Michael Waltrip ranked 41st in both practice sessions today at Pocono International Raceway, in preparation for tomorrow's Pocono 500. He turned his fastest lap in 55.726 seconds at 161.505 MPH in morning practice, trailing session leader Brian Vickers by 1.846 seconds. In the afternoon, he was 2.123 seconds behind Jeff Burton with a 55.817-second lap at 161.241 MPH.
Mikey got into his #55 Napa Auto Parts Dodge at 9:21am this morning. The tape that had been on the grill of the car yesterday had been removed. As other cars took to the track, crew chief Joe Shear Jr said the #55 car would be held in the garages. Practice started at 9:30pm without the Napa Dodge.
Mikey sat in his hot rod, helmet and HANS on, watching cars pass. When Martin Truex Jr's #1 Bass Pro Shop Chevrolet whipped by the #55 garage, Mikey keyed his radio.
"Tell Buster I wasn't going as fast yesterday as the 1 car just went," he stated. He said he wanted to go explain this to NASCAR president Mike Helton. "That was bullshit!" he exclaimed. "All a man had to do was fucking tell me to slow down in the garage area." Instead, he reported that he had been yelled at.
The Napa Dodge was held a total of fifteen minutes. At the end of the penalty term, Shear addressed the spotter. "Coming to you, Mike Brown. Sticker tires, sticker tires."
"10-4," replied the spotter. Once Mikey was on pit road, ready to enter the track, his spotter said that Dale Earnhardt Jr's #8 and then Jeff Green's #66 were at the start/finish line. The #55 was then cleared onto the track. After completing a lap, Mikey returned to his garage at 9:50am.
"Um, this set up here won't get it, whatever it is," Mikey commented. "It's bouncing too much getting into 1, no way to turn it." He mentioned that last year's set-up had worked, if they wanted to try that.
Shear asked if it were the left spring. Mikey said it was one of the two front springs, and he guessed it was the left. Shear asked for shock travels.
"I guess, as bad as it was, you'd have to change both fronts, but that was just a guess," Mikey said.
"What's the spring in the left front, guys?" Shear asked.
"Let's start the next session 35 right front, 35 right rear," Mikey suggested. When Shear told him they were at 36-36 right now, Mikey said he knew that.
Shear told his driver he wanted to try the shocks like they had them last year, and wanted to know if they should do that now or later. Mikey said either.
"Let's change the shocks too, guys," Shear decided. "Turn the wheel left, Mike." After the crew had made the change and began lowering the car, he added, "Jack it up again, Jeff." He said he wanted to look at the spring. He also called for a wedge adjustment on both sides. He wanted to go up on the left side with a sway bar adjustment too.
"Are we close, guys?" Shear asked, toward the end of their stay in the garage. "Okay, coming to you, Mike."
"10-4," the spotter replied.
Mikey was back on track at 10:00am.
"Got a group of three off Turn 3," the spotter noted. "It'll be the 31 then the 16 last car by you." Mikey was cleared after Greg Biffle's #16.
"55.72," Shear read the time after Mikey turned a lap.
"Slowest car I've ever driven," Mikey complained. He returned to the garage. "It just won't turn. It's not doing anything major wrong. Just can't run. I can't even run faster than Mike Garvey." He said, if anything, help the push. He wanted to change back to what they had in the car yesterday.
"Um, that's basically what we have now," Shear replied.
Mikey suggested they work on "all small stuff" and work on bigger things later. Shear commented that the car had picked up pretty good shock travel.
"Well, let's figure out what we're going to do," Mikey said.
Shear wanted to go with a softer right front spring.
"Yeah, whatever you want to do," Mikey replied.
"Let's try this right front spring," Shear determined. "Turn the wheel to the left for me, Mikey. Mike, straighten the wheel up. All right, turn her to the right for me. All right, straighten her out. Put two in, Jason. One more in. Let's take a half and half of wedge all the way out of this thing."
"Think y'all will have trouble changing the tires when I get out there?" Mikey asked.
"Okay, Mike," Shear addressed the spotter. "Here we come."
"Okay," the spotter answered. "Seventeen minutes."
Mikey left the garages at 10:11am. His spotter told him that Scott Riggs was at the line, then the 48. "Two back to the 48. Inside." He noted lots of moisture on the roof of the spotters' stand and told his driver to be careful.
"That was worse," Mikey said. Before completing a full lap, he returned to the garage. He went back in at 10:15am, asking to work on the spring.
After a pause, a crew member asked, "Joe, are you bringing us a spring?"
"I didn't know he was in. He didn't complete a lap," Shear replied.
Mikey repeated what he had said about the car, and said he wanted a decision made quickly so he could try it and go run it out. Someone suggested a tire sheet. Mikey said they could get a plug check too. "See what we can do with the carberator. Not good."
"Okay, Mike, here we come," Shear said at 10:20am, when Mikey returned to the track. His spotter cleared him onto the track, and Shear read off lap times: 56.30, 56.03. After the spotter cleared Mikey past a driver with a flat, Shear read off the next lap time: 56.27.
"That was better, but it's too tight everywhere," Mikey commented. "And it hits the road too hard in Turn 1. It's not hitting the road too hard; it's hitting itself."
"Okay, we have two minutes left," Shear noted. "Get that tire sheet. Get a tire sheet? Okay, he's out here. Let's go to the gas pump too."
Mikey walked back to his garage, and a crew member said, "We got the car. Just stay out there."
Practice ended at 10:30am. Final practice started at 11:05am, with Mikey on track twenty minutes later.
"Okay, Mike," Shear addressed the spotter. "Here he comes."
The spotter cleared Mikey past Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. "Inside. Got the 9 working the bottom. Inside by himself."
Shear read off lap times: 55.90, 56.10, 55.72.
"It's a drag race," Mikey commented. "I think I beat him off the turn."
"Clear," his spotter said. "You win."
"I beat him! Yes!" Mikey exclaimed.
"There's a lot of rain on the roof now, so just be real careful," his spotter adviced.
"56.08," Shear read as Mikey headed for the garage.
"That's way better than it was before," Mikey told his crew chief. "It's just a little loose."
Shear called for a shock and wedge adjustment. He said the car looked better in Turn 1.
"I would be happy to start the race running like this," Mikey said. He noted again that the car was a little loose, so he wouldn't want to go too many laps laike that. He wanted to go with the shock adjustment but to leave the rubber.
Shear said Mikey's car was higher than other cars.
"Well then let's let 'er down, if that's what you want to do," Mikey responded.
Shear asked where the shock was at.
"Yeah, that's the best it's been too, so probably had something to do with that."
"Let's put some feelers on the front nose again," Shear determined.
"Those pressures felt much grippier," Mikey commented.
"10-4," was Shear's reply. "We're going to take another pound out of the left side." After the team worked on the car, he asked, "Are we good on the back, guys? Okay here we come, Mike."
"Okay," replied the spotter. "10-4."
Mikey was back on track at 11:40am.
"The 10 and the 45 at the start / finish line," his spotter noted. "9 coming inside, all by himself."
Shear read off lap times of 56.11, 56.84, 55.84, and 55.81.
"We've got five minutes left," the spotter mentioned. "Five minutes."
"Let's get in here and try these rear shocks," Shear suggested.
After Shear warned him of someone inside, Mikey said something was his fault. Shear couldn't understand what Mikey had said, but static followed.
"We're on pit road now, guys," the spotter noted.
Shear wanted to go with a right rear shock and right rear spring adjustment. He said they had to hurry; they only have five minutes.
"900 in the right rear, raise the track bar up a half," Shear directed. "We gotta hustle, guys." He then said that NASCAR was not going to allow them back on track; they were finished.
"Good job, y'all," Mikey told his team. "You made the car better." He said he thought the car was better than it showed on the sheet.
"I second that," Shear replied. "Looked a lot better."
Hopefully, it will look even better tomorrow. Coverage of the Pocono 500 begins tomorrow at 1:30pm ET on FOX.
