By Kellyanne Lynch, mikeypower.com
29 October 2006
Michael Waltrip finished six laps down in 33rd in the Bass Pro Shop 500, today's Nextel Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His #55 Napa Auto Parts Dodge suffered a nasty vibration throughout most of the race.
Cars took to the track at 3:01pm ET. Mikey had qualified 39th; however, Robby Gordon, Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott had to start at the rear of the field, allowing the #55 to advance one row and to start 37th.
Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag seven minutes later. Kevin Harvick's #29 took to his outside and grabbed the top spot to lead the first lap.
The first caution came on lap 4. Kyle Busch's #5 had spun in Turn 3, and dented teammate Brian Vickers' #25 as he came down the track.
On lap 10, Dale Earnhardt Jr took the lead from Kevin Harvick's #29. The top twelve drove single-file. Within six laps of his lead, Earnhardt Jr was approximately two seconds ahead of the field. Tony Stewart's #20 made dramatic gains in the coming laps and blew by the #8 for the lead on lap 27. Mikey was 35th by then. Three laps after losing the lead, Earnhardt Jr had to make an unscheduled stops due to a vibration. He took on two fresh tires and fuel.
Regularly scheduled fuel and tire stops began shortly thereafter. Drivers who had not stopped under the first caution took to pit road. Tony Stewart pit on lap 56, giving the lead to Jeff Gordon. The next time around the track, Gordon relinquished the top spot to Jimmie Johnson to make his stop. Joe Nemechek had it the next time around the track when Johnson made his stop.
Stops had cycled by lap 61. With cars leaving the track, Earnhardt Jr had regained the lead.
Mikey was 30th by lap 69, with seventeen cars on the lead lap. He picked up 29th on lap 73 and 28th three laps later.
Lap 83 saw the second caution for debris in Turn 2. The yellow flag trapped Mikey a lap down and gave leader Earnhardt Jr a large advantage. Dale Jarrett also benefitted; he received the free pass back onto the lead lap. Matt Kenseth lost time on his stop due to pitting outside the box.
Racing resumed on lap 87. Earnhardt Jr led, and Mikey was 27th and lapped. Eighteen cars were on the lead lap. Five laps into the run, Jeff Green passed the #55, moving it to 28th. Mikey passed him back three laps later; however, Green and Ken Scrader got around Mikey one lap later. He was now 29th.
"Looking outside. You're clear, clear," his spotter said on lap 101. "Outside, outside. Clear. All by himself. Clear behind the 26."
Jamie McMurray's pass dropped Mikey to 30th on lap 103.
"Looking outside - the 12. You're clear, all clear," added the spotter on lap 106. Three laps later, he added, "By himself." Ryan Newman's #12 was finally able to pass. Mikey was 31st on lap 109. He rallied back to Newman's outside for the spot.
"Still there," the spotter warned, as Mikey took back 30th on lap 110. Crew chief Tommy Baldwin Jr told Mikey to keep digging, just before the spotter warned the driver of the #5 rallying back to the inside.
"Clear, 5, clear," said the spotter on lap 111. Mikey was back to 31st with Kyle Busch's pass. Newman was all over his rear fender. "Still there, barely. Still there. Inside, inside."
On lap 109, Jeff Gordon took the lead. Earnhardt Jr got back around the #24, but on lap 114, Gordon reclaimed the top spot.
Newman moved Mikey back to 31st on lap 117. The spotter began warning Mikey of the #40. The next time around the track, David Stremme's #40 passed and put Mikey in 32nd. He picked up 31st in the next couple laps with JJ Yeley's drop.
"Stickers behind you on the 43," the spotter noted. "Got one between you and him. Inside, inside."
"Looking inside - the 43," he added on lap 123. Three laps later, Mikey had cleared Ken Schrader's #21. "24 car is the leader. You have four cars between you and him, half a straightaway.
"The next one behind you is the leader," the spotter noted on lap 129. Two laps later, he said, "Leader looking outside, outside. Next one's the 20, ten back."
Mikey went a second lap down on lap 132.
"20's back there by himself," observed the spotter. "Looking outside, outside." Stewart's lead lap #20 passed.
Matt Kenseth made an uscheduled stop on lap 133
"I think that 5 in front of you is coming this time," the spotter warned. "That 5 in front of you."
Kyle Busch's #5 pealed off the track. Mikey was up to 28th with these stops. David Gilliland and Elliott Sadler's stops allowed the #55 to gain 26th on lap 138. He picked up two more stops to Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick with their stops the next time around the track.
"Leader a 20, you an 85," Baldwin Jr reported.
As more cars pit, Mikey moved up to 22nd on lap 140. With Mike Bliss and Jeff Green's stops the next time around the track, Mikey was up to 20th. Baldwin Jr told the team they would pit in five laps.
"This gets so bouncy at the end of a run, I can barely see," Mikey complained.
"The right front tire is wearing out," the spotter noted.
"Let's come on in before we lose any more ground," Baldwin Jr determined. The spotter led him to pit road on lap 143. Mikey was on pit road for about 42 seconds.
"After that 7 car, you're clear right there," said the spotter. "There's two of them."
By lap 145, Mikey was three laps down in 35th. He gained a spot when Kyle Petty pit the next time around the track. Jeff Gordon pit on the same lap.
Carl Edwards took the lead on lap 147 when Gordon's #24 stopped. Mikey was now back to being two laps down and was in 34th. With Edwards' stop on lap 148, Gordon reclaimed the top spot. Stops had cycled, and Mikey was now 33rd.
"Leader a 31 flat, you a 31.50," Baldwin Jr reported on lap 150. On the next lap, he said, "Leader a ten, you a 55."
"What do we got to do to help you, Mike?" Baldwin Jr asked on lap 152.
"I just can't stick!" was his driver's response.
"Front? Back? What?"
"The centre of the corner, the back! On the exit, the front!"
After a long pause, Baldwin Jr reported, "Leader a 30, you a 70."
"This back of the corner is so bad now, I can't even drive it," Mikey complained on lap 156. "Unless I want to spin out."
"10-4."
Jeff Gordon hit the wall on lap 158, and lost the lead to Tony Stewart. Joe Nemechek's #01 had gotten loose and had led him up the wall.
Baldwin Jr gave times again and told him he was making gains. Then he said, "Leader a 31.20, you a 32.20.
"Leader a 50, you a 15."
"The car's shaking so bad, I can't see, and it's shaking the worst that it has since I've been here," Mikey complained on lap 162.
"You mean 'cause it's looser?" asked Baldwin Jr.
"It's way loose off, and it still pushes," the driver replied. "Feels like the right front tire has way too much camber. It's just skating off."
"10-4."
"It's as bad as anything I've ever tried to drive." After a minute, Mikey added, "Whatever you did to it the last stop really messed it up."
"I haven't touched it, man," Baldwin Jr said. "I just did those two air pressures. I didn't do anything on the last stop."
"Well, something happened. I can tell you that." "It just decided it didn't want to go anymore. I just can't drive it."
"10-4. We'll see if we can get a caution here. We'll make some big adjustment.
"Leader a 58, you a flat," Baldwin Jr added on lap 167. On the next lap, he said, "Leader a 50, you a 95."
"Trouble in Turn 2, trouble in Turn 2. Caution's out."
The third caution was on lap 170 for Jeff Gordon's spin due to contact from Jamie McMurray. Reports indicated that the sun was in the drivers' eyes.
Mikey told his crew to do whatever they wanted to do. He then complained about his spotter not giving him a heads up.
"Sorry about that," the spotter apologised.
"It's way chassis loose. Just can't drive it."
Baldwin Jr wanted one pound out of the right front and a pound out of both front inner liners."
Mikey asked for more. "We messed it up."
"Watch your right side here," warned the spotter. "Pit road is open."
"It will be second time by," Baldwin Jr added. He reiterated the changes they would make.
"4000 and second gear."
Baldwin Jr told Mikey to be patient; the adjustments would take some time. He wanted to unhook the rear bar too. Mikey stopped with lapped traffic and was on pit road for just under 52 seconds.
"There's about twelve cars, thirteen on the same lap in front of you," Baldwin Jr said. "If we keep digging, we can get up there."
"Roger," was the driver's reply.
"What happened to bring out the caution, Joey?" Mikey asked.
"The 24 got turned down through the apron. I don't know if the 26 made contact with him or what," the spotter reported.
"Coming to the green," said the spotter. "Pace car's off. Stay ready. Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Racing resumed on lap 177 with Tony Stewart leading. Mikey was 32nd. He was warned about the #22 before Dave Blaney got back going.
At the front of the field, Earnhardt Jr whipped by Stewart for the top spot one lap into the run.
Mikey passed JJ Yeley and then Ken Schrader in the first two laps back to green, gaining himself 30th.
"Looking outside, outside. Clear after the 24," the spotter said on lap 183. Ken Schrader came with Gordon's lead lap #24. "Clear."
Mikey was back to 31st on lap 184.
"By himself," warned the spotter on lap 187. JJ Yeley passed, moving Mikey back to 32nd. "Clear."
Bobby Labonte dropped the #55 another spot on lap 189. Three laps later, Mikey was cleared past Travis Kvapil, whose #32 was three laps down. He was eight-tenths of a second slower than the leader.
On lap 197, Kyle Petty passed. The #55 was 34th.
"Yellow's out. Yellow is out. Turn 4. Debris in Turn 4, I think they said."
The fourth caution was for debris in Turn 1, and it came out on lap 198.
"I can't drive it. It's just plowing off. It's way worse than before," Mikey reported.
Baldwin Jr wanted to stick another rubber in the right rear to help the car off the corners. He also wanted to put the pound back in the right rear.
"It's shaking so bad after ten laps, I can't even see," Mikey commented. "So there's something wrong with that tire."
With stops, Jimmie Johnson was marked in the lead.
"Follow that 32 down," the spotter directed. "And then it will be behind that 43. 4000 and second. 4000."
Mikey pit with lapped traffic. Baldwin Jr also told him to go around the #43 and told him to straighten the wheels too. The #55 spent approximately 58.5 seconds on pit road. The spotter noted that the #01 of Joe Nemechek was being sent to the tail end of the longest line for the restart.
"Ready? Green flag."
Racing resumed on lap 201 with Tony Stewart leading. Mikey was 34th.
"Outside, outside," warned the spotter. "Three-wide. Two-wide."
Mikey was 35th with JJ Yeley's attempt to pass. By lap 203, the #55 was back ahead of the #18 and was in 33rd again. Kyle Busch moved him back to 34th on the next lap.
"Three-wide. Still three. Still three. Clear."
Mikey drove to the outside of Kyle Petty, and then peaked under Kyle Busch's #5. He was 33rd on lap 206. Mikey went three-wide again.
"Inside, inside," said the spotter on lap 211. "Clear on the bottom behind him."
Elliott Sadler moved Mikey back to 34th on lap 212. When Mikey passed him back the next time around the track, Baldwin Jr told his driver he was doing a good job.
"Inside, by himself," the spotter noted on lap 216. Seven laps later, Ken Schrader passed. Lap 227 saw Mikey get back around Schrader's #21.
"Leader a 31.68, you a 32.10," Baldwin Jr said on lap 229. "Leader a 70, you a 20.
"25. A 32.25."
Mikey told his crew chief he had to pit.
"Come on in, man. Come on in," Baldwin Jr called his driver to pit road on lap 236. He spent 43 seconds on pit road and was now four laps down in 37th.
Lap 238 saw Jimmie Johnson take the lead from Tony Stewart.
"I don't see anything," the spotter said.
The fifth caution came on lap 243. Baldwin Jr called for a quarter inch of shifting in the right front tire. He wanted to do right side tires first and then do the shift. The #55 team went under the hood when their driver stopped. Baldwin Jr said to just do the left sides as the crew worked under the hood. Mikey fell a fifth lap down.
"Coming to the green," said the spotter. "Pace car's off. Green flag, green flag."
Racing resumed on lap 246 with Johnson leading. Mikey was 38th and five laps down.
Kasey Kahne hit the wall, and Mikey was warned to slow. The sixth caution was for Kahne on Lap 249. He had jerked his car hard to the right and had run into David Stremme's #40 before hitting the wall. Denny Hamlin received the free pass.
"What did it feel like to you there?" Baldwin Jr asked. "What did it do?"
"I just went around the turn, so I don't know. It always felt decent for a while, just a little loose. The same thing again," Mikey reported.
"We'll be staying out, okay?"
"Let's stay low. They're talking about a piece of metal in the groove off Turn 2," said the spotter.
With David Stremme's #40 off the track, Mikey advanced to 37th under caution.
"Coming to the green," the spotter noted.
Lap 255 saw the restart. Johnson led, and Mikey was 36th with Kahne's departure and five laps down. At the front of the field, Tony Stewart took the lead on lap 260. Passing Tony Raines on lap 263 put the #55 in 35th. Two laps later, Raines got back around him. The #55 rallied back and reclaimed 35th from the #96.
By lap 280, the spotter reported that the leader was approximately half a straightaway back. "Trying to look outside, by himself. Still there."
Travis Kvapil had passed. Mikey was still 36th.
"Next one's the leader, looking outside. He's going to bring the 48 with him. Two back. Outside."
Mikey went a sixth lap down on lap 284.
"Next two lead lap cars are the 17 and the 8," the spotter noted on lap 289. "Looking inside, inside. Two of them. Two back to the 24 on the bottom behind the 8."
"Down the back," the spotter said on lap 292. The yellow flag waved for the seventh time.
"That felt so bad, I felt it turning," Mikey commented.
"Even getting in the corner?"
"It got in straight, it didn't back into the corner, but from the time it landed..." The end of Mikey's sentence was covered with static.
Mikey pit under the caution and spent a long time in his box. He was on pit road for a minute and sixteen seconds. The spotter warned his driver about the pace truck and talked about the safety truck. Mikey was now 37th, behind Kenny Wallace.
"Coming to the green," said the spotter. "Got the 7 starting at the tail end of the longest line. Pace car's gone. Stay ready. Green flag."
Lap 296 saw the restart with Stewart in the lead. Kevin Harvick's #29 dropped like a rock from its spot four laps down.
"Two wide, middle," said the spotter when Mikey went under Reed Sorenson and passed. He passed Kenny Wallace too and picked up 36th.
"Yellow's out. Yellow's out behind you. The 1 blew up."
The yellow flag returned for the eighth time for Martin Truex Jr's #1 on lap 306.
"How'd that feel there?" Baldwin Jr asked.
"That made it better as far as the way it was in 4," Mikey reported. He wanted rounds out of the right front.
Baldwin Jr said they couldn't do anything with camber. "Everyone's having tire problems. It's just a piece of shit tire."
Drivers made stops under caution.
"Around the 43," the spotter directed. "4000 and second. Ten away."
"Three, two, one," Baldwin Jr guided his driver to the box. Mikey had to back up to get out of his pit stall; Clint Bowyer's #07 was blocking him in his stall.
"Pace car's gone. Ready? Green flag, green flag, green flag."
Dale Earnhardt Jr, who had been the first driver off pit road, led the lap 310 restart. The nineth caution immediately followed. Kenny Wallace had cut off Jeff Green, and a bunch of cars got into one another when the field checked up for Wallace's #78. Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, and Mark Martin were three of the drivers involved in the wreck.
"I'm going to need four more tires," Mikey told his team.
"Find out what we can get here," Baldwin Jr sighed. Mikey was now up to 35th.
"Check the pressures. Check them on all four of them. Write them down," Baldwin Jr instructed. When the spotter said they'd have time with the clean-up, the crew chief told the crew to take their time. Mikey made his stop on lap 314 under yellow.
The spotter told Mikey that Mike Bliss' #49 was smoking heavily.
Racing resumed with Earnhardt Jr leading and Mikey six laps down in 35th. Tony Stewart dropped inside Earnhardt Jr's #8 and took the top spot. With Martin's departure, Mikey picked up 34th.
Mikey passed Tony Raines on lap 319 for 33rd.
"Good job. The next one, the 78," Baldwin Jr praised.
"He's already behind us," the spotter noted, referring to Kenny Wallace's #78.
He was warned that Dave Blaney was slow high off Turn 4. Meanwhile, Bliss was black-flagged and was smoking even heavier than previously noted.
"Two laps left," said the spotter. "Two."
"White flag. Last lap."
A car hit the wall on the last lap, and Tony Stewart picked up the win. Mikey finished 33rd, six laps down.
"22's slow on the bottom up ahead," the spotter said.
Mikey slowed and followed Kevin Harvick's #29 Reeses Chevy to pit road.
Next weekend's Nextel Cup race is the Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Coverage starts Sunday at 2:30pm ET on NBC. The Busch Series' O'Reilly Challenge airs the day before at 2:00pm ET on TNT.
