After struggling with an incredibly loose #55 Napa Dodge, Michael Waltrip was proud of his 23rd finish in the Dodge / SaveMart 300 at Infineon Raceway.
Mikey rolled off 35th today, with Kurt Busch starting from the pole.
"Hello?" was Mikey's first word on the radio.
"Can you hear me, Michael?" his spotter asked.
"Yeah."
"You got me loud and clear?" chimed in crew chief Joe Shear Jr.
"Yes, sir."
"Uh, all right. Fire it up."
The spotter then addressed the crew chief. "How 'bout you, Joe?"
"Got you loud and clear." Shear replied. He mentioned how he could only see a limitted section of the track.
After a moment, Shear asked, "Okay, Mike. You still got me?"
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, Mike, make sure we turn the battery to one, and run all your fans."
"Okay."
The spotter noted his level of visibility. "Hey, Mikey, I lose you right... there."
"All right," Mikey replied. "This is Turn 3, right?"
"Yeah, or 3A - whatever they call that. And I pick you up right... I got you now."
"Okay. I got you," Mikey acknowledged. "Just let me know... if I'm on the other side of the track, and somebody spins out over here, I don't need to know. Just tell me what I'm approaching too."
"I think they run into people, but I don't think they crash there," the spotter commented. "All right, pit road speed right there."
"I'm showing about... 3500."
"3500?" Shear asked.
"Yeah, I feel pretty good about that."
"And I can't see you right there either," the spotter noted.
Following static, Shear said, "Yeah, 10-4, I got you here."
"Okay, guys, it's 110 laps. We can run 38 to 39 laps on a tank of fuel." Shear asked that, if anyone saw a potential for a caution, let him know.
"You see us?" Shear asked his driver.
"Yeah," Mikey answered. "I waved at you. Nobody waved back."
"I was waving!"
"Well, I was waving at Buffy. She didn't wave back."
"All right, one to go," the spotter noted.
"Hey, Joe, you gonna get the green flag?" the spotter asked after a moment.
"No," Shear replied. "I can't see it at all."
"Okay, I'll call the green," the spotter said. He commented that he couldn't see the right side.
"Ah, don't worry about that," Mikey replied. "I can get up through there. You just worry about the green."
"All right, ready? Ready? Green flag," the spotter said at 3:51pm ET. "We got one up in the grass. They're checking up, checking up. Still checking up. More in the grass. They're rolling. The 26 still in the grass. Picking up some more."
Kurt Busch led the field to the green, as McMurray spun.
"One's crashing up here," the spotter noted. "Caution is out. You're clear on the track, if you want to come back on."
"Are you all right?" Shear asked his driver.
"Yeah," Mikey responded. "I didn't hit nothing."
"Okay. You got any feel on the car?"
Mikey burped. "No, not really. Feels fine so far. Nothing I would know we need to work on." in the gravel, hope no flat
The spotter said the car looked good up there and to make sure to shake them off.
The first caution came on lap 2. Ken Schrader got loose in front of Carl Edwards' #99, and Schrader's turned car T-boned Sterling Marlin's #14. Tom Hubert, Clint Bowyer, and Casey Mears was also collected. Mikey was marked in 31st. He had drove up on the gravel to avoid the wreck.
"I think I'm ahead of the 18 and the 45, if somebody would find out."
"They're going to go check on that right now."
NASCAR red-flagged the race at 3:55pm, four minutes into the event.
"Okay, Michael," Shear told his driver, "you're going to be behind the 26 and ahead of the 45."
"I don't see no 26," Mikey replied.
"Did you copy me, Mike?"
"There's no 26 around here."
"Yeah, he's crashed, so I think you line up behind the 22."
"55, 45," the spotter said.
"Yeah, we got it," Mikey answered.
The spotter noted how he couldn't see much in that accident.
"I closed my eyes," Mikey said, "and when I opened them, I couldn't see anything anyway."
"Whatever works."
"Who all got in the crash?" Mikey asked after a minute.
"21, 26, 14... and that's it, I think," the spotter replied. "And the 27." He told his driver they'd speedy-dry the track and then blow it.
"All right, fire that thing up," the spotter said at 4:06pm. The yellow flag returned.
Shear commented that the tires looked good. "You didn't flat-spot any tires or do anything like that, did you?" Shear asked his driver.
"No," Mikey replied, "I just went through the gravel."
"Everything's up."
"And they're open this time," the spotter added. Some leaders chose to pit. "That 26 showed back up in front of ya."
"His car's all dirty," Mikey commented.
"All right, gonna be one to go," the spotter said. After a moment, he added, "All right, we're going to be coming to the green here.
"All right, pace car should be off. Ready? Green flag, green flag."
Racing resumed on lap 4 with Kurt Busch leading and Mikey running 28th. McMurray's #26 was eight spots behind him; Dave Blaney's #22 restarted in front of him.
"Everything's good up through 3," the spotter noted. "Just smoke up there - no cars. Got one on the right side, just one. About six of them in a row." He asked Shear if he saw anything.
Shear said no.
Mikey lost two spots to Kyle Petty and JJ Yeley's #18 on lap 5. He was now 30th.
"Six of them," the spotter said.
"Two of them inside," Shear observed at the stripe. "Clear."
Mikey was 32nd on lap 6; Denny Hamlin and Brandon Ash had passed. One lap later, he lost a position to Martin Truex Jr.
"Loose, as it's been all week," Mikey commented going into lap 8.
"10-4 on the loose," the spotter said.
Shear gave his time. "20.8."
"Inside," the spotter noted as Jamie McMurray and Brian Vickers passed. "Behind the 25." The #55 was now 35th. "Got a nice seven to ten car lead over the 96."
"20.47," Shear noted. "20.42."
"Give me the temperatures, when you can," the crew chief requested a couple laps later.
"One on the right side corner," the spotter observed. Shear cleared him.
"Right side, door," the spotter added a bit later.
Lap 12 saw Terry Labonte's #96 pass. His brother Bobby and Clint Bowyer passed the next time around the track. Mikey now rode 38th.
"Give me some temperatures, and tell me what the thing's doing," Shear requested.
"220 and 230," Mikey yelled over the radio, "and it's so loose, I can barely hold onto it."
"Okay," Shear said. "We'll try to fix it when we can. We'll probably pull both of those rubbers when we get a chance."
"21.8," Shear gave the time on lap 15.
"You got it, clear by three," the spotter noted.
The Napa Dodge picked up a spot to Scott Riggs' fading #10 on lap 16.
"21.11." Shear continued to read off lap times.
"Lap 17, you're clear by ten, twelve out the back," observed the spotter. "You got it."
Mikey passed Brandon Ash's #02 for 36th on lap 19. Ash left the track within the next lap. Meanwhile, Shear continued to read off times.
"Got both them guys. Nice job!" the spotter praised.
Getting around Kyle Petty and David Gilliland advanced the Napa Dodge to 34th on lap 23. Ash returned to the track at the same time. The only cars in the garage belonged to Sterling Marlin, Ken Schrader, and Tom Hubert.
"Working lap 25," the spotter noted, after Shear read off the last lap's time.
Jeff Burton pit early on lap 26, allowing Mikey to gain a spot the next time around the track. More drivers hit pit road on lap 28. Mikey was marked in 31st one circuit later. At the front of the field, Kurt Busch locked his tires and smoked his brakes getting into Turn 5 too hot.
Cars continued to make stops. Mikey was up to 27th on lap 30.
"21.24," Shear read off the lap time, just before race leader Kurt Busch headed for pit road. Tony Stewart was marked in the top spot on lap 31. Mikey was 19th.
"That 7's one back here," the spotter noted. "He pitted. On the right side."
Busch, who was low on fuel, stalled the car on exit.
"Great job!" Shear complimented his driver. "We're going to pit in a few laps."
"We've got one off in the grass up here. It's just smoke," the spotter said.
"Okay, let's pit this lap. Let's pit this lap. Four tires, guys," Shear determined. "Pit this lap."
Boris Said led lap 32.
"On pit road, guys," the spotter said.
"3900... 3800," Shear said. "Follow the 66... follow the 96. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
Stewart sped coming off pit road.
"Go go go go," Shear directed. "Go hard, go hard."
Jimmie Johnson led lap 33 as Boris Said pitted his #60.
"All right, come on. Hard hard hard hard," the spotter directed. "All clear."
Mikey was marked 38th on lap 33, and one lap down. Johnson pit at the end of the lap, giving the top spot to Kevin Harvick. Meanwhile, Tony Stewart came back to the pits to serve his penalty. Mikey was marked on the lead lap again. He was 35th on lap 34.
"Car's a lot better," Mikey reported on lap 35. He was in 34th at the time.
"19.82," Shear noted.
"Lap 34," the spotter added. "Leader at the line now."
"19.80," Shear said on lap 36. Reed Sorenson was also issued a speeding penalty. "20 flat."
Lap 38 saw Ryan Newman passing Kevin Harvick of the lead. Newman's teammate Kurt Busch was hot on Harvick's trail too.
"All right, caution's out" the spotter noted. "Caution's out. The 18's out in the weeds here. You're already past it."
The second caution came on lap 39, just as Newman was marked with the top spot. JJ Yeley's #18 spun into the grass independently, and Denny Hamlin got a flat tire. Mikey was marked in 32nd.
"Okay, pit again," Shear directed. "We're going to get those rubbers in. Get caught up."
"The leader's in ten, and it will be the next time by," the spotter said.
"Pit road is closed right now," Shear noted. The spotter said it would be the next time by. Shear again told his driver to get caught up.
"I am caught up, I am!" Mikey exclaimed. "I understand that. I'm doing all I can do, except for pushing this guy out of my way." The car in front of him belonged to fellow Owensboro Kentucky native, Jeff Green.
Shear said he was just telling him.
"I can hear you, so it's not doing any good."
"Temperatures."
"Uh, 210, 220 right now."
"Okay, cool."
"Give me something to drink."
"Okay, 10-4." After a moment, Shear asked, "Need a windshield tear-off?"
"No, it's fine."
"Look for the light, Michael," the spotter said. "They haven't said if the pits are open yet."
"They're open. They're open. Come down, get those rubbers out," Shear stated they'd also get fuel.
"Pit road, guys," the spotter noted.
"3900. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop."
"Give me another water, if you've got time," Mikey requested.
"Go go go go go," Shear directed. "Okay, we're coming to the green, so get caught up."
The spotter said the restart was coming. "Ron Fellows is behind you, and behind him is about six guys."
"Pace truck's off," Shear added.
"All right. Ready? Ready? Green flag."
Newman led the lap 42 restart. Mikey was 31st.
"Everything's good up through three," the spotter noted. "Smoke up there; it's just dust."
"20.26," Shear gave the lap time.
Reed Sorenson spun but continued; Jamie McMurray and Martin Truex Jr had turned him. Sorenson had been farting around. The race remained under green.
Mikey gained a spot to JJ Yeley on lap 44. He was up to 30th.
"20.5," Shear stated.
"Got another one sitting sideways off this right-hander," the spotter said. "He spun his tires, getting into the grass. All clear."
Lap 45 saw Scott Pruett spin off Turn 7 after Elliott Sadler got into him. The race remained green. The incident allowed Mikey to pick up 29th.
"Another one's up in the grass up here," the spotter noted. "Already cleared it." McMurray had gotten spun.
"Caution's out, bud," the spotter announced. "Caution's out. That 32's sitting on pit road there."
The third yellow flag came on lap 47 for Ron Fellows' #32 stalling. Mikey was in 28th.
"How's your car feel there?"
"Well, it felt better once we took the rubbers out, I think. But it got faster," Mikey thought he was gaining on the others.
"10-4. We're going to stay out there." Shear said. After a moment, he repeated, "We're gonna stay out."
"Next time we get back, we'll get the green," the spotter said. "All right, pal. Get ready. Ready? Ready? Green flag, green flag."
Newman led the lap 49 restart, with Mikey in 28th.
"Everything's clear through 3, just a little bit of dust," the spotter said.
Jeff Gordon was all over Newman for the top spot. Off the last turn, Gordon's #24 took the top spot going into lap 50.
"20.26," Shear said. "20.23."
Stewart got into the corner too hard and bumped into the side of Said. Both held their cars, but the accident gave Stewart a severe tire rub on the left front.
"Pruett's on your inside right," the spotter noted. "You got him.
"He's in there big," he added. "Okay, you're clear."
Lap 52 saw Mikey back to 29th. He had unspecified trouble during the next lap.
"Okay, get rolling. Get rolling. Get behind that 66 right there. You've got it."
Mikey lost several spots the next time around the track. He fell to 30th. He was 33rd the next time around the track.
"20.6," Shear said.
"You got it," the spotter said on lap 56, when Mikey gained a spot to Jeremy Mayfield's #19. "That was halfway. Clear by two."
PJ Jones dropped, allowing Mikey to pick up another position on lap 57. He was up to 31st.
Joe Nemechek spun, drawing the third caution on lap 59. Mikey was marked 32nd.
"I'm just loose, Joe," Mikey reported. "Way loose. The front end's turning good, but I believe it might be too stiff, and that's why I'm loose. If that tells you anything on your air pressure, I don't know. The car's getting worse all day. It was actually the best yesterday in practice."
"Okay." Shear acknowledged. "Do you think we should stay out or come in here?"
"I don't know everything," Mikey replied. "You tell me."
Shear decided to stay out.
"I'm just telling you I'm bad loose," Mikey said. "I can't hustle it at all. It's just... really loose."
"In any direction, more than the other?"
"Both."
"Okay." Shear then changed his mind on the stop. "I think we can pit anyway, put four tires on it."
"Roger."
"We're going to have to pit again here, Mike. I mean, I'm not sure we should stay out here and get some track position." Shear asked what Mikey wanted.
The driver said, unless a lot of them pit, they should come in. "I'm just having to peddle it," he said. He reported that, on the S's, he couldn't get any grip. Shear decided to pit.
"Is that trackbar all the way down, Steve?" Shear asked. "Okay. 500. Pit this time.
"4, 3, 2, stop," Shear directed. "Go go go. Go hard, go hard."
"Be coming back to the green, Michael," the spotter added. "Hey, Joe, what these guys are probably going to do is, when they need fuel, they'll pit under green and just get it."
"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking," Shear replied.
"All right. Be ready. I know my ready's are long, because I can't see when they duck off. Ready? Ready? Ready? All right, green flag."
Jeff Gordon led the lap 62 restart. Mikey was 31st.
"They're crashing in 3," the spotter said. He told him to back it up and slow it down. "You've got one inside.
"Another one's up in the right-hander, spinning out." He said they were now moving. "Clear behind that 66. Jump in there. Got it."
Pruett hit four cars in one corner, which was the first incident. Jimmie Johnson was in the second when he spun, and went from 6th to 14th. Johnson had spun on his own, and he held it and continued. Dale Earnhardt Jr pitted early. Mikey was 26th on lap 63. He was 25th the next time around the track.
Newman was all over Gordon for the top spot, just after Robby Gordon bumped Kyle Petty out of the way for position.
"Clear behind that 66," the spotter told Mikey. "Outside, outside. That's the 45."
"You're clear," Shear added.
Robby Gordon pit, fearing an oncoming flat following his contact with Petty. His team also worked on his crumpled fender.
Lap 65 saw Mikey in 24th, but he lost the spot the next time around the track. On lap 67, a few leaders chose to pit, and Mikey was up to 20th the next circuit.
"We're going to pit this time for fuel," Shear told his driver. On the track, Jarrett spun. "Pit this time for fuel, pit this time for fuel. 3600. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop.
"Go go go go go, go hard. 3500." Many other drivers had also stopped, possibly for the final time.
The spotter noted the 42. "We'll try to cut him off," he said before noting the #99 too and clearing him on the track. "Right side corner, door. You got it."
Mikey was 22nd on lap 69. He was 27th on lap 70, due to the stop.
"Right side, three of them total," the spotter warned.
Jeff Gordon went to pit road, giving the lead to Jimmie Johnson on lap 71.
"Right side corner," the spotter said. "Corner. The 45. We've been better than him."
Johnson pit the next time around the track, allowing Terry Labonte to take the top spot on lap 73. Labonte was convinced he could go to the end, because he was so slow and wasn't burning up as much fuel. Mikey was 28th.
"Right side," the spotter noted. On lap 74, he said, "The 22 is one back. Inside."
Mikey lost that spot to Dave Blaney on lap 75, and was now 29th. Robby Gordon cut a tire and shred it. He slowed to pit road.
Lap 78 saw Mikey losing a spot to Denny Hamlin. His spotter warned that Scott Pruett was coming next.
"Right side corner, right side door," the spotter said. "22 stopped, almost."
Mikey was 31st on lap 80 with Pruett's pass, but picked up 30th again to Blaney the next time around the track.
"I just can't... it's soo loose," Mikey complained.
"10-4 on the loose," the spotter said. "We've got thirty laps to go, Michael." After Shear gave a lap time, the spotter cleared the driver.
"Inside, inside," the spotter noted, as Mikey passed Kevin Harvick for 29th on lap 84. Harvick headed for pit road with a loose right rear wheel.
Lap 89 saw Jeff Gordon taking the lead.
"Great job. Hang onto that thing for me," Shear said on lap 91.
"21 laps to go," the spotter said. "And if this stays green, it's going to be real good for us."
The #20 car of Tony Stewart suffered a valve train issue. It lost a cyllander, and while Stewart's time had been comparable to Gordon's, he dropped from 3rd to 6th within a couple laps.
Mikey gained 28th on lap 95.
"Michael, we should be good on gas here, but we're going to be close," Shear said on lap 96. "So just be smooth with that thing." He was up to 27th on that lap.
"Caution's out, caution's out," the spotter said. "Um, about two turns up, one got in the grass, and they're going to look for oil from the 20 car."
The fourth caution came on lap 97 for Joe Nemechek's spin.
"So what do you think we should do here?" Shear asked his driver.
"Well, everytime I pit, y'all make me worse. So if y'all don't have a good plan to do here," Mikey said he didn't know how many cars were on the lead lap or know anything. He told his team he didn't want to be asked what to do, because he doesn't have all the information. He wanted them to huddle up.
After Shear made the call for a two-tire stop, Mikey asked, "How many lead lap cars are behind me?"
"Seven."
"Some of these cats cannot make it on fuel, so there are going to be more of them pitting," the spotter noted. "Cautions breed cautions at the end here too.
"These leaders are staying out."
Mikey said he couldn't hold anybody off.
"Let's bring it in here. Let's get left side tires and fuel," Shear made the call.
"This is short, guys," the spotter noted.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... Go go go, go go go. Go hard."
"All right, we'll be coming back here to the green too," the spotter noted.
"Michael, work those left side tires pretty good, and try to get as much as you can," Shear advised.
"Be twelve to go when we take the green," the spotter observed.
Gordon led the lap 99 restart. Mikey was 27th.
"Everything's okay up through here," the spotter said. "Give of them to the right. Keep coming, keep coming. Right behind the 41 up here. One on the right side, we'll beat him right here."
Harvick got into the back of
"Backing up, one spun up right by the wall. He got out of the way," the spotter warned one lap later. "Spun out, two of them spun out. Inside, stay inside. You've got one on your right, on your left."
Bobby Labonte had gotten into Jeremy Mayfield the second time.
"All right, caution's out, caution's out. Turn 1."
Lap 101 saw the fifth caution.
"I'd like to put on two flat tires," Mikey said. "I know you didn't. I just wanted to explain to you how loose it is like this. I mean, it's like I'm driving on dirt."
"Sorry about that," Shear apologised. "We'll just have to hang onto it, do the best we can."
Mikey said the motor was "running funny".
"Okay, just try to nurse it."
"I think we should pit," Mikey commented. "Pit, put on four tires, at least have a chance. I'm not even going to have a chance like this."
"Come down, guys," Shear made the call. "Come down." He told the crew to put on the tires.
"Put a couple rounds of bite into it, see what it does," Mikey suggested, and Shear went with it.
Shear asked about the looseness.
"It's totally loose everywhere, every way," Mikey replied.
"Does the shocks have rebound adjusters in it?"
"We need to beat everyone off pit road," Mikey told his team.
"Two turns down in the left rear," Shear told the crew. "5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop.
"Go go go go. Go hard, go hard."
"Okay, we'll be coming back to the green." He asked who was the last one on the lead lap. When Shear said the #10, then the one in front. Scott Riggs' #10 was the free pass.
When they told him the #43, Mikey said the #43 was on pit road.
"We need to get around that 32. He's many laps down," the spotter said.
"I will," Mikey replied. He said he'd get around others too.
"We go all the way up to the 4, Michael," the spotter noted.
Racing resumed on lap 103 - 8 laps to go - with Gordon leading and Mikey in 32nd. Thirty-four cars remained on the lead lap.
"88's braking up there on the left. Clear back on the track. 4's off. Okay, all clear now," the spotter warned Mikey.
"All clear there," Shear noted.
"Right side, right side," the spotter observed. "That 40 car."
Pruett passed, but Stewart dropped on lap 105. Mikey remained 32nd.
"18 sitting sideways up here. They're crashing. Check up, check up. Right. All right, all clear. Caution's out."
Dale Earnhardt Jr spun JJ Yeley, and Kyle Petty hit Joe Nemechek. Others including Reed Sorenson and Dale Jarrett were collected. NASCAR red-flagged the race for the second time at 6:49pm.
"Okay, they're going to stop you down there," the spotter noted.
The sixth caution came out on lap 105 and quickly became a red flag. Mikey was still 32nd, as the field came to a halt just in front of the start/finish line.
"Okay, they're going to throw the red," the spotter added.
"They're going to bring you some water," Shear told his driver.
"Hey, Jeff Miles, will you go to the #22's channel?" the spotter asked after a long pause.
"How many did we KO in that wreck?" Mikey asked.
"Three."
"You might end up about 25th," the spotter said.
"I don't know how long that 20 will run before it just melts," Mikey commented.
"I don't know, but the 4 car wasn't even smoking as bad, and they just made him park it."
At 7:02pm, the yellow flag returned, and cars refired. Tony Stewart had never cut his engine.
"All right, you fire it up?" the spotter asked.
"Yeah," said the driver.
"Okay, we will not pit."
"Okay."
Mikey was 28th as soon as he started rolling, as those in the accident dropped to pit road and to the garage. NASCAR black-flagged Harvick for missing hood pins. Mikey picked up 26th during this caution period.
"We'll be three laps back to the green," the spotter said. "Three laps when we get it.
"Okay, there's gonna be three laps to go when you get the green."
Gordon led the lap 108 restart.
"Work those tires and clean that carberator out. Be ready!" Shear said.
"All right. Ready? Ready? Ready? Green flag."
Mikey was 26th at the stripe.
"One slowing, one slowing up here on the right side of the track," the spotter noted. "No threat out the back, that white one's coming back to ya.
"You've got one on the right side," the spotter added. "You've got him."
One lap later, Mikey was 24th after passing Pruett.
"Inside, on the right," the spotter said, and his crew chief cleared him. Mears pitted with a possible flat.
"On the right side. Another one on the right. You've got him. Clear by three," the spotter observed. On the last lap, he said, "Right corner. Right side door. Clear by two on the 29."
"You're all clear, man," Shear added. "Good job, buddy, good job. You finished 23rd."
Static followed. Jeff Gordon won.
"I'm pretty proud of my finish," Mikey said after a while. He complimented his crew.
Be sure to watch the Pepsi 400 next week! Coverage starts Saturday night at 7:30pm ET on FOX. Mikey may also compete in the Busch Series' Winn-Dixie 250 the day before, which airs at 7:30pm on FX.
