losing spots. Kevin Harvick passed him on lap 27. Four laps later, he fell to 20th. Brian Vickers got around him on lap 33, David Green passed three laps later, and Ashton Lewis Jr passed one lap after that. Getting back around Lewis Jr's #25 Marines Ford on lap 38 brought Mikey back to 22nd; however, Lewis Jr passed him again on lap 39 and took Johnny Sauter with him. Mikey was now 24th.
Jeff Burton claimed the top spot along the outside groove on lap 40, two laps before the next caution.
The yellow flag waved for a second time on lap 42 for former race leader and pole-sitter Kyle Busch. After losing the lead, he struggled with a tire issue and fell to fifth or sixth in one lap. His right rear tire exploded, ripping out the right side of his Lowes Monte Carlo, cracking one window and blowing out another. The #5 jerked sideways, but Busch held onto the car and took it to the garage. He would return sixty laps later with a sheet metal patch and yellow tape shaped into the #5 on the freshly welded race machine. Mikey gained 23rd with Busch's drop through the ranks.
Carl Edwards benefited from the caution. Just before Busch's tire blew, he reported that he was also losing his right rear. Edwards was able to change his wounded tire under yellow and keep his hot rod.
Stacy Compton received the free pass back onto the lead lap, and the leaders pit. Mark Green stayed out a lap to lead before making his stop.
Greg Biffle led the lap 49 restart, with Mikey running 18th. Two laps into the run, the Aaron's Dream Machine lost a spot. He lost another the next time around the track, when Matt Kenseth got around Biffle and took the lead. Mikey reclaimed both lost positions during the next circuit, but lost them on lap 54 to David Green and Paul Menard. Johnny Sauter pushed him back to 21st on lap 55. Two laps later, he lost another spot. Kevin Harvick dropped him to 23rd four circuits after that.
A pressure line snapped inside Jamie McMurray's Top-Flite Golf Dodge, releasing heavy smoke from the right front of that #64 and drawing the third caution on lap 65. Some drivers chose to pit, including Mikey.
Racing resumed on lap 72 with Kenseth in the lead and Mikey in 32nd. On fresh tires, the Aaron's Dream Machine advanced through the ranks. Mikey picked up a spot one lap into the run, and passed Reed Sorenson, Kenny Wallace, Aaron Fike, and Jamie McMurray for 27th by lap 75. He picked up another spot one circuit later, and Sorenson lost his engine and became the second driver out of the race. Mikey was 25th by lap 77, and 23rd two laps later. Lap 80 saw him maneuver past David Green for the 22nd spot. One lap after that, he got around John Andretti for 21st. He was still holding that spot when Anthony Foyt spun in Turn 4.
NASCAR brought out the fourth caution on lap 85 for Foyt's accident. Danny O'Quinn received the free pass. Track workers spent the next four laps clearing oil from Sorenson's blown engine before NASCAR could open pit road. Mikey did not make a stop with most of the rest of the field on lap 89.
Casey Mears also stayed on the track, and he led the lap 92 restart. Mikey was 3rd. Jeff Burton, who had come off pit road first, was directly behind the #99 in 4th. The Aaron's Dream Machine faded immediately when the race returned to green. On fresh tires, Burton, Newman, and Edwards got around Mikey one lap into the run. Mears drove up the track to block Newman from taking the top spot, leaving the bottom open to Edwards' #60. Edwards shot along the inside line and took the lead going into lap 95. By then, Mikey was 8th; Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle had passed. Kenseth got around the #99 along the inside line, and Burney Lamar and JJ Yeley passed along the outside. Mikey was 11th by lap 97. One lap later, he was 14th; Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, and Jason Leffler got around him.
Burton took the lead in Turn 2 of lap 98, but lost it to Edwards in Turn 4, before he could be marked with holding the top spot. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter and Brian Vickers dropped Mikey to 16th. Todd Kluever got around him on lap 100.
Tracy Hines spun and lost his right rear, bringing out the fifth caution on lap 101. Mikey pit with others who had stayed out under the last yellow.
Racing resumed on lap 107 with Burton leading. Mikey was 33rd, but with fresh tires, he passed thirteen cars in twelve laps. He passed Stacy Compton on lap 108, Keller and Conway on lap 109, O'Quinn on lap 110, Mark Green on lap 111, Aaron Fike on lap 112, Kenny Wallace on lap 116, Jay Sauter on lap 118, Carl Edwards on lap 119, David Green on lap 121, John Andretti on lap 123, Mark McFarland on lap 125, and Casey Mears on lap 129. Meanwhile, Edwards pit with what he felt was a right rear going flat. His #60 subsequently lost the lead lap. Mikey got around Reagan Smith on lap 138, just before the yellow flag waved.
The sixth caution came on lap 145 after Ryan Newman's right rear tire blew on the front stretch, causing his #39 Alltel Dodge to sustain damage similar to Busch's #5. Mikey gained 18th with Newman's drop, and advanced to 17th when Denny Hamlin went to the garage. Hamlin's #20 had been directly behind the #39, and ran over Newman's debris. The #20 spent seventeen laps in the garage to repair a punctured radiator. His crew noticed the damage when the pace car led the field down pit road to avoid debris on the front straightaway, allowing the team to see water squirting out of the car.
Once the frontstretch was cleared, NASCAR opened pit road. Andretti's #10 stayed on the track to lead lap 152 under caution. Burton was the first driver to return to the track, and Mikey was 17th after his stop. He was 16th when Andretti pit.
The green flag returned on lap 154. Matt Kenseth grabbed the top spot one lap into the run, as Mikey gained 15th from Lewis Jr by lap 156. The #99 began losing spots shortly thereafter. Jon Wood and Reagan Smith passed Mikey on lap 162, and McFarland and Kluever got around him one lap later. Lewis Jr and Kenny Wallace passed on lap 165, dropping Mikey to 21st.
At the front of the field, Burton dropped inside Kenseth's #17, with Kasey Kahne running the high line behind the pair. Andretti passed Mikey on lap 174, three laps before Burton reclaimed the top spot.
Mikey was the last driver on the lead lap on lap 185. Five circuits later, he was lapped. Burton won as the #99 crossed the stripe 22nd. Mikey apologised to his team just after losing the lead lap.
Tune in for the Golden Corral 500 tomorrow, starting at 1:00pm ET on FOX.
