Bad luck for MWR in Vegas by Kellyanne Lynch
2 March 2008
The front end of Michael Waltrip's #55 Napa Auto Parts Camry struggled getting into the corners throughout the UAW-Dodge 400, today's Sprint Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. David Reutimann's #00 Aaron's Dream Machine and Dale Jarrett's #44 UPS Toyota both hit the wall. David finished nine laps down in 37th while Dale finished 39th and in the garage.
"Got a copy, Mike?" crew chief Paul Andrews asked at 4:36pm ET.
"Got a copy. Everybody hear me all right?" Mikey asked.
Paul then asked that spotter Mark Green could hear him.
"Paul, are we the first stall in, or is that five?" Mark asked after the radio check.
Paul said they were in pit stall 40.
The call to start engines came two minutes later.
A couple minutes later, Paul added, "Hey, Mark, yeah, those three concrete stalls behind us."
"Okay. Thank you." Then he addressed the driver. "Front of the field just now rolling there, Mike. The first couple laps, they're going to go real real slow.
"Okay, Mike, you are at pit road speed right there."
"Uh, 4150," Mikey assessed.
"10-4, 2150," Paul acknowledged. "The 20 car is behind us, and the 6 car is in front of us."
The green flag waved at 4:48pm. Polesitter Kyle Busch led the first lap. David started 14th, Dale was 16th, and Mikey was 22nd.
"Okay, Mike, pace car is off," Mark said. "Ready? Ready? Green green green. Still inside, still there. Still there. Got the 20 car inside. Still there. Got one up high here. Come on. Clear low, clear low. Still outside on your quarter panel. Clear. Clear all around, clear all around. Clear by three, two-by-two behind you. Clear by four back to the 11 car."
David hit the wall on lap 3 in front of Dale. NASCAR blackflagged him for parts hanging off the car. His car was quite loose and wobbling all over the track.
"31.80."
"Looking inside, inside. Quarter panel. Back inside, back inside. Clear behind him by six." Mark warned Mikey that the #22 of Dave Blaney had a big run. "Clear by one on the 22."
David pit on lap 7 with his black flag. He had a left front tire down, and he also had the flu.
"Staying the same behind you. Clear by one."
Jamie McMurray went through the grass, drawing the first caution on lap 9.
"Got caution's out, caution's out. Spin behind us," Mark warned.
"Um. It's, it's a lot better, like..." Mikey reported. "I like the feel of it. It's a more solid front end. I still back into the corner a little bit, and then it's good. I gotta be real careful getting in, and then once I get down in, I'm all right. I don't know what to do than stay out, so I hope they all stay out. I don't feel like I'm going to go tight."
Paul said they could make a small adjustment and two tires.
"Well, if they stay out in front of me, I'm going to stay out."
"10-4," Paul replied, then told the crew to prepare for right side tires.
"Everybody's staying out so far. Got some takers ten back. 4150, 4150. Fourth stall in," Mark said.
Paul guided Mikey in and out of his box. After the stop, the driver praised the crew.
"One to go right here. One to go," Mark noted.
"Lost a couple spots, but some of the guys in front of us stayed out. We lost about three spots," Paul stated.
"How bad's the 00 tore up?" Mikey asked.
"I think it's just bumper cover, a little right rear quarter."
Kyle Busch led the lap 13 restart. Mikey was 27th, Dale was 34th, and David was last and two laps down.
"Clear all around," Mark observed. "Clear by one on the 22. Looking inside, not there yet. Inside, inside. Quarter panel. Clear. Back inside, inside. Still on your quarter panel. Got some more coming with him. 42 inside, still there."
One lap into the run, Mikey had lost a spot to Dave Blaney.
"There you go. Good corner there. Quarter panel. 7 still down there, still inside. Got the 7 and 88 lined up on the inside. Inside. Three-wide, you're on the outside. Clear. Clear by one back to the 44."
Mikey was 32nd on lap 17, one lap after Carl Edwards had taken the lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr, Robby Gordon, and Travis Kvapil had passed. Dale was 33rd, and David was still last.
"44 half back," Mark warned.
"31.70," Paul read the lap time.
"Got one high up on the wall here. Stay low. Keep digging, keep digging. Inside. Clear all around, clear all around. Still down there. 7 slow there. Clear low, clear low. Clear, clear all around."
"Whatever we did made me tight off, and it didn't help me in at all," Mikey reported on lap 21.
"10-4," Paul replied.
"9 car three back. They're running pretty good," Mark noted. "That's a good corner there. Clear by four on the 9."
"31.80."
"Inside, inside. By himself. Clear by four back to the 7 car. 7 car one back. Inside, inside. Clear by five behind him."
"32.15."
"Inside, inside. Still in there. Clear by six behind him. Clear all around."
By lap 25, Mikey was 35th.
"32.30.
"32.15.
"32.15."
"Still clear by four back to the 26."
"That's what happens, Mark, when I try to go in at all. And they just screwed up the exit," Mikey complained on lap 28.
"10-4, 10-4. Got the 26 one back. Inside, inside. Clear by three behind him."
"Fifteen laps on the right sides, fifteen," Paul noted.
Mikey was now 36th on lap 29.
"32.10."
"Clear by four. Looking a little better there."
"32 flat."
"Clear by five."
By lap 31, David had fallen a third lap down.
"32.05."
"Leader at the line now," Mark warned on lap 34.
"32.15."
"Clear, clear."
Lap 35 saw Mikey gain a spot to Kvapil.
"31.90.
"32.05," Paul read off, just after Mikey passed Juan Montoya for 34th on lap 36.
"Still outside. Still there," Mark noted. "Still out there. Clear all around, clear all around. Leader at the line... now."
Montoya passed one lap later, but Mikey got back around him during the following circuit.
"Still there. Clear, clear. Good job, good job. Leader about twenty cars back. Got traffic between you. Clear by six back to the 15."
"Twenty-seven laps on the right sides. 32.10.
"32.15."
"Leader is twelve back. Still got two cars between you."
"Now I'm just so loose in, but I'm good everywhere else," Mikey reported.
"10-4. 31.90.
"32 flat."
"Clear by five back to the leader. He's running the second groove. Clear by one. Looking inside, inside. Clear by one back to the 16. He is the second place car. Coming inside, inside. Clear behind him. Clear by eight back to the 15. No lead lap cars with him. Just do your best, stay with him," Mark adviced.
Mikey lost the lead lap on lap 45.
"32 flat.
"31.90."
"Still clear by ten, back to the 44," Mark noted.
"31.90."
Green flag pit stops began on lap 49. Edwards pit, and Scott Riggs picked up the lead.
"Got one in the wall. No caution yet, no caution yet. Keep digging, Mike. No caution yet."
"There's oil in front of 1," Mikey reported.
Many more cars pit after Sam Hornish Jr hit the wall. He went to the garage, allowing David to gain 42nd.
"They're saying the track's clear. No caution here," Mark relayed.
Mark Martin was in the lead with Riggs' stop. Tony Stewart led next, and green flag stops continued.
"Leader right now is a whole straightaway behind us."
"We're still a few laps away, Michael," Paul told his driver.
"Still clear by six on the 44."
"They're busting a lot of people on pit road here, just so you know."
"I'm pitting next time. I've got a bad vibration," Mikey said on lap 48 as Stewart went to pit road. Matt Kenseth was in the lead.
Mark told Mikey to wave off the #8 as he made his stop. "4150 right here, 4150. The fourth, fifth box in."
Paul guided the #55 into the box. "Right beside you, right beside you. All clear behind the 11."
"4150, 4150," Mark reminded again. Lap 60 saw Earnhardt Jr take the lead. "29 car ten back. Four back. Clear all around, clear all around."
Earnhardt Jr pit, giving the lead to Robby Gordon.
"Clear by one on the 29. Inside, inside. Still clear. Clear all around. Back inside. Clear, clear all around."
Gordon's #7 pit. Stops cycled on lap 62, and Edwards was back in the lead. Mikey was 35th, one lap down.
"Clear by five."
He was 33rd one lap later.
"Last two laps. 31.30 - your best lap of the day. 31.40 this lap," Paul made note of Mikey's times. The #55 was now 32nd. "31.40.
"31.60."
"Clear by ten on the 29. 07 on the bottom there struggling. Caution's out, caution's out." Mark said there was debris on the track.
The second caution was on lap 69 for debris in Turn 2.
"It's no better. It is so loose in it's that I'm just surviving is all I'm doing. It's a piece of crap. It's bad bad bad. Whatever y'all did made it worse, so just take that and run with it."
Paul said they'd done an air pressure adjustment and pointed out that lap times were better.
"All right, well I'm going to spin out or I'm going to slow down. I'm getting carried away with it." Mikey said he'd take whatever he did before.
"Track bar down a turn, track bar down a turn."
Mark reminded them they'd have to wait to pit with lapped traffic.
"Got 240 on the water temperature," Mikey reported. "That's under caution though. I don't think it's that high."
Paul asked if it were high under green.
"Yeah. I probably would have noticed under green."
"You might have some paper. I saw some white stuff. I'm not sure. 4150, 4150. Fourth stall in," Mark noted.
Paul led the Napa Camry to the pit box. "Yeah, a big piece of paper on the grill there."
"The car really felt good, except for it's... if I get in one inch too far. Something in the front end, when I turn left, the front end turns right."
Paul said they did air pressure adjustments before and turned the track bar down this time. He said it was just one turn and that the left was still further down than the right. "Also, just so you know, we're one lap down. A lot of cars are one lap down, so we'll just keep battling here."
"We probably should have stayed out," Mikey reflected. "Would have been a good call. We could have got ahead of those cars and got our lap back."
Paul pointed out others in front of him were doing that. "It would probably be a big cluster."
"I just hit a tailpipe or a collector or something. It hit the grill area. It bounced over. I know it didn't hurt the tire, but I don't know about the nose," Mikey said.
Mark said the restart had been called off.
"The splitter looks good, the front of the nose looks good here."
"When we put on those right side tires, it vibrated real bad," Mikey said.
Paul told him the left rear was loose from the start of the race.
Jeff Burton led the restart on lap 76. Dale was 21st, Mikey was 30th and lapped, and David was four laps down in 42nd.
"Still outside. Still outside, still there," Mark warned. "Still outside, still there. Still outside, got the 12 behind the 99 there, lined up outside. You're in the middle, in the middle. Clear low, clear low. Clear all around. Clear by five."
Dale was marked 22nd and lapped by one lap into the run. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch shot along the outside and took the lead during lap 79.
"Clear by two, back to the 16. He's been running in the middle. Inside, inside. Clear by five behind him."
Burton reclaimed the lead on lap 79.
"Inside, inside. Got another one coming. Still down there. Clear behind the 19 by three. Clear all around."
By lap 81, Mikey was 32nd, and Dale was 23rd. Busch retook the lead.
"Clear by one, back to the 43. Inside, clear by three behind him. Inside, inside. Clear all around, clear all around. Looking inside, inside. Still inside. Got the 70 and the 1 lined up. 45 looking inside. Inside, inside. Clear all around, clear all around. Clear by four, back to the 15 car."
"It's worse now. Whatever you did this time's got it really bad," Mikey reported on lap 86. With Kyle Petty's pass, he was now 33rd. Dale was 22nd.
"10-4," Paul replied. "31.80."
"Clear by four on the 15," Mark observed.
"31.70.
"32 flat."
"01 on the outside's kind of got them hung up," Mark said. Mikey got around him for 32nd on lap 89. "Still out there. Clear, clear."
"31.80."
"Looking inside - 28 car. Clear, clear. Inside. Clear behind him, back to the 41. Clear by one. 41 car running the second groove. Inside, inside. Clear behind him by eight. Clear all around."
"This is the loosest car I've ever tried to hang onto," Mikey said on lap 95.
"10-4," Paul replied. "We'll work on it."
"So far, working on it hasn't been a good idea."
"10-4." A minute later, Paul gave the lap time. "31.95."
On lap 98, David bounced off the wall again. Meanwhile, Mikey was 33rd after losing a spot to Kyle Petty.
"31.90."
"Clear by four, back to the 26. Inside, inside. 26 inside. 26 inside, the 10 right with him. Clear all around, clear all around. Clear by one back to the 10. Inside, inside. Clear by fifteen behind the 10 if you need it. Still inside. Clear all around, clear all around."
Mikey was 35th on lap 101 after Jamie McMurray and Patrick Carpantier passed.
"32.15."
"Still clear by twelve back to the 15 car."
"32.10, last two laps.
"32 flat."
"Clear by one on the 15. Looking inside. Clear behind him. Clear by six."
Lap 108 saw the third caution for Tony Stewart, who slammed into the wall. He needed two safety workers to assist him with walking away. His wreck with David yesterday had bruised his foot, and the injury appeared significantly worse now.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Got one in the wall off of 4.
"I know y'all don't know, but it's just crazy, literly crazy what I'm dealing with here. It's like we don't know anything at all. I can't drive it. I can't turn it left. I just have to coast," Mikey complained. "So please, make a different adjustment, do something for me."
Paul said they would got he opposite way with the adjustments this time.
"We have got to get to get something figured out with the frickin' front end pieces. This is nutty."
Paul told Mikey he'd have to go around the 26 when he goes to pit road.
"I don't really understand why we go one turn on the trackbar when I'm screaming how bad it is. One turn isn't going to tell you if it's better or worse. I'd go four or five, so we can figure out what the hell," Mikey said. "Have you not followed up on the rubber on the right rear?"
Paul said the #00 did that, and they got much worse, although they're on a different spring.
"It's just, it's just ridiculous. It's like it doesn't have a right front spring in it. You go down in the corner, and you can't turn the wheel. So I would put ten rounds of wedge in it if it would help get it loaded up. I just hate... it's like we think it's not that bad, because we're running 30th, and I don't feel like the urgency I'm explaining to you guys isn't getting through when you do one turn or crap. I don't know. I feel like I should be quiet."
"Oh, the urgency is there. We just aren't making any progress," Paul replied.
Lap 114 saw the restart. Kyle Busch led, Dale was 25th and lapped, Mikey was 33rd and lapped, and David was 42nd and now seven laps down.
"Clear all around, clear all around," Mark said. "Outside, outside. Still outside. Clear behind the 07 if you need it. Outside, outside. Clear all around, clear all around."
Mikey was 34th two laps into the run. Meanwhile, Matt Kenseth took the lead.
"Clear by half back to the 99. Outside, outside. Clear behind him. 7 car got a run up high. Outside, outside. 38 outside. Clear all around, clear all around. Looking inside, inside. 6 car. Still there, still there. Clear all around, clear all around."
By lap 119, Mikey was 36th. He was cleared by four car lengths. David was now up to 41st with Stewart's misfortunes.
"Still clear by five," Mark added a couple laps later.
Lap 127 saw Mikey in 35th.
"32 flat," Paul read off lap times.
"Clear by two, back to the 40." Mark said. "Clear by three."
On lap 139, Paul said they were about halfway on fuel. Mark warned the leader was coming when the yellow flag waved.
The fourth caution was on lap 143 for Robby Gordon, who lost a right rear tire and slammed into the wall in Turn 2. Mark led Mikey low around the #7 car. Travis Kvapil received the free pass.
"It's the worst car I've ever tried to drive. I'm not going to tell y'all what to do, because you don't do it. It's all fucked up." "I asked you to put a rubber in the right rear, and you said, 'No, they put one in Reutimann's.' Well then take one out! This car's junk."
Paul said they'd pull a rubber out of the right rear.
"I don't care what he's done!"
Leaders pit, and Kenseth was the first driver back on track.
"We got one spun out on pit road here, Mike. We'll have to wait another lap," Mark informed his driver. "All right, pits will be open this time, this time. 4150, 4150. Fourth stall in."
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Right on your sign, right on your sign," Paul guided. "All clear, all clear."
"Michael, I put a bunch of rounds in the back, and we pulled rubber out of the right rear. Okay?" Paul told his driver. Mikey didn't answer.
"Okay, one to go this time. One to go," Mark noted.
Mikey was 32nd and lapped when racing resumed on lap 149. Kenseth led, Dale was 29th and lapped, and David was eight laps down in 41st.
"Still outside, still lined up outside," Mark said. "Still out there. Another one outside. Still outside, 42 22 lined up. Still outside. Clear right there, clear all around, clear all around. Got that 70 car about three in front of you up high. Back outside. 40 car outside. Still outside. Still out there. Got another one coming. Outside. Still outside, still out there."
By lap 152, Mikey was 34th.
"Got one in the wall outside you. Keep digging. Clear all around, clear all around. Outside. Clear, clear all around."
Mikey was 35th on lap 155. David was up to 40th with Gordon's departure.
"Still out there," warned Mark. "Still there. Clear all around. Clear, clear. Clear all around, clear all around."
Mikey passed Montoya on lap 160 and picked up 34th.
The yellow flag waved for the fifth time on lap 161 for Patrick Carpentier. Ryan Newman had cut across his nose. Carpentier hit the outside, then the inside wall. Kasey Kahne received the free pass.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Got one in the wall down here," Mark reported.
"How about the rubber, Michael? Anything there?" Paul asked after a long pause on the radio.
"Yeah, it's the best it's been for a while," Mikey replied. "Better, for sure."
Paul asked if it helped the entry.
"It was better for sure. Entry's where I've been mentioning about since the start, so yes. The entry was better. The first time I've been able to hit a bump and not spin out."
Paul called for air pressure adjustments, then called for two rounds down across the back. "Quickie yellow, Mark?"
"Yeah, quickie yellow, quickie yellow," the spotter replied.
The #55 pit with everyone, and Jeff Gordon was the first driver off pit road. Paul warned Mikey to watch the #8 of Mark Martin coming into his box.
"Okay, going to be one to go when you get here," Mark said. "One to go."
Gordon led the restart on lap 165 with Denny Hamlin and Brian Vickers in front of the leader, attempting to stay on the lead lap. Mikey was 33rd, Dale was 29th, and David was 40th.
"Clear all around, clear all around," Mark spotted. "Coming back outside. Clear by two, clear by two. Clear all around. Looking inside, inside. 43 car inside. Got some more coming here. Still inside, still there. Still inside. Quarter panel. Still inside. Still down there, 41 still down there. Got another one inside, inside. Got the 9 car pulling the 70. Still inside. Clear, clear. Clear all around, clear all around. Still clear, still clear. Outside. Outside. Clear all around."
By lap 169, Mikey was 34th.
"Clear by four to the 00," Mark continued.
Mayfield hit the wall on lap 171 and continued. The green continued. Meanwhile, David was up to 39th with Carpentier off the track.
"Come low come low come low. Caution is... not out. Keep coming. Still green, still green. Clear, clear all around. Clear by four."
"That's the best lap times we've seen in a while. 31.60 the last couple laps," Paul reported on lap 175. "31.70.
"31.80."
"The car's bad," Mikey reported.
"10-4."
Mark warned his driver to stay on top with a spin off Turn 4. Scott Riggs spun. Mike Skinner slowed and missed the scene. Dario Franchitti didn't, and he hit Riggs. The fifth caution was on lap 179. Hamlin received the free pass.
"The car is really bad. That change there just really screwed it up. That's the worst it's been."
"10-4. We'll back up on those pressures."
"If I knew what was going on, I'd go a different direction and not just back up on it. It's fucking horrible."
"Riggs has got a 475 right front spring," Mikey reported, "just so you know, just so somebody fucking knows what works."
"What car was that?" somebody asked.
"66."
"10-4."
The #55 pit under caution.
"It'll be one to go when you get here," Mark said. "One to go."
Earnhardt Jr led the restart on lap 183. Dale was 20th, Mikey was 31st, and David was 39th.
"Still outside," Mark warned. "Clear all around, clear by two. Clear all around. Still clear by two, clear all around. Clear by one, back to the 70. Still clear, still clear. Still clear, got a little bit of a run. Still clear. Coming outside, outside. Got another one outside, outside. Got another one coming. 40 outside. Clear high behind him, clear by three. Clear all around. 42 coming outside, outside. Inside. You're in the middle. One more outside. Clear high, clear low, clear all around. Clear all around. Inside, inside. 45. Clear, clear all around."
By lap 190, Mikey was 33rd. Montoya and Petty had passed.
"Still out there. Still out there, still there. Clear all around."
Edwards was back in the lead on lap 195. Meanwhile, the #55 was up to 32nd, having passed Petty's #45.
"Clear, clear all around," Mark said. "Clear, clear all around."
"That's how close I am..." was what it sounded like Mikey said.
"10-4, 10-4, I know," Mark replied.
"15 laps on your tires. 31.90. Getting a little bit better," Paul said on lap 200. "31.80. A little bit better."
"Clear all around, clear all around."
"31.80.
"31.80.
"31.90."
"Leader at the line... now," Mark said on lap 209. "Clear by one back to the 99. He's running on the bottom. He's by himself. Clear by ten back to the second place car."
Lap 211 saw Mikey fall a second lap down. He was still 32nd.
"Clear by four back to the 17, the second place car. Clear the 77. Clear all around. 17 looking inside. He's all by himself. Inside. Clear all around, clear all around. Clear by fifteen, back to the 3rd place car.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Got debris on the race track."
The yellow flag waved for the sixth time on lap 214 for debris in Turn 2. There was a long pause on the #55 radio.
"Was that worse again, Michael, or what did that do?" Paul finally broke the silence.
"It was terrible. Terrible. Can't get near the corner. Can't do nothing right," Mikey mumbled.
Mark told him pit road would be open next time. He also told his driver the #2 of Kurt Busch would be coming by. Meanwhile, a tire rolled out of the #99 box, across pit road. He wasn't penalised, because the crew lost a tire due to a cameraman being in the way.
"26 will be here again when you get here to your box," Paul said.
"That will be impossible," was Mikey's reply.
"Yeah, 10-4. He's all the way in front up here."
"4150, 4150," Mark reminded.
Paul guided the #55 to the box.
"The 38 is running pretty good, and when he swerves his car back and forth, his left side lifts off the ground. That ain't normal. Somebody's got some engineering there," Mikey reported.
"10-4, that ain't normal," Paul replied.
The green flag returned on lap 219 with Kenseth leading. Mikey was 35th and two laps down, Dale was lapped in 27th, and David was nine laps down in 39th.
Mikey was in the middle of a three-wide situation on lap 223.
"Clear all around, clear all around," Mark said. "Inside, inside. Inside. Clear all around, clear all around.
"Got a spin in front of you, spin in front of you. Stay high. Caution's out."
The eighth caution was on lap 224. Casey Mears had moved up the track and had spun Brian Vickers.
"That was four laps, Michael. Was anything there?" Paul asked.
"No."
"Was it anything worse? 10-4."
"Was I supposed to stay out? Hell, I don't know," Mikey replied.
"Was that a quickie yellow, Mark?" Paul asked.
"I don't know. I didn't hear that it was."
"Yeah, it was," Paul said. "They're saying it now. Go ahead and come in this time. We'll do something here at the end. Four tires and fuel when we get here, guys."
"It'll be one to go when we get here, one to go," Mark noted.
"10-4."
Kenseth led the restart on lap 227. Mikey was 35th, David was 39th, and Dale was 29th.
"Clear all around, clear all around," Mark said. "Back outside, outside. Still outside, still outside. Still lined up outside here. Still outside. Still out there, still out there. Clear, clear. Clear all around. Back inside, inside. 41 car only. Clear behind him if you want it. Still inside, still inside. Clear all around, clear all around. Clear by four."
Dale was 27th by lap 229.
"Clear by half, back to the 49. Inside, inside. 49 and 83. 70 coming with the 83. Still inside. Still down there, still down there. 19 inside, six behind him clear. Clear all around. Clear by three, clear by four back to the 00. Got a spin in front of you, spin in front of you. He's up top. Come down, come down, come down. Caution's out, cautin's out."
The ninth caution was on lap 233 for Dale, who'd been having the best run of the MWR drivers. He got loose in Turn 2 and hit the wall. Mears received the free pass.
"Anything with that, Michael?" Paul asked.
"No," was Mikey's response.
"Pits are open this time," Mark noted.
"Okay, we'll pit the next time, Mike. This is not a quickie," Paul told his driver.
"It will be one to go when you get here," Mark said. "One to go. 4150."
"Clear pit in, clear pit in. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Right on your sign. All the way out, all the way out."
"Tail of the field just off of 2. When you get the green this time, Mike, we'll have 31 to go."
Kenseth led the restart with 31 laps left in the race. Mikey was 35th two laps down, Dale was 37th four laps down, and David was 39th nine laps down.
"Clear all around, clear all around. Got one coming outside. Half back. Outside. Still out there, still there."
At the front of the field, Edwards took the lead one lap into the run.
"Lined up outside. Watch that 45. He's coming to the back hard. Still outside. Still there still there still there. Still out there. You're in the middle, you're in the middle. Clear high behind the 43. Clear all around. Back outside, back outside. 5 car looking outside. Half back. Coming outside, outside. Clear, clear by one. Clear all around. 01 one back. Clear all around. 49 looking inside, inside. Still down there. Clear, clear all around. Clear by one, back to the 01."
Mikey was 33rd by lap 241. David was up to 38th as Dale was 39th and in the garage.
"Clear all around, clear by three back to the 00," Mark said. "Clear by one. Still clear by one on the 00."
"That 27 is for a spot, if he ends up coming back to you," Paul noted.
"45 inside, inside. Clear by five behind him. Clear all around. Clear by three, back to the 00."
Mikey was 34th after Petty passed him on lap 247.
"20 to go this time. 20," Mark said. "Clear, clear. 00 just running right there with you. Inside, inside. Clear clear. Looking inside, inside. Clear, clear. Clear by four."
The tenth caution was on lap 257 for Kurt Busch, who lost a tire and hit the wall off Turn 4.
"Michael, is that worse or better or the same?"
"The same. It made it tighter on the way off," Mikey replied. He said they could get air and see if they could catch the #27 of Mike Skinner. "That sucked. I mean, it sucked all day long. At the first of the race, it wasn't bad. I could run right there and hang, but I can't get near the corner. We've just made the car worse with everything we've done." He told his crew not to let an adjustment hold them up.
"10-4. We're not going to do anything to it."
He pit under caution.
"One to go when you get here, one to go," Mark said. "Single-file, less than ten to go."
"Cars on our lap, cars on our lap: 07, 48, 27, 45, 40," Paul told his driver.
"When you get back around, it will be six laps to go, six laps to go.
"Calling it off, Mike. Calling it off. Be one to go when you get here. One to go.
"Okay, Mike, when you get the green, it will be five to go."
Earnhardt Jr spun the tires on the restart. The cars bottled, and a wreck with the front runners ensued.
"Got a spin off of two, got a spin off of two. Caution's out, caution's out. Just be straight here," Mark warned.
The eleventh caution was on lap 263. Jeff Gordon had slid up the track and had hit Kenseth. Gordon's #24 was destroyed. NASCAR halted the cars on the track.
"What happened, Mark?"
"They kind of jumbled up there on the start. Looks like Gordon got into the 17, spun himself out there, hit the inside wall," Mark explained. "It was a good restart there."
Paul reminded the team under the red flag that they were after Skinner's #27.
"Okay, Michael, go ahead and start that thing up," Mark said at 8:10pm. The field returned to caution. "Okay, the pits will be open the first time by. Quickie caution. Then it will be one to go when you get back around here."
"He doesn't know the rules. You can't double up," Mikey commented.
"Got one outside here. Still on the lead lap," Mark replied.
Edwards led the green/white/checkered restart. Mikey was 31st, David was 37th, and Dale was 39th.
"Still inside, still inside," warned Mark. "Still down there. 27 still there. Still inside. 27 inside. Clear behind him if you need it. Clear all around. Clear low, clear low. Inside, inside. Coming to the checker this time. Still inside, still inside. Still down there. Coming to the checkered. Checkered flag. Good job there. Got him."
Edwards went on to win. Mikey finished 31st, two laps down. David finished nine laps down in 37th, and Dale placed 39th.
Coverage of next Sunday's Sprint Cup race - the Kobalt Tools 500 - begins at 1:30pm ET on FOX. The Nationwide Series' Nicorette 300 airs the day before at 1:30pm on ESPN2.