Michael Waltrip finished 17th in the Carfax 250, today's Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Mikey started from the 38th spot, with Mark Martin rolling off the poll. Cars took to the track at 3:18pm ET. The following drivers were required to drop to the rear of the field during pace laps: Kertis Davis, John Andretti, Paul Menard, JJ Yeley, David Green, and Regan Smith. Because only one of these drivers had qualified on the outside row in front of the Cottmanns Dodge, the #99 advanced one row to 36th.
The green flag waved at 3:24pm. Mark Martin held his lead, with Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch in hot pursuit. Burton spun the tires on the start, allowing Busch's #39 to grab second. On lap 2, Busch looked to the outside for the top spot, with Jeff Burton on his rear fender. Lap 3 saw Kurt Busch in the lead.
One lap into the run, Mikey had picked up three spots. Passing Todd Kluever took him to 32nd the next time around the track. Stephen Wallace made contact with the wall, and Stacy Compton lost a spot. Their losses allowed the Cottmann's Dodge to take 30th on lap 4.
Matt Kenseth took the lead on lap 5. Smith passed on the same lap, dropping Mikey to 31st. JJ Yeley's #18 got around the #99 on lap 7, but Mikey repassed the next time around the track. He took back 31st.
Lap 8 saw Kurt Busch grab the lead, as Mikey picked up 30th. Yeley moved back the Cottmann's Dodge one spot two circuits later.
The yellow flag waved for the first time on lap 11. Greg Biffle was running in the top 10 when he cut in front of Casey Mears along the high groove and turned himself into the wall off Mears' nose. His departure gained the #99 30th. Some drivers chose to pit.
Racing resumed on lap 15. Kurt Busch led, and Mikey was 21st. One lap into the run, Mikey picked up a spot. Passing Kenny Wallace on lap 18 gained him another spot.
Kenseth regained the lead on lap 20. The yellow flag came out for the second time on the same lap. Mikey got loose in the corner after passing Mike Skinner's #12. He spun, but made no contact. More cars pit.
Lap 24 saw the restart. Cale Gale led. The first seven cars had pit under the first yellow, and did not pit this time. Mikey was 41st; he had to restart at the tail end of the longest line for pitting too soon. Reed Sorenson immediately took the lead.
The third caution came on lap 26 for Stacy Compton. His #59 has spun and rear-ended the wall. Compton went to the garage. Mikey was marked ahead of Burney Lamar, and after couple drivers made stops, he gained more positions.
Sorenson led the lap 28 restart. Mikey was 39th. Passing Kertis Davis one lap into the run gained him a spot. Meanwhile, Casey Mears and Kurt Busch pursued Sorenson. Mears took the lead, and Busch quickly slid into second. Mears led lap 30, with Busch all over his rear fender. Mikey was 36th; he's passed Burney Lamar, Scott Wimmer, and Aric Almirola.
Busch took the top spot along the bottom to lead lap 33. One circuit later, Wimmer got around Mikey and dropped him to 37th.
The fourth caution came on lap 36 for Cale Gale and Jeff Burton. They spun in oil from Burney Lamar's #77, in Turn 2. Drivers pit under yellow.
After extensive clean-up, Busch led the lap 44 restart. Mikey was 39th, the last driver on the lead lap. His drop to the rear just before the restart may indicate a stop to top off on fuel. Mikey jumped up to 33rd, just before the yellow flag waved.
The fifth caution was on lap 45. Scott Wimmer came up on Ashton Lewis Jr when they were going three-wide, pushing Lewis Jr into Johnny Sauter. Jon Wood received the free pass back onto the lead lap.
Lap 50 saw the restart. Kurt Busch led, and Mikey was 30th. Four laps later, the #99 got around Menard for position.
Carl Edwards took the lead on lap 56. Two laps later, Mikey got around Stephen Leicht for 28th. He picked up another spot the next time around the track. On lap 64, he got around Mike Skinner, but Jay Sauter dropped him back to 27th the next time around the track. He regained 26th by getting around John Andretti on lap 74.
Dale Earnhardt Jr was the first lead lap driver to make a scheduled green flag stop; he came in on lap 75. Mikey moved up to 25th. Kurt Busch came in next, and others followed suit. Lap 77 saw Edwards giving up the lead to make his stop. Denny Hamlin assumed the top spot, and Mikey was up to 22nd. Hamlin came in with Mark Martin the next time around the track. Tony Stewart slid into the lead on lap 79; Mikey was now 19th. Stewart pit, and Yeley led the field next on lap 80. Mikey bounced up to 14th. When Sorenson took the lead the next time around the track, Mikey advanced to 10th. Mikey was 8th on lap 82, and he moved into 7th a couple laps later.
Sorenson continued to lead the field; he and the other front runners were using a different pit strategy. Lap 86 saw him in 6th. The #99 pit the next time around the track, and Sorenson pit one circuit later.
Casey Mears took the lead on lap 89. He pit on the next lap, and Jay Sauter had the lead. Mikey was one lap down in 27th. Earnhardt Jr passed for the lead on lap 96, and Mikey stuck with him as the first driver one lap down. Jay Sauter pit two laps later, and his drop allowed Mikey to pick up 25th. Kertis Davis' pit on lap 101 gained the #99 another spot.
Cale Gayle brought out the sixth caution on lap 102; he lost his right front tire and spun. The #99 received the free pass. Drivers made stops under caution, and Robby Gordon was the first driver off pit road.
JJ Yeley, who had stayed on the track, led the restart with 20 laps to go. Jay Sauter restarted to the tail end of the lead lap but was immediately re-lapped. Mikey was 24th, and back on the lead lap.
Robby Gordon's #88 took the lead going into lap 108. Two laps later, Mikey picked up 23rd by getting around Danny O'Quinn. On lap 112, he rounded fellow Owensboro native Jeff Green for 22nd. Carl Edwards, Robby Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr went three-wide for the lead, just before the caution came out.
Kurt Busch spun, bringing out the yellow flag for the seventh time. He had gotten loose under Denny Hamlin and slid through the infield. Mikey was up to 21st, and Carl Edwards was credited with the lead.
Lap 121 saw the restart. Edwards led, and Mikey was 20th. One lap into the run, he passed Scott Riggs and Kenny Wallace for 18th.
Todd Kluever drew the eighth caution on lap 124. Edwards led the green/which/checkered restart three laps later, with Mikey in 18th. Earnhardt Jr spun Edwards and took the checkered flag under yellow. With Edwards' drop, Mikey crossed the stripe 17th.
Watch Mikey compete in tomorrow's Nextel Cup race! Coverage of the GFS Marketplace 400 begins at 2:00pm ET on TNT.
