Mikey 25th in rain-shortened Michigan Nextel Cup race
By Kellyanne Lynch, mikeypower.com
18 June 2006
Michael Waltrip sits 30th in the 3M Performance 400, today's Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. His #55 Napa Auto Parts Dodge is parked on pit road with the field, under the red flag. Kasey Kahne, who had barely edged out Carl Edwards on pit road, won as the race got washed out.
"Joe, you got a copy on me down there?" the spotter came over the team frequency following the national anthem.
"Yeah," replied crew chief Joe Shear Jr. "I got you loud and clear."
"10-4. Two minutes, two minutes."
A minute later, Mikey spoke. "Hello? 1, 2."
Shear acknowledged that he could hear his driver.
"Yes, sir," Mikey replied. "I think I'm good."
"I got you up here, Michael," the spotter responded.
"Roger," Mikey said.
"They're going to bring the jet drivers out," the spotter informed the team. He said NASCAR was going to dry the track, "So I don't know what that means."
"Um, basically nothing," Mikey replied.
"10-4."
"Hey, Joe," Mikey addressed his crew chief. "Make a... I don't know if you do this, but I like to look at everyone's trackbar. Look at that 41."
Shear told his driver he does notice trackbars, and he thought the trackbar on Reed Sorenson's #41 was too low.
"I'm a boy in a bubble," Mikey declared.
The team frequency fell silent for several minutes before the spotter asked the crew, "You guys cover pit road there?"
The #55 team covered their stall and car and began waiting out the impending rain delay. They abandonned their frequency for several minutes as jet dryers took to the track.
"Hello, I'm back," Mikey returned to his radio at 2:17pm ET. After a pause, he said, "Hello, I'm back. Hello, I'm back. Hello?"
"I got ya," Shear replied.
"I got ya," echoed his spotter. At 2:22pm, he added, "Two minutes, two minutes."
"Hand me a piece of tape, y'all. I have to tape this hose back so it doesn't vibrate," Mikey said. "Y'all hear me?"
"Come back, Michael?" his crew chief said, just before Adam Sandler gave the call to start engines. Just after, he gave his driver the requested tape.
After a moment, Shear asked, "Okay, Mike, you still got me?
"Yeah, I got y'all," Mikey replied. "I don't reckon you've got me very good."
"I hear ya."
"Guys, get your sign board ready," Shear instructed the crew once Mikey was rolling, "so he can see it."
"Two away there," added the spotter.
"Got a good read on that?"
"Yeah, I got ya," Mikey told his crew chief.
"Okay, guys," Shear addressed the crew. "Let's try to have a good day here and have some fun."
"Pit road speed right there, Michael," the spotter noted.
"48 and second."
"4800 and second," the spotter echoed the driver.
"Okay, 4800 and second," Shear acknowledged. "Michael, make sure you push that battery to one. And your rear end fan."
"Battery to one, every switch I have's on."
"All right, 10-4."
"All right, Michael. One to go at the line," the spotter said.
Ryan Newman dropped to the rear of the field during pace laps, because he changed his transmission before the start.
"Okay, bud. Coming to the green. Have a good day. 200 laps."
"Thank you," Mikey replied to the spotter.
"Pace car's gone," the spotter said moments later. "Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Pole-sitter Kasey Kahne led the field to the stripe at 2:35pm ET, with Mikey in 28th.
"Outside," the spotter said toward the end of the first lap. "Clear.
"Outside," he added, as Mikey entered lap 2 in 27th; he had passed Jeff Green. Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon entered lap 2 in first. "Clear, all clear."
"Three-wide, back to two... Wrecking right in front of you," the spotter warned. "Stay high."
The first caution came on lap 3 for Robby Gordon's spin.
"Car feels pretty good," Mikey reported.
"How's it feel so far?" Shear asked.
"Man, I've been talking since we got under caution," Mikey complained. He said he knew they had radio issues, but nobody wanted to report it.
"We'll line up behind the 66 when it all sorts out," the spotter reported. "Pit road is open, open. Got the 32 inside... all right."
"Gonna stay out here," the crew chief told his driver. Mikey was 26th at the time.
"One to go at the line," the spotter reported on lap 5 under caution.
"Michael, when you get running, get me a temperature reading," Shear requested.
Mikey said to ask him ten laps later. Any time Shear wanted something, the driver said just to ask at the time. Shear said he wanted to talk to him now.
"Well talk to me about something that I can remember," Mikey replied, "like 'good start' or 'looks like the car is all right'. Ya know?"
"Okay."
"Coming to the green," the spotter observed. "Pace car's off. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Racing resumed on lap 7 with Gordon leading. Mikey rode 26th.
"Inside," the spotter said one lap into the run. "Inside. Looking in the middle, clear on the bottom.
"Clear high."
Lap 9 saw Mikey lose a spot.
"40.40," Shear read off the lap time.
"Inside by himself," the spotter noted. "Bringing the 42 with him. Clear."
Ryan Newman passed, dropping Mikey to 28th on lap 10.
"All clear," said the spotter.
"Yellow's out. Yellow's out. Rain."
The second caution came on lap 12.
"My car's handling pretty good," Mikey reported. "I don't know, I don't know what's going on. I guess there's... I'm either getting out=powered or bad aero. I'm being as aggressive as they can, and they're still getting around me." He said the car is handling well.
Shear asked his driver about the car.
"I can't copy anybody."
"I know you said it's handling good," Shear replied, "but is it on the tight side or kinda on the loose side?"
Mikey described the car as "dead-on neutral".
The team discussed whether or not they should pit. Shear mentioned wanting to watch what the leaders did.
"We're not leaders, so I don't know what that matters," Mikey replied.
The spotter reported that 7th on back pit. Half the field made stops.
"Stay out," Shear advised. "Stay out."
"We need to develop our strategy. We're not racing the leaders," Mikey said, because they weren't one of them. "We need to have a strategy, you know, what we want to do."
Shear said he wanted the track position as the handling was good. He said the whole point was to get to half way.
"We'll probably get another chance or two to pit, with this rain," Mikey commented.
"Plus most of these have been under caution anyway," Shear pointed out. Staying on the track bumped the #55 up to 16th.
"220 a piece on the temperatures," Mikey noted.
"Okay, thank you."
"One to go at the line," the spotter observed.
Matt Kenseth pit multiple times with right front damage. He had hit Bill Lester's #23 during his first stop on pit road. Meanwhile, Morgan Shepherd dropped out of the race.
"All right, lights back on. We're not going," the spotter said. "We're not going."
"It's just raining enough to screw everything up, Michael," the crew chief noted. He told his driver to save tires and gas, and they'd work on their strategy.
"Might be one to go again," Mikey said.
"No, it's not," the spotter replied. "Not yet. They're talking about the rain, Michael. They want you guys to stagger it to help them dry the track.
"All right, Michael, one to go at the line," the spotter returned moments later. "Coming to the green.
"Pace car's gone. Stay ready. Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Gordon led the lap 18 restart, with Mikey running 16th.
"Outside," warned the spotter. "Clear. Inside, the 7."
One lap into the run, Mikey lost a spot to Jamie McMurray.
"Clear," his spotter said. "Back inside. Three wide, back to two wide. Clear. Three-wide. Still three. Clear all around."
Robby Gordon passed, dropping Mikey to 18th on lap 20.
"40.50," Shear read off the lap time.
"Inside," warned the spotter. "22's trying to make it three-wide. All clear. Inside, the 6 and the 29 with him. Single-file."
Kahne challenged for the lead on lap 22, with Dale Earnhardt Jr hot on his heels.
Lap 23 saw the third caution for Tony Stewart's spin. Stewart's #20 had been tipped by Jeff Green.
"Got a spin behind you, spin behind you. Yellow is out. 20 car wrecked behind you. Got a lot of debris in the centre of the corner, between turns 3 and 4. Stay low."
"What did the car do that time?" Shear asked.
"Neutral," Mikey reported. "Nothing really. Just neutral. If anything, it's just a tick loose. Nothing to worry about. Another set of tires might change that." Said he'd go with 2 or 4 tires, didn't care.
Shear said he wants to go with leaders' strategy now, and Mikey pit with them. Shear told his driver to stop short. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop short. Go, go! Go hard!"
The spotter cleared him to the wall, and said to go at 4800.
"What happened on the back, guys?" Shear asked the team. "A little hiccup there?" After talking to his crew, he told his driver, "Make sure we keep the foot on the brake, Michael. We let it slip a little bit. Almost got the jackman."
"I had my foot on the brake," Mikey replied.
"Yeah, the tires spun, for some reason."
"One to go here at the line," the spotter noted. Moments later, he added, "Coming to the green. Pace car's gone. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Kyle Busch picked up the lead during stops and led the lap 26 restart. Meanwhile, his brother Kurt pit with a suspected flat. Mikey rode 33rd.
"By himself," the #55 spotter warned. Mikey picked up a spot one lap into the run due to Kurt Busch's stop. In the garage, Tony Stewart hammered on his broken #20.
Mikey lost a spot to Joe Nemechek on lap 27. He was now 33rd.
"40.60," Shear reported.
"We changed pressure," Mikey said.
"We didn't change nothing," Shear replied.
"Looking outside, outside," the spotter said. "By himself."
"Just loose right now. Skate in the right front more than it did," Mikey reported.
"By himself," the spotter added.
Lap 29 saw Mikey drop to 34th. Kevin Lepage passed him the next time around the track.
"41.2," Shear read off the lap time.
"Three-wide. Clear on the bottom. Still outside," the spotter said. "All clear."
Mikey bounced up to 30th on lap 30.
The fourth caution came on lap 32, after Jamie McMurray spun JJ Yeley. The spotter led Mikey through it.
"We need to do something different just a little bit," Mikey said. "Seemed to loosen the car a lot."
Shear told Mikey times.
"Okay, I'm just telling you what the car's doing. I don't care," Mikey replied. "We can stay out. We can do whatever you want."
"We need to stay out here," Shear said. He mentioned rain in the area again.
"We need to just figure this race is going to go 400 miles here." Mikey said he appreciated Shear keeping it in mind but needed to recognise the scheduled distance and plan for that too.
"Just stay out, stay out," Shear emphasised.
Some leaders chose to pit, and the #17 team worked on their wounded hot rod. Kasey Kahne picked up the top spot while Mikey rose to 18th. He picked up four more spots under yellow as more drivers elected to pit.
"They want you to stay low on the back, stay low on the back," the spotter warned Mikey.
"One to go at the line," the spotter reported. "Coming to the green. Pace car's gone. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
The green returned on lap 36 with Kahne leading and Jeff Gordon's #24 all over the back of him. Gordon immediately passed for the lead.
The #55 spotter warned Mikey the #99 was coming, working the outside. Mikey fell three spots one lap into the run to Carl Edwards, Casey Mears, and Kevin Harvick.
"Clear," the spotter said on lap 37 as his driver rode 17th. "Inside. All clear."
Kevin Lepage passed, moving Mikey to 18th on lap 38.
"41 flat," Shear reported, just before the spotter said, "Two more."
"Still down there, the 6. Clear after the 6. All clear."
Mikey was 21st on lap 39. He lost spots to Travis Kvapil, Bobby Labonte, and Mark Martin.
"30," Shear said.
"By himself, inside," the spotter noted.
"Just a little loose right now. I'm having to walk it down to the corner," Mikey reported. "I'm a little loose in."
"Clear for now, trying to bring the 40 with him. Three wide," the spotter said. "Two wide. Back to three, three-wide. All clear."
Jeremy Mayfield and Tony Raines moved Mikey to 23rd on lap 41.
"Inside," warned the spotter. "Got the 5 with him. Clear for now. Trying to look outside, the 38, right there, inside." Dave Blaney, Kyle Busch, and David Stremme passed. Mikey was now 26th on lap 42, and his spotter cleared him.
"Three-wide, top. Still three. Clear all around," the spotter said.
"41.90."
"7 trying to work the middle. Three-wide. Still going to be three, you're two wide. Clear all around."
Mikey was still 26th when he went three, then four-wide. He went back to three, and rode there for most of lap 44.
"Still down there," warned his spotter. "Inside, three-wide. Back to two."
Lap 45 saw Mikey drop to 30th. Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler, Robby Gordon, and Kurt Busch had passed. He dropped two more spots to Jamie McMurray and Dale Jarrett on the following lap.
"Two more," the spotter mentioned as Mikey rode 32nd on lap 46. "Clear."
Mikey lost a spot to Scott Wimmer on lap 47 and was warned of a slow car on the apron. Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne struggled and slowed with an overheating issue due to debris on the grill. Kahne's #9 went to pit road.
Kyle Petty dropped Mikey to 34th on lap 48. Elliott Sadler had swerved toward pit road, came back out, and disputed the lead with Petty. NASCAR gave it to Petty's #45.
"Just a little track bar, right rear loose," Mikey told his crew chief.
"That's just what I'm thinking," Shear replied, and asked for a temperature reading.
"230, 235," Mikey replied. He was 33rd on lap 49 due to Kahne's drop.
"Maybe a little bit out of that right front tire, just that right front," Mikey suggested.
"Okay," said Shear.
"As I'm saying that, the steering wheel isn't responding to me like I need it too."
"Okay," Shear replied and gave times.
The #55 was 20 seconds off the pace, less than seven seconds in front of the leader.
"42 flat," Shear said. "The other guys are running 41.60."
"42.15," he reported the next time around the track.
"Talking about some very light sprinkles down the back," the spotter said on lap 53. "Just be careful." Mikey was still 33rd.
"42.5."
"Yellow's out. Yellow's out," reported the spotter. "Rain." This was the fourth caution on lap 55.
"I lost the balance of my car pretty bad there. It's skating in the front and in the right rear." Mikey said he wanted to lower the track bar.
Shear asked if closing the left front shock might help too.
"Yeah, I don't know. Whatever y'all think. Y'all just use your brains," Mikey commented. He said the right front corner was the first to go and was starting to skate. He didn't want to do too much, worrying he might have a bad set of tires. He said he'd lost the feel. He didn't know if they wanted to change everything at once.
Shear said they'd go with the adjustments - four tires, fuel, turn down on the track bar, and close the shock. Mikey stopped with the leaders.
"Ten away," said the spotter.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1," counted Shear. "Stop." After the stop, he said, "Go go go, go hard."
"All the way to the wall," the spotter added. "4800."
"Good pit stop, guys," Shear praised the crew. Kyle Petty led under yellow, having stayed on the track, while Mikey ranked 32nd.
"One to go at the line," the spotter noted. "Stay low, Michael. Pass the start/finish, they have a pair of sunglasses down there.
"Coming to the green," the spotter said. "Pace car's off. Stay ready. Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Gordon led the lap 59 restart, with Mikey in 29th. Dale Earnhardt Jr dropped to the bottom, attempting to pass for the race lead, and the pair ran side-by-side. Gordon edged Earnhardt Jr at the stripe, but Earnhardt Jr's #8 powered past him just after. Mikey still rode 29th.
"Clear," the spotter said. "Coming back. Three-wide. Clear on the bottom."
"40.80," Shear read off the lap time.
"All clear," the spotter added. "9's coming hard behind you."
Mikey was 27th on lap 62. At the front of the pack, Gordon dropped under Earnhardt Jr and passed going into lap 63. Mikey was 28th.
"Still too loose," reported the #55 driver. "That helped the back end, but the front is still too loose."
"10-4," Shear replied.
Earnhardt Jr retook the lead on lap 64, but Gordon hung with him and took the top spot again. He led lap 65. Earnhardt Jr faded throughout following laps.
"41.4."
Dale Jarrett passed, putting Mikey to 29th on lap 66.
"42.0."
"Spinning off of two, spinning off of two. Back it down, if you can," the spotter warned.
Lap 68 saw the fifth caution on lap 68 for Matt Kenseth's spin. Kenseth's #17 had gotten loose under Tony Raines' #96.
"Is it loose all around, or throttle loose."
"More trackbar down, but I don't know. Either that, or help me out with some left rear inner pressure," Mikey replied. He told his team to make up his mind what he wanted to do, because Shear knew about the car more than him.
"Okay, 10-4," Shear replied. He wanted to drop the track bar and do the air pressure. "Is it bigger in one turn?"
Static returned. Mikey pit with the leaders.
"4800 and second," the spotter said. "4800 and second. You've got the 4 behind you. Ten away."
Greg Biffle led the field off pit road. Mikey came in 34th and came out 31st.
"Coming to the green," the spotter noted. "Pace car's off. Stay ready. Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Biffle led the lap 71 restart with Mikey running 29th.
"Still there," the spotter reported. "Inside the 88. Clear high."
Dale Jarrett dropped Mikey to 30th one lap into the run.
"Clear," the spotter said. "Three-wide. Two-wide. One more."
Kyle Busch passed, moving Mikey back another position one lap later.
"41.5," Shear said.
"Inside. Clear, all clear."
"41.3."
Mikey got around Bill Lester, gaining 30th on lap 75. The spotter warned him of a car inside.
"Loose," Mikey reported. "You're going to have to do something different."
"Okay," Shear replied.
"49 with him," the spotter noted. Jeff Green passed on lap 76, putting Mikey back in 31st. By lap 78, he lost three more spots to Kevin Lepage, Kyle Petty, and Scott Wimmer.
Dale Earnhardt Jr was gaining on Biffle for the race lead. He dropped inside and took it on the backstretch of lap 79, but Biffle edged him out before the stripe.
The seventh yellow flag came for Tony Raines's left rear flat tire and subsequent debris on lap 81. Thirty-eight cars remained on the lead lap.
"Hey, how's your window?" Shear asked under yellow.
"It's fine," Mikey replied. "I need a drink though."
"Give him a drink," Shear said. He wanted to go with a shock and spring rubber.
"If they all pit, I'll stay out. I'll go get us those five points."
"Okay."
"Is 17 on the lead lap, Joe?" the spotter asked.
"No," Shear replied. "He's one lap down."
"25 stayed."
"Come on."
"Here he comes, 4800 and second, behind the 4. 10 away."
"5, 4, 3, 2, stop short, 1."
"All clear, 4800," the spotter said. He warned Mikey of Kenseth's #17 coming to the outside. "He'll stay put. I think he's already done his deal here. He's the lucky dog."
Brian Vickers' #25 stayed on track and led under caution. Mikey was marked in 35th.
"One to go at the line," the spotter said. "Coming to the green. Pace car's gone. Stay ready. Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Vickers led the lap 85 restart, gambling on the possibility of rain at the halfway point. Mikey was 34th. Jimmie Johnson looked under Vickers but fell back in line behind him.
"Inside, by himself," the #55 spotter said. Matt Kenseth passed, dropping Mikey to 35th on lap 87.
"41.0," Shear read the lap time.
"Still there, still there. Clear, all clear," the spotter said just before Mikey got around Lester for 34th on lap 88.
"Give me some temperatures when you can," Shear requested, and Mikey did.
At the front of the field, Carl Edwards looked under Vickers and took the top spot also on lap 88. Edwards ran away with his fresh tires.
"41.4. 41.60."
Mikey was already twelve seconds off the pace.
"41.74," Shear continued to read times. "Michael, if there's anything you can do, they say there's rain only twelve miles away."
"The only thing I can do is go ahead and spin out," Mikey replied. He talked about still being loose.
"Okay. 42 flat.
"42.30."
"Clear," the spotter noted.
Mikey passed Joe Nemechek, gaining 33rd on lap 96.
"42.60," Shear announced. "42.7. 42.60. 42.57."
"Halfway, this time," the spotter said. "Halfway."
"42.6."
"Man, this thing..." Mikey exclaimed on lap 103. "It won't track up off the turn at all!"
"Slow car bottom," the spotter noted on lap 108. FOX reported rain drops in the area. "Back inside. All clear."
"42.80."
"Smoking. Clear. Yellow is out, yellow is out. Debris in Turn 4."
The eighth caution was for rubber debris on lap 111. Meanwhile, Kyle Petty's #45 was smoking.
"It's just crazy," Mikey complained. "I spin the tires all the way off the turn," Mikey reported. He said nothing has helped it much.
"Guys, let's get ready for tires here," Shear told the crew. "Let's close that left rear shock, see if that does anything."
"Let's pit with one to go, just in case it starts raining in all of this," Mikey suggested. He rode 32nd at the time.
"Okay," the spotter replied, "pace car's got the leader."
"Okay, you gonna pit with one to go?" Shear asked.
"I don't see why that would be a bad idea," Mikey replied. He said they had nothing to lose as they had to adjust shocks anyway. "We might as well just take a chance."
"Yup, 10-4."
"Pit road is open, open," the spotter reported. "Safety truck up high off of Turn 4."
"We just need to know when it's one to go, so I can pit," Mikey said.
"10-4," the spotter replied, and warned him to watch Mike Skinner's #34 as Skinner gained one of his two laps back with the free pass.
Some leaders pit, and Mikey bounced up to 11th. Edwards remained on the track and retained the lead.
"We'll probably get it this time," the spotter said. He noted the safety trucks were leaving the track.
Kevin Lepage led lap 114 under caution, with Mikey marked in 2nd.
"Okay, one to go at the line, one to go at the line," the spotter observed. Mikey pit, along with Lepage. "Coming this time, 4800 and second. Ten away."
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop. Make sure you clean the grill," Shear directed the team. "Clean that grill. Let's go."
"Clear all the way out, 48."
"You made sure you close that shock all the way up, right?" Shear asked the crew.
With Lepage's stop, Reed Sorenson's #41 picked up the top spot.
"Coming to the green," the spotter said. "Pace car's off. Stay ready. Green flag, green flag, green flag, green flag."
Racing resumed on lap 116 with Sorenson leading and Mikey in 33rd.
"By himself," said the spotter, just before Kevin Lepage passed. Mikey was 34th one lap into the run.
At the front of the field, Kasey Kahne rode high around Sorenson and took the top spot. He led going into lap 118. At the same time, Mikey regained 33rd by getting around Bill Lester.
"41.10," Shear read the lap time.
"Slow car on the bottom ahead," warned the spotter. "Inside, 45."
Lap 120 saw Mikey fall to 34th with Petty's pass.
"96 is slow on the bottom," the spotter noted. "You'll see him. Clear, clear."
Tony Raines' #96 was already three laps down, so Mikey didn't gain a spot to Raines; he did, however, pick up 33rd from Petty. Petty rallied back and passed both the #55 and Scott Riggs' #10.
"By himself," the spotter said.
"42.10," Shear noted the lap time.
"Got some sprinkles around," the spotter warned. "Just be careful."
"Yellow's out. Yellow's out. Rain."
The nineth caution came on lap 125.
"It's... the chain on the swaybar has come loose," Mikey told his team. "I've never been so loose in my life. It's like when it flattens out coming off the corner, there just isn't a swaybar hooked to it. It's tangled up.
"We're going to have to stay out here and see if some of these guys pit," Shear replied, "see if it rains, because it looks like the rain is coming."
"Pit road is open," the spotter reported.
"Michael, I'm telling you," Shear said to his driver. "The rain's coming. It's not going to be very far from here."
"I understand," Mikey replied. "We'll just try to get what we can get, but I agree with you."
"34 is coming outside, about two back," the spotter said as Skinner again got the free pass and regained the lead lap. "Here he is."
"Michael, they want you to spread out like they did earlier," the spotter said, referring to NASCAR. He said the sanctioning body was using the method to try to keep the track dry.
"If we wind up pitting, put a bunch of wedge in it," Mikey said.
"Okay," Shear replied.
"Or whatever you want to do. I've got issues. I've never had one like this. It turns good."
"Okay. You're right on this deal," Shear agreed with his driver. He said it may be an issue with the sway bar chain.
"They gave us one to go, but it's really starting to rain up front," the spotter noted. Mikey rose to 25th as he stayed on the track, and Kahne retained his lead. "Bring it down pit road."
The red flag came out on lap 130 at 4:45pm ET. The field went to pit road and parked, sans Tony Stewart. Stewart's #20 Home Depot Chevrolet went to the garage and fell out of the event.
"Two cars, I mean two guys down there," Shear directed. As crew members attended to Mikey, the team went off the radio.
Stay tuned for more, after this rain! Mikey is currently 25th; Kahne is in the lead.
UPDATE: The rain is pouring. NASCAR called the race. Kasey Kahne wins, with Mikey finishing 25th.
Tune in next week for the Dodge/Save Mart 350! Coverage starts Sunday at 3:00pm ET on FOX.
