/noticias.info/ (Martinsville, Va.) – Just when the No. 55 NAPA team was starting to think they just couldn’t catch a “break” in 2006, Michael Waltrip caught the “brakes” on fire at Martinsville Speedway in the DIRECTV 500. The NAPA car spent 45 laps behind the wall while the team replaced the right front brakes. The time behind the wall took Waltrip out of any contention for a top-20 finish. The No. 55 took the checkered flag in 29th position.
Waltrip battled a tight race car from the moment the Waltrip-Jasper/Bill Davis Racing team unloaded. The NAPA car was never any better than 34th on the speed chart in practice, but the crew never gave up in trying to make the car turn better. Even two-time NASCAR Champion Darrell Waltrip spent time on top of the NAPA truck and in the garage in an effort to help diagnose the problem. Despite all the attention, the car just didn’t want to turn.
In qualifying, the opposite was true. The added downforce on the nose from taping up the air ducts on the front valance caused the No. 55 to get loose and Waltrip posted the 33rd best lap of the day at 20.037-seconds and a speed of 94.51 mph. Jimmie Johnson won the Bud Pole with a lap of 19.575-seconds and an average speed of 96.74 mph.
On Sunday, the DIRECTV 500 got underway with a bang...literally. On lap two, Robby Gordon spun in his own oil and the back of the field plowed into his Chevrolet in turn one. Waltrip dove to the inside of the track and missed the crash which collected Clint Bowyer, Travis Kvapil, Kyle Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Mark Martin. “I’m loose,” radioed Waltrip to crew chief Derrick Finley. “The car turns really well, but I’m just too loose off.”
The loose condition kept Waltrip from getting back into the gas off the corners. On lap 65, Tony Stewart passed the No. 55 and put the NAPA machine one lap down. The NAPA team finally got a chance to work on the loose condition when Jeff Gordon spun in turn four on lap 89. Waltrip brought his Dodge down pit road for four tires and an air adjustment. He restarted 32nd.
The loose condition never went away during the early laps after that initial pit stop. However, as the fuel burned off, the NAPA car got tight. But the change in handling was far from the team’s biggest problem at Martinsville. On lap 250, Waltrip radioed the crew that he had no brakes. In fact, his right front wheel was on fire when he took the car behind the wall for repairs. It took 45 laps to repair the brakes. The NAPA team stayed out of trouble for the rest of the event and picked up a few positions thanks to attrition. He finished the race in 29th position.
“We had a cooling problem with the brakes,” said Waltrip after the race. “I don’t remember having any brake problems here ever or at least not in the last 15 years. It’s a shame.”
The 29th place finish dropped Waltrip to the 34th position in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series driver’s standings. The NAPA team is currently 460 markers behind leader Matt Kenseth.
Next week the NAPA team heads to Texas Motor Speedway. The race can be seen next Sunday on FOX at 1:30 p.m. EDT. It can be heard on MRN Radio and XM channel 144. Check local listings for exact times for your area.
