#55 and #00 Will Race This Weekend by Kellyanne Lynch
15 June 2007
Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann will start 18th and 40th respectively in the Citizen Bank 400, Sunday's Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Teammate Dale Jarrett did not make the field.
All three Michael Waltrip Racing entries participated in the weekend's first practice session. Mikey ranked 17th with a 38.934-second lap at 184.928 MPH, which he turned his last of nine laps. He was 0.378 second behind session leader Martin Truex Jr. David and Dale trailed Truex Jr by 0.603 seconds and 0.949 seconds respectively, ranking 30th and 46th. David's best lap was his third of nine - a 39.159-second circuit at 183.866 MPH. Dale's best - his fifth of eleven - was a 39.505-second lap at 182.255 MPH.
David was the first MWR driver to take to the track in qualifying; he went out 14th. He ranked 40th with a 39.291-second lap at 183.248 MPH that was ultimately 0.892 seconds behind pole-winner JJ Yeley. Mikey went out 33rd. His 38.805-second lap at 185.543 MPH was 0.406 seconds behind Yeley's and ranked 18th. Dale went out toward the end. His 39.322-second lap at 183.104 MPH was 0.923 second behind Yeley's and not fast enough to make the field.
Mikey and David completed two more practice sessions today, both of which Carl Edwards led.
In the first, Mikey was 40th (40.114 seconds / 179.488 MPH, - 1.521 seconds behind Edwards, turned second of 21) and David was 42nd (40.487 / 177.835, - 1.894, first of five).
While Mikey fared a bit better in happy hour and ranked 33rd (40.386 / 178.280, -1.425, first of 24), David was last (40.845 / 176.276, -1.884, first of 14)
Be sure to watch the Citizens Bank 400! Coverage begins Sunday at 12:30pm ET on TNT.
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MICHAEL WALTRIP, No. 55 NAPA Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing:
Starting position: 18th
How was your qualifying lap today?
"From the first time I ran in practice this morning, the car just felt right. It ran well and it would go where I wanted it to. We just nicked at it all through practice and kept improving. Last week we had to re-build the car before our qualifying run and that's a hard situation to be in. Today we were just normal and that was good enough to get a solid starting position for Sunday. We are taking baby steps and this is a good step in the right direction. I would definitely rather be in than out and now we need to focus on running good in the race."
DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Burger King Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing:
Starting position: 40th
How was your qualifying lap today?
"It was just an aggravating, disappointing qualifying run. The track seemed to get hotter as the session went on and my lap definitely wasn't what I was hoping for. Our motor is strong, but we have really been battling the handling on the car all day. We just can't seem to get on the other side of what the car needs. We keep making changes and it just doesn't seem to do what we need it to do. Hopefully we'll be able to make it better during practice tomorrow so we can run well on Sunday."