Michael Waltrip finished 30th in the USG Sheetrock 400, today's Nextel Cup race at Chicagoland Speedway.
Jeff Burton started from the pole, with Mikey's #55 Napa Dodge rolling off 36th. With Bill Elliott's #00 Michael Waltrip Racing Chevrolet dropping to the rear of the field, the Napa Dodge started 34th.
"Okay, Michael, your pace car's rolling," the spotter announced at 3:40pm ET.
"Okay," was Mikey's reply.
"Get the pit sign out so he sees it when he goes by," crew chief Joe Shear Jr told the team.
"Okay, Michael," the spotter noted, "you're ten away right there."
"Okay, let's go have a good day and have fun," Shear added.
"Where did I qualify?" Mikey asked. "Even or odd?"
"Even."
"All right, buddy, when you get caught up, you're at pit road speed there," requested the crew chief.
"4000."
"Okay, 4000," Shear echoed his driver.
"Everybody around here's 4000, 4001," the spotter noted.
"All right, buddy," said the spotter, "it will be one to go when you get back here."
"Make sure you have all your blowers on," Shear advised.
"Okay, I do," Mikey answered.
"I figured that you did. I just need to say that."
"Do we not have B blowers on this car?" asked the driver.
"We don't have B blowers," Shear replied. "I don't think it does. We're going to have to work on that." "Okay, Michael, 260 laps. Have a good day here."
"Pace car's gone," the spotter announced. "Stay ready. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Burton led the field to the green at 3:46pm. The Napa Dodge was 34th.
"45's inside," the spotter warned. "4's coming back slow in the middle. You see him. Outside. By himself. All clear."
Mikey had gained a spot one lap into the run. Clint Bowyer passed him back, moving Mikey back to 34th on lap 3. Ken Schrader got around the #55 the next time around the track.
"Outside the 26," the spotter noted. "Clear. Back outside, by himself. Down there by himself."
Jamie McMurray passed on lap 6, moving Mikey back to 36th.
"Clear all around," the spotter said. Tony Raines passed on lap 7. "Down there by himself.
"Three wide in three, you're clear."
Kyle Petty dropped Mikey back to 38th on lap 9.
Brian Vickers' 2nd place #25 was the fastest car on track, half a second behind leader Burton on lap 12. Mikey's #00 with Bill Elliott was right behind him.
"The 99 scraped the wall off of 2. He's still going. Everything's fine," the spotter told Mikey on lap 15. Shear read off lap times, as Vickers began losing ground to Burton.
Mikey picked up 37th on lap 22. Getting around Carl Edwards one lap later gained him another spot. Meanwhile, Elliott's #00 fell to 41st.
"Give me some temps when you get a chance," Shear requested after reading off lap times on lap 27.
"All clear," noted the spotter.
"210, 230," Mikey answered Shear.
"Thank you."
Lap 28 saw Mikey gain 35th from Kyle Petty's #45. A few laps later, the Napa Dodge manuevered around Tony Raines for another spot. His driver Elliott passed Edwards on lap 32 for 40th.
Mikey gained 33rd to Joe Nemechek on lap 36, as Elliott fell off the lead lap. On the next circuit, the #55 was up to 32nd after going around Jamie McMurray and got around Terry Labonte for another position on lap 39. Four laps later, he passed Elliott Sadler for 30th.
"Clear 38," the spotter announced. "Good job."
"33.28," Shear read off the lap time on lap 46. "Good lap! Give me a little heads up on the car so I can make a game plan here."
"Well it was a little greasy at first," Mikey reported. "Now it's perfect."
"Okay." A moment later, Shear added, "Leader ran a 33.40, you ran a 33.48."
Burton continued to lead, and was approximately three seconds ahead of Jeff Gordon in 2nd.
"We'll be pitting in ten laps," Shear announced on lap 52.
One lap later, Mikey passed Jeremy Mayfield for 29th.
"Clear, all clear," the spotter noted. "Great job, man."
The #55 passed Ken Schrader on lap 55, and the spotter cleared him. At the front of the field, Gordon had gained a second on Burton and was now just two seconds outside the lead.
"We'll be pitting in five laps," Shear told his driver. "Five laps."
Drivers began making green flag stops. With two Ganassi cars hitting pit road, Mikey went up to 25th on lap 57. Others pit, and Mikey was 22nd the next time around the track. Lap 59 saw him pick up 17th.
"14 coming this time," the spotter warned.
"Pit next time," the crew chief said. "Four tires, guys. Four tires."
Todd Kluever ran over a cone, picking up a penalty.
Mikey pit on lap 61, as did Burton. Kyle Busch picked up the lead.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1," the crew chief led his driver to the box. "Stop.
"Go go go go go!"
"All the way to the grass, 4,000," the spotter said. "4,000. Dig hard there, watch your blend line. You've got the 14 now just getting into 1. Centre of the corner, he's coming now."
The spotter cleared Mikey to merge with traffic.
Kyle Busch pit, allowing Jeff Gordon to pick up the top spot on lap 63. Gordon had been faster than Burton on pit road. Stops had cycled, and Mikey was 27th. Bill Elliott was 41st and lapped.
"Outside," the spotter warned. "Going to bring the 38 with him. Clear for now."
Robby Gordon and Elliott Sadler passed, dropping Mikey to 29th on lap 64.
"That 24 in your mirror is the leader," the spotter noted on lap 68.
"Caution's out," he announced a lap later. "Debris in Turn 1."
Lap 69 saw the first caution. Jeremy Mayfield got the free pass back onto the lead lap.
"It's just real loose on new tires," Mikey reported, "and then it goes to neutral. If you wanted to raise the air on the left maybe, left front especially, maybe left rear too, and then raise the trackbar too, I don't mind. We're missing it on the start somehow. Make sure my right front stays at a minimum. We don't have to get pit... we don't have to get four. We can get four and learn something later, or we can get two. How come nobody bothers to answer me?"
A pause followed.
Mikey summed up the instructions. "How come y'all aren't talking to me."
"Michael, you got a copy on me?" Shear asked.
"Yeah, I got you fine, but nobody else answered me," Mikey answered. "That's impossible. I told y'all what I wanted to do."
"Raise that trackbar up one turn. Four tires, guys. Watch out," Shear directed. "Did you guys not hear me on the radio?"
No response came.
Drivers pit under the yellow, and Kevin Harvick picked up the lead. The top seven cars had not made stops.
"One to go at the line," the spotter noted on lap 71, under caution. "Coming to the green."
Lap 73 saw the restart with Mikey in 28th. Cars bobbled at the front of the field, and Kluever got dumped back in line.
"Got a slow one high off of 2, they're jamming up just a little bit," The spotter noted. "Clear. Same thing getting into 3."
Mikey lost a spot one lap into the run.
"Three wide, clear on the bottom," warned the spotter. "Clear, all clear. ... slow in the middle, coming back."
Mikey picked up a spot to Sadler on lap 76. He was back to 28th.
"Outside - the 19," the spotter said on lap 78. Mayfield passed the next time around the track.
Mikey reported that he was tight, and that the car was "messing up on the exits."
"Okay," Shear replied.
"Looking inside," the spotter noted on lap 81. "Clear on the bottom. Clear."
"Really messing up on exit. I'm skating the front tires," Mikey complained on lap 83.
"Okay, 10-4," acknowledged Shear. "We're going to have to go down on that right front air pressure, maybe two pounds."
"By himself," the spotter said, just before Sadler dropped Mikey to 30th on lap 85. Bill Elliott rode 39th, still lapped.
"I need a caution bad. We're in trouble," Mikey said over the radio on lap 89.
Shear continued to read off lap times. Elliott was back to 41st. Harvick was three seconds ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr in 2nd, but Junior was gaining as the fastest car on track.
"Leader's about one full straightaway back," the spotter noted on lap 99. His spotter cleared him four laps later, as Shear continued to read off lap times. Mikey passed Mayfield for 29th on lap 104.
"Clear," the spotter said during the next lap.
"You're halfway through the fuel run," Shear told his driver. Earnhardt Jr was now less than a half second behind Harvick for the top spot.
Dale Earnhardt Jr passed high and took the top spot to lead lap 110.
"I pushed, I pushed and I hit the wall," Mikey said the next time around the track.
"How bad did you hit it?" Shear asked.
"The right side looks okay," the spotter noted. "It's not dragging or anything. Yeah, I saw it last time. No smoke."
"Just work on my right front fender."
"Okay," Shear replied. "The 8 car is the leader, about ten car lengths behind you."
"He's looking inside now, the leader," said the spotter. "Inside. Clear after that eight."
Lap 114 saw Mikey lose the lead lap. Elliott had just gone a second lap down, still 41st.
"Inside. 2nd place car. Inside."
"They're talking about debris in Turn 4," Shear announced.
"Three wide, two wide," the spotter noted. "One more. Clear."
"That 19's the lucky dog," Shear said.
"10-4. Clear, all clear."
On lap 120, Mikey said he must have messed something up. "It was pushing already, now it's plowing."
"Just try to hang onto it. We'll try to get it fixed up," Shear encouraged his driver.
The spotter let Mikey know that leaders were coming, but that there was a huge hole behind Matt Kenseth. "Inside - the 31. Five back to the 17."
"Coming your way, guys, coming your way. 4000," the spotter said on lap 125 as Mikey headed for pit road.
Shear told the team to work on pulling out the fender.
"Fix my tire pressures," Mikey told his team.
"We already did," Shear said. "Get those fenders out."
The stop put Mikey a second lap down. Other drivers made stops, mainly those who hadn't stopped under the last yellow flag. The spotter guided Mikey back onto the track into traffic. Jeff Gordon took the lead as Earnhardt Jr pitted. Bill Elliott was 38th, also two laps down.
Mikey was 41st when he returned to the track but picked up 40th as Scott Wimmer pit. Jeff Burton took the lead on lap 130 when Gordon pit. Gordon and teammate Jimmie Johnson almost collided as Johnson left his stall and Gordon entered his.
Burton pit, and Matt Kenseth took the lead on lap 131. When Kenseth pit, Tony Stewart took the top spot. Mikey was 38th as others stopped on lap 132.
"Stickers behind you on this 42," the spotter noted. "Inside, by himself."
Mikey was marked 36th as Edwards and Elliott made stops.
Stops had cycled by lap 133, and Earnhardt Jr was back in the lead. Mikey was 34th, back to one lap down. Elliott was 42nd, still two laps down.
"Inside - the 99. Stickers," the spotter said. Edwards' #99 completed the pass, dropping Mikey to 35th on lap 137. Mikey regained 34th the next time around the track.
"The 8 car's the leader, one full straightaway behind you on the track," the spotter noted. "By himself."
Passing Travis Kvapil brought Mikey to 33rd on lap 138.
"Trying to bring the 10 with him. All clear."
Ken Schrader pit, and Mikey picked up 32nd.
"Yellow's out, yellow's out. Debris, centre of the back," the spotter said on lap 141 for the second caution.
"What'd I run that last lap?"
"33.29," Shear replied. "You got all the aero screwed up? Is it plowing still?"
"No, the tires' screwed up. We're back to where we started," Mikey replied.
Shear suggested an adjustment.
"It's as low as we can go," Mikey commented.
"We're going down another pound."
"Will somebody give me something to drink?" Mikey asked. "And lower the trackbar a round or two with what we're doing."
"10-4. Let's go one round down on the track bar," Shear gave more instructions, including giving Mikey something to drink. He told the crew to pull on the fenders too, "just in case." He talked about working on both fenders.
Mikey asked why work on the left. "I don't remember hitting everything with it."
Shear said the top of that fender had been rubbing the tire, and they're going to fix it. "Okay, we can have the extra man. Get a tear-off. Make sure you get him a drink, guys."
Leaders made stops.
"Give me two bottles of water, not just one," Mikey said over the radio.
"Guys, give him two bottles of water," Shear told the crew. "Make sure you watch the pace car. We're going to do a little bit of fixing here."
"10-4," the spotter replied. "4,000 and 2nd. 4,000."
"Okay, you're going to have empty stalls in front of you and behind you," Shear noted.
"10 away," the spotter said.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop," Shear finished.
"Centre of the back straightaway."
"Brush off the grill real good, y'all," Mikey requested.
"It'll be one to go at the line. Pace car's just now getting into 4," the spotter commented.
"What kind of temperature do you got right now?"
"Uh, 225, 240."
"Make sure you've got that fan on," Shear advised.
"Coming to the restart," the spotter announced. "Pace car's gone. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Reed Sorenson led the lap 146 restart. Mikey was 32nd, one lap down, and Bill Elliott was two laps down in 38th.
"Clear, clear. Outside - the 25," the spotter told his driver. "Quick hole behind the 99. Clear, all clear."
Mikey fell to 33rd on lap 148 with Edwards' pass.
"Looking inside," the spotter continued. "Three-wide. Two-wide. Middle's clear."
Lap 149 saw Matt Kenseth all over Sorenson for the top spot. He dropped inside and took it.
"It'll be three, two-wide. Clear. 26 is slow in the middle, the white car. Outside. Clear, all clear. Inside - 06. Got the 44 with him."
"Give me a temperature reading, when you get the chance," Shear requested.
"Still there. Clear."
"What'd you say?" Mikey asked his crew chief.
"Give me a temperature reading."
"225, 240."
"Okay, thank you."
"99 in the wall ahead of you. All clear," the spotter said. "Get it back going. He's a little slow, high off of Turn 2.
"Clear," he added on lap 158. Shear read off lap times.
"He may not make it back around. He's not under power," the spotter said on lap 171. "Yellow is out - the 44, slow on the apron, getting into 3."
The third caution came on lap 172. Terry Labonte became the first driver out of the race.
"Okay, tell me what that car is doing," Shear requested.
"Well, it's not handling very good, but that right there was the best it's been," Mikey replied. "So if you've got more room on the right front, dump it out and lower the trackbar some more."
"Yeah, 10-4, that's what we did," Shear said. He called for tires and the trackbar lowered one turn. "Is that right front fender out pretty good, or is it in?"
"The left front tape's coming off," Mikey replied.
"Do you need any more water?"
"Nah, I'm good."
Leaders pit under yellow.
"Got a rubber in that left rear spring we could pull if we're tight," Shear noted.
"Well, it's just skating the front tires too much. I don't know about... you can pull the rubber if you want, but I don't think it will really matter, but you can if you want.
"Give me a wet towel if you've got one."
"Give him a wet towel, if we've got one," Shear echoed.
The spotter and crew chief led Mikey to his box. "Tape on the fender," Shear added. "Go go go go go."
"Outside, one back. 4,000," the spotter directed. "Okay, it will be one to go when you get back." He warned his driver of the safety truck on the track.
Kenseth led after stops, and Mikey was marked 32nd.
"Okay, we're racing the 22, 66, 38, 19, 88, 45, 99, and the 14," Shear told him.
Racing resumed on lap 176 with Kenseth leading. Bill Elliott was 38th, two laps down. The field bottled when Dale Jarrett lost third gear and fell back dramatically from the inside line.
"Slow ahead, clear on the bottom. Clear," directed the spotter. "Clear high. Outside. Inside. It will be three here. Hold your line. Bringing the two with him. Outside. Clear high after the 2. Clear."
Mikey was up to 30th one lap into the run.
"Outside - the 6," the spotter noted on lap 181. "Gonna bring the 4 with him. Clear for now, half back. Got a little bit off of 2 here.
"Got one more - the 40. Outside. Clear high, after that 40."
Shear read off lap times.
"Inside, the 14. Clear after that 14," the spotter warned. Lap 185 saw Mikey fall to 31st to Sterling Marlin's #14 Chevy. "The 7 with him. The 00's with him. Clear."
Dale Jarrett passed, moving Mikey back to 32nd on lap 189.
"He's trying to be three here," the spotter warned. "Hold your line. Three-wide. Clear."
The spotter cleared him when Mikey passed back Jarrett for 31st on lap 196.
"33.02. Good lap," Shear praised.
"Inside, two of them," the spotter said. "Yellow's out. Yellow is out."
Lap 200 saw the fourth caution for Tony Raines' spin. Dave Blaney received the free pass.
"Did you tag the wall again?" Shear asked.
"Nope. I missed it," Mikey replied.
"Okay. What did it do there?" asked the crew chief.
"Best it's been," Mikey replied. "Need to look at doing the same thing again. Little less right front air and a little lower trackbar."
"Okay, 10-4. I'm bottomed out on the trackbar. I could do a little more air. Anything else you want?"
"I just need to be tighter," Mikey replied after a moment, "but don't... you can't put air in the right front. What we need to do is find a way to hook up the back. It's just free under the gas." He said they needed to play with air pressures if the trackbar was bottomed out.
Leaders pit under yellow.
Shear wanted to get more traction by making a left rear air pressure adjustment. "Go down another pound on that right rear too," he added. "Right front's going to be at the minimum, Mike, and we're going to do down on those right rears."
"Okay," Mikey replied.
The #55 came to the pits.
"10 away," the spotter said.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop," Shear directed. "Go go go go."
"Clear right there, 4,000, all the way to the grass," the spotter added.
"Mikey, we're really close to making it if we top off here with one to go," Shear told his driver.
"Well, we need to try it," Mikey replied. "Might as well. Who cares?"
"Okay, it will be one to go next time by," the spotter noted.
"Come down and top this thing off," Shear directed. "Come down pit road and top off, guys."
"Okay, guys, centre of three and four," the spotter noted. "4,000."
"Here he comes, guys," Shear told the crew as Mikey went to pit road to top off on fuel one lap before the restart.
"10 away."
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop. Go go go go."
"Outside," the spotter noted. "All right, bud, coming to the green."
Lap 205 saw the restart. Kenseth led, with Mikey in 29th. Elliott was 37th, two laps down.
"Pace car's gone. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag, green flag," the spotter noted. "Looks good, keep coming. Clear on the bottom. Clear on the bottom. One more outside. Clear, all clear."
Shear read lap times.
"Still out there, clear high," the spotter observed on lap 209. "Inside. Got the 1 with him. Clear."
Sterling Marlin passed, moving Mikey back to 30th on lap 210.
"Inside - the 1," the spotter told his driver. Martin Truex Jr's #1 was 17th and on the lead lap. "Clear.
"The 11, slow on the bottom ahead," he added on lap 213. "The 11 may have a tire going down. He's going to pit road in front of you. Stay up high. Clear, all clear."
Denny Hamlin's #11 pit. The #11's left rear tire had been going down. His stop allowed Mikey to pick up 29th on lap 215.
The fifth caution came on lap 216. Elliott Sadler spun in the infield; he's picked up a flat from Biffle. Jeremy Mayfield received the free pass.
"Yellow's out. Yellow's out," the spotter announced. "Had the 38 car spin on the back. All clear."
"How were those air pressures?" asked the crew chief.
"Uh, they were better," Mikey replied. "Um. Just... they were better, just, just a little... tighter in the centre than I need, but better overall grip, so um, maybe a little bit out of the left front? Or maybe not? Or maybe a little in the right rear? Or leave it and do something with the trackbar?"
Shear decided to go with the trackbar. "We still have that rubber in that right rear."
"Yeah, might be better to leave the trackbar down," Mikey said. He emphasised how the car had been better.
"You're in front of the 9," the spotter noted, after saying that pit road opened.
"Okay, guys, let's get ready to put four tires on it," Shear told the crew. "No gas, and pull that rubber out."
"We could just stay out," Mikey suggested.
"Just stay out. Stay out then."
"These are lead lap cars right here anyway, Joe," the spotter told Shear. "Just lead lap cars."
"Just stay out, see if we get that lucky dog," added Shear.
"Okay," Shear looked at others on the lead lap. "We're racing the 99, the 12, the 66, the 66, the 14, the 88, the 11, the 45, and the 38."
"99 stayed, 12 stayed," the spotter noted. "It will be one to go at the line.
"Pace car's off. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Racing resumed on lap 221 with Kenseth leading and Mikey in 28th and lapped. Bill Elliott was 38th, two laps down.
The spotter warned Mikey that Hamlin's #11 was coming. Hamlin passed on lap 223, dropping Mikey to 29th. His spotter cleared him after the #8 car. Earnhardt Jr's #8 ran 8th.
"Outside, the 4. Clear. Three-wide," the spotter warned. "Inside, middle."
Jeff Green, Kyle Petty, and Dale Jarrett passed. Mikey was 32nd on lap 226. The Napa Dodge went three-wide again, and picked up a spot from Ryan Newman two laps later.
"Two wide, back to three. Hold your line. Still three. Still three. We're in the pits, guys. We're in the pits. Yellow is out. Yellow is out."
The sixth caution came on lap 229. Ryan Newman squeezed between Mikey and Clint Bowyer, cutting down Mikey's tire. Edwards took the free pass.
"Guys, get ready," Shear said.
"Okay, lookie here. My steering wheel's okay, I've got a right rear flat. Or a left rear, one or the other. Let's change the tires."
"Come on down here. 8 car, turn 2."
The spotter and crew chief led Mikey to his box. The spotter warned this was a quickie yellow. "That's it, bud. You can did hard there."
"Front fender all right?" Shear asked. "Yeah, they're saying the fenders are all right right here."
The spotter noted that Mikey was pitting again.
"Okay, let's get these fenders as best we can," Shear told the crew.
The spotter warned Mikey to watch Ryan Newman's #12. Mikey made a couple stops under yellow.
"As long as it wasn't one to go, we could have worked on it some more," Mikey replied.
"Everything looks fine to us," Shear told his driver. He said they'd have to restart at the tail end of the longest line.
"The 99 is the only one behind you, and he's also tail end. He was the lucky dog," the spotter noted. "Here comes the 99. 66 is leaving pit road right now. We're not going. Lights back on. We're not going.
"One to go," the spotter added.
"It's going to be 35 laps to go when we get the green," Shear noted.
"Coming to the green. The 88 will be slow up here. He's got no third gear," the spotter noted. "Pace car's gone. Stay ready. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag. Backing up a little bit. Now you're clear."
Kenseth led the lap 233 restart. Mikey was 33rd, one lap down. Bill Elliott was two laps down in 39th.
"Still out there," the spotter said. "Clear high. Wreck right in front of you, spinning in front of you in Turn 2." He warned Mikey that Casey Mears was against the fence and to stay down low.
Lap 235 saw the seventh caution for Casey Mears' spin. Denny Hamlin received the free pass.
"Okay, Mike, it drove all right?" Shear asked.
"Oh, yeah," Mikey replied. He said it drove well on the start.
"Okay, let's stay out then."
"We're lined up behind the 22. He's two cars behind us. Line up behind the 22. 9 will come around you as well. He's also in front of the 22.
"Pit road's open. Quickie yellow."
"We're going to stay out," Shear announced.
"7 will be coming outside," the spotter warned. "Here he comes."
"Okay, we're racing the 14, the 45, the 66, the 12, and the 88," Shear noted.
"Coming to the green. Pace car's gone. Ready? Green flag, gree flag, green flag."
Jeff Gordon jumped on Kenseth on the lap 238 restart, but Kenseth held his ground. Mikey was 31st, one lap down, with Bill Elliott two laps down in 38th.
"Two more, outside," the spotter said. "Clear all around, right there. Outside. Slow one up top. Coming back, clear high. Inside."
Ryan Newman fell off the pace significantly along the frontstretch.
"26 slow on the bottom, the white car," the spotter continued. "Clear the 26."
Mikey was 30th on lap 241. Shear read off lap times.
"Outside. Clear for now. All clear," the spotter guided his driver. "Back outside, two of them. All clear. Outside. Got the 22 with him. Clear high after the 22. All clear.
"Inside. Got one more. Clear, trying to bring the 7 with him. Clear."
Elliott was up to 37th, still two laps down.
"Hold your line. Three wide. You're clear, all clear."
"That was 15 to go. One-five," the spotter added on lap 254. Kenseth was one and a half seconds ahead of Gordon in 2nd.
"10 laps left. Ten," the spotter added five laps later. Bill Elliott was up to 36th.
On lap 263, Jeff Gordon was all over Matt Kenseth for the top spot. Gordon was driving half a lane higher.
"Five laps left," said the spotter. "Clear."
Jeff Gordon spun Kenseth, drawing the eighth caution on lap 265. "If NASCAR's consistent, they will black-flag the 24," Kenseth said over his team radio.
"We've got a spin off of 2, a spin off of 2," the spotter said. "Yellow is out. Leader just spun off of 2. Race track's all clear."
"What do you want to do?" Shear asked.
"I guess we'd better stay out," Mikey replied.
"Yeah, that's what I think too."
"Did he spin out, or did he get spun out?" Mikey asked, referring to Matt Kenseth.
"He got spun out," the spotter replied. "The 24 spun him."
"A little payback from Bristol," Shear added.
Kenseth pit.
"The 96's trying to come outside," the spotter said.
"I have you a green/white/checkered deal," Shear told his driver. "Clean those tires off." He listed the cars Mikey would be racing.
"Here comes the 17. Coming to the green," the spotter noted. "Pace car's gone. Stay ready. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Gordon led the lap 269 restart, with Mikey in 30th and one lap down. Elliott was 35th, two laps down.
"White flag, last lap," the spotter informed.
Jeff Gordon crossed the stripe first. David Stremme wrecked Matt Kenseth off Turn 4 as Kenseth attempted to pass. The #17 sat in the infield as the #24 did burnouts.
The #55 crossed 30th, and Bill Elliott finished 35th.
"Spinning right in front of you, hit the wall, spinning low, spinning low, back across."
"Thanks for all the hard work, guys. Michael, thanks for doing it," Shear praised the team.
NASCAR goes to Loudon next weekend. Coverage of the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 begins Sunday at 1:30pm ET on TNT. Mikey may also compete on next Saturday's Busch Series race; the New England 200 airs at 3:00pm on the same station.
