Brake issues plagued Michael Waltrip for a second race in a row. After struggling with the same issue at Martinsville last week in the Nextel Cup race, he lost a lap in the pits as his team made repairs. His #99 Aaron's University of Texas Dodge finished 25th and two laps down in the O'Reilly 300, today's Busch Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.
At the start of the race, Hamlin jumps out to a sizeable lead. Mikey, who had started 39th, dropped three spots and fell to 42nd. Mark Green passed the next time around the track, putting the #99 in 43rd on lap 3. Kasey Kahne's #9 struggled and went to pit road, going a lap down and allowing Mikey to advance to 42nd the next time around the track. Lap 6 saw Mikey passing Chad Chaffin for 41st. Dropping under Tim Sauter's #26 and completing the pass advanced Mikey to 40th on lap 8. Mikey passed Mark Green and Anthony Foyt in the next two laps, and picked up 38th. Mikey continued his advancement through the ranks, passing Danny O'Quinn for 37th on lap 11. Hamlin continued to lead the field.
Mikey picked up 36th by passing Joel Kauffman on lap 13, as he ran approximately 17.5 seconds outside the lead. Getting around Jay Sauter within the next two laps moved him up another spot, and passing Regan Smith bumped him up another five laps later.
Lap 21 saw Matt Kenseth taking the lead. Hamlin would lose second a few laps later. Meanwhile, Mikey passed Tracy Hines for 33rd by lap 23. Four laps later, he gained another spot to Todd Kluever. He passed friend Kenny Wallace the next time around the track. Mikey was 27 seconds off the pace, as cars behind him were losing the lead lap. Race leader Kenseth had a 0.8 second lead over Kurt Busch.
Mikey picked up 30th on lap 29, getting around Mark McFarland. He continued to hold that spot, as Hamlin passed Busch and drew within a half second of Kenseth's rear fender. Kenseth's #17 had closed on more cars and passed. Mikey became the last car on the lead lap on lap 40, as the #17 passed McFarland's #88. That Aaron's Dream Machine desperately needed a caution to stay on the lead lap.
Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 47, with a pass along the inside.
The yellow flag did not wave soon enough. One-fourth of the way through the race, on lap 50, Mikey lost the lead lap as Harvick passed him. He still rode 30th. Jon Wood fell a lap down the next time around the track, becoming the first driver in line for the free pass if the yellow flag were to fall. As the run continued, Mikey got around Wood on lap 54. Wood's #47 made a stop and went two laps down. Andretti followed suit, taking Mikey to 28th on lap 55 and beginning scheduled green flag pit stops.
Mikey pit on lap 57, and other freshly lapped cars joined him the next time around the track. Mikey was marked 39th and two laps down on lap 61 as stops continued to cycle. Carl Edwards stalled leaving his box.
Lap 63 saw Harvick's #33 pitting, giving the lead to Hamlin's #20. Mikey was now 34th, still marked two laps down. Hamlin pit the next time around.
Harvick led the pack by three seconds by the times pit stops cycled on lap 65. Mikey was back in 29th, one lap down. Mikey gained a spot the next time around the track, and another one circuit later. Mark Green dropped through the ranks, advancing Mikey to 26th on lap 68. The #99 was the fifth car in line for the free pass. Getting around Carl Edwards on lap 70 moved the Aaron's Dream Machine into 25th. Meanwhile, Harvick's lead over Hamlin was now under two seconds.
Carl Edwards pit on lap 72 with his ailing hot rod. The crew initially pulled out hood ties before opting to push the car behind the wall. Edwards' primary car had crashed in practice the day before, and he continued to struggle with the back-up.
Mikey ran faster than the two cars in front of him for position on lap 79.
Mikey ran 24th when the first caution came out on lap 83; he had passed Jon Wood, whose car had slid through the grass along the front straightaway. Greg Biffle had spun Wood's #47 when Wood lifted. Stacy Compton received the free pass back onto the lead lap, and Kenseth pit with a loose wheel. Others also chose to make stops under the yellow flag. Twenty-one cars were now on the lead lap.
Racing resumed on lap 88 with Hamlin in the lead. Mikey was 23rd after stops. FOX commentators claimed he was the first driver one lap down; however, TrackPass showed David Gilliland in front of him. Mikey passed Gilliland for 22nd one lap into the run and did become the first car eligible for the free pass.
Jeff Burton dropped inside Hamlin's #20 and grabbed the top spot on lap 95. Edwards returned to the track momentarily, but was back on pit road with the hood up a couple laps later. He was marked 25 laps down on lap 98, and soon become the first driver to retire from the race. Meanwhile, Burton picked up a second and a half lead over Hamlin in 2nd.
Kasey Kahne passed Mikey on lap 105, moving the #99 to 23rd and becoming the first car in line for the free pass. Kahne was approximately 2 MPH faster, running speeds that rivaled the front runners. Lap 114 saw Jason Leffler fall off the lead lap and pit, advancing Mikey to 22nd. He picked up 21st on lap 127. Burton caught the tail end of the field, and began lapping cars. He put Stacy Compton in 19th a lap down the next time around the track. Others would follow suit.
NASCAR black-flagged Reed Sorenson for throwing a roll bar cover and reporting debris, just before the yellow waved.
The second caution came on lap 135, after Paul Menard rear-ended Gilliland's lapped #84. Sorenson would be able to serve his penalty under yellow. Drivers made stops. A tire came loose from David Green's #27 pit, earning Green a penalty. Kurt Busch was the first driver of pit road, and picked up the lead under yellow on lap 138. Mikey was 22nd after stops.
Busch led the lap 140 restart. Mikey was 26th, the last car one lap down. He may have had to serve a penalty under yellow, considering his four-spot drop after the initial stop. Mikey gained 25th to Compton on lap 142. He picked up 24th to Gilliland one lap later, when the #84 shimmied up the track.
Jason Keller picked up a left front tire rub, smoking and wiggling across the track on lap 145. Keller's #1, already lapped, remained on the track. He finally attempted to go to pit road on lap 150; Tim Sauter had to go into the grass to avoid him, and Keller went too.
The third caution came out for the grass on the track on lap 152. Mikey picked up 23rd when Keller finally went to the pits. Some drivers chose to make stops.
FOX showed Mikey pumping the brakes as he went to his pit stall. He lost another lap under the yellow, and had to cut the engine going to his box.
"Catch me! Don't you understand!" Mikey yelled at his team over the radio. He was pushed back, and the hood went up. He was marked 33rd.
Kurt Busch's #39 led the lap 160 restart. Mikey was 33rd, two laps down. Harvick lost much ground on the restart, as he slid up too high in the corner following a shove from Leffler as the pair went three-wide with Kluever.
A multi-car accident spurred the fourth caution on lap 163. JJ Yeley got loose under Johnny Sauter, got loose, and rear-ended the wall as he spun. The rest of the field got around Yeley's #18. Kauffman's #12 spun while on the apron and also hit the wall with his rear. Mikey was able to dodge both spinning cars. He was marked 31st.
Busch led the lap 167 restart. Mikey was 30th, two laps down. He gained another spot one lap into the run.
The fifth caution came on lap 170, again for Keller. Kasey Kahne's #9 tapped Keller's #1 when Keller lifted. Mikey rose to 26th with stops.
Racing resumed on lap 173. Busch's #39 led the field, with Mikey two laps down in 26th. The #99 held onto the outside line, looking to pick up positions. At the front of the field, Biffle tailed Busch.
Anthony Foyt's spin brought out the sixth caution on lap 180. He and Jay Sauter made contact when Kasey Kahne took the pair three-wide. Foyt's #38 and Sauter's #01 picked up significant damage. John Andretti received the free pass, and Mikey picked up 25th under the yellow.
Busch led the field to the green flag on lap 187. Biffle tailed Busch closely throughout the first couple laps back to racing.
Regan Smith spun after getting into the marbles, bouncing his rear off the wall and drawing the seventh caution on lap 189. Compton received the free pass. Mikey had passed Mark McFarland during the run, bringing him up to 24th. He was now the first driver two laps down.
Racing resumed with nine laps left in the race. Busch led, and Mikey was two laps down in 24th. Mikey fell to 25th when Burney Lamar passed. Lamar then spun independently, drawing caution coming to the white flag.
The yellow flag waved with a little over one lap to go, bringing out the eighth caution. The white flag had waved, but nobody had entered the last lap before the yellow flag was shown. Mikey was back in 24th. With less than ten laps remaining in the race, nobody received a free pass. The field prepared for a green/white/checkered finish. Debris in Turn 2 prolonged the yellow.
Two laps remained when Kurt Busch took the green flag. He went on to take the checkered in his first Busch Series start. Mikey crossed the stripe 25th, after Mark Martin passed him on the last lap.
Coverage of the Samsung/RadioShack 500 begins Sunday at 1:30pm ET on FOX.
