#55 tight at Bristol, finishes 23rd by Kellyanne Lynch
16 March 2008
Michael Waltrip finished 23rd in the Sharpie 500, today's Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. His #55 Napa Auto Parts Camry was three laps down. His driver David Reutimann placed 20th and was two laps down in the #00 Aaron's Dream Machine, and Dale Jarrett finished eleven laps down in 37th in his final start in a Sprint series points race.
"Paul, you got a copy on me?" asked spotter Mark Green.
"Yeah, 10-4. Loud and clear. And obviously you're on channel 2 today. That's where we'll stay," crew chief Paul Andrews replied.
Mark acknowledged.
"Got a copy on me? Channel 2."
"Loud and clear," Mikey replied. "Hello?"
"Yeah, 10-4. Sounds good," Paul replied.
The call to start engines came at 2:09pm ET.
"I appreciate all your work guys," Mikey said after a minute. "I'm sorry about the backup car. Let's hang in here and get some points. Thanks for hanging in there with me."
"10-4," Paul replied. He told his driver to have a good day.
"The guy that started 40th here finished 13th. So this is no death sentence. We'll just work through it."
"10-4."
Cars rolled off pit road at 2:13pm. Because rain washed out qualifying, the field was set according to points. The #55 rolled off 40th. Dale and David were 37th and 39th respectively.
"All right, Mike. Front of the field is rolling off here," Mark noted. "Okay, Mike. Your pace car is at pit road speed. Got the 28 coming up on the outside of you here."
"It says 4100 on my dash. Are we sure about that?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah, 10-4," Paul replied. "We are sure about that."
"All right. I can go along with that. Considering it could be anywhere from 35 to 45."
"10-4."
"Okay, Mike. It will be one to go when you get here," said Mark. "One to go."
Ned Jarrett waved the green flag over his son Dale's final points race start at 2:17pm.
"All right, Mike. Pace car is off. Ready? Green green green," Mark guided. "Still inside."
Jimmie Johnson led the first lap from the pole. Tony Stewart climbed the hill.
"Got one stuck up high there," Mark warned. "83 still out there. 28 still outside. Still outside. 00 outside. Still outside."
Mikey was 36th by lap 4. One lap later, he was 36th, but he lost the spot the next time around the track with David's pass.
"Clear high, clear all around. Clear all around," Mark continued. "Three-wide, you're on the bottom. Two-wide. Still outside. Clear around, all around."
"Lap times are getting better. 16.60," Paul noted.
On lap 8, David, Mikey, and Dale rode 35th, 36th, and 37th. David gained a position the next time around the track.
"16.50," Paul read off lap times.
"Still there," Mark warned. "Clear, clear."
Lap 14 saw Clint Bowyer take the lead from Johnson.
"16.50," Paul continued. "Looking good."
"Looking inside. Still clear, still clear. Inside. Clear low if you need it."
Mikey was 35th on lap 15, having passed Travis Kvapil's #28.
"Clear, clear all around. Clear, clear all around. Leader at the start line now. Still out there. Still out there. Clear all around."
By lap 20, David and Mikey each gained a spot together. They were 33rd and 34th. Dale moved into 36th.
"There you go, there you go. Got the 00 right there with you. Still out there, still there. Clear all around. Clear, clear all around. That's the way to do it. That's the way to do it."
"16.50. Good lap times. 16.50.
"16.50."
"00 running the bottom, making them work here. Inside, inside. Clear by five behind him. "
Mikey was 33rd on lap 35, having passed David. He was 32nd the next time around the track, with David moving up a spot too.
"16.60.
"16.60."
"Leader at the line... now."
"16.55.
"16.50. Still good lap times. Good lap times."
"Still out there, still there," Mark warned on lap 30. "Clear clear."
The next time around the track, Dale in 38th lost the lead lap. He unlapped himself the next time around the track.
"Twelve more laps til the caution. Twelve more."
"Still got six cars between you and the leader. We're fine on him," Mark said.
"Right front air," Mikey requested.
"Four cars in front of you is the 45," Mark warned. "He's stuck on the bottom. Everybody's going around him on the outside. Clear. Back outside. Clear. Clear all around. Inside, inside. Clear, clear."
David was 31st on lap 37 with Mikey in 32nd. Dale was lapped again.
"Clear all around. Five more to go til the caution."
"16.75. Is your car okay?" Paul asked.
"Right front air pressure's too high."
"10-4. It's all we got."
"Two more to go 'til the caution," Mark said.
"If we can get a couple spots. Get all you can," Paul told his driver.
Lap 44 saw the first yellow. Travis Kvapil received the free pass. Paul asked if Mikey wanted to take three-tenths out of the right front or some out of the left rear.
"Just take air out of the right front. If you can't do anything else, than don't do anything," Mikey replied. He complained that the right front was too skaty.
Paul said he'd take out the air.
"Temperatures are 170, 195," Mikey reported.
"10-4. Coming this time, right?"
"Pit this time, pit this time. We're the seventh stall in. Seventh stall. 4100," Mark said.
"Clear pit in, clear pit out. 5, 4, 3... there you go. You see it. Right on your sign," Paul guided. "All the way, all the way, all the way."
"The 49 car beat us out, y'all," Mikey complained. "I don't know what to say about that."
"10-4. I understand," Paul responded. "We were working on left rears. But there's no excuse for that."
"I'll tell you what you need to do. You need to call for two if we're going to be that bad."
"10-4. I didn't think of that."
"Well, the 49 had to stop again, so maybe they didn't do everything right. Cheer up, y'all. We all make mistakes. I do too," Mikey told his team.
Ken Schrader's #49 had to return to his box for a penalty.
Paul acknowledged. He said the tires looked good, but the right front looked like it slid.
"I never slid nothing."
Mark warned Mikey of the lapped cars when he'd get back. "It'll be one to go."
The green flag returned on lap 57 with Bowyer leading. David was 29th, Mikey was 32nd, and Dale was lapped in 39th.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Got a spin behind you. Track will be clean," Mark noted.
The second caution was for Robby Gordon's spin in the #7 on lap 60. He broke a strut, which broke his splitter. Joe Nemechek received the free pass.
Paul made the call to stay out. The #55 was 33rd with David still 29th and Dale still 39th.
"Got a clean-up truck on the outside off of 2," Mark warned. "Hey, Mike. It will be one to go when you get back. One to go.
"Mike, calling this one off. It will be one to go when you get back.
"Calling it off again here, Mike. They've got some more debris that they didn't get. It'll be one to go when you get back. One to go."
The green flag returned on lap 68. Bowyer got a jump on the rest of the field. David was 28th, Mikey was 32nd, and Dale was 38th and first in line for the free pass.
"Clear all around. Clear by two," Mark noted.
"16.30, last two laps," Paul read off lap times.
"Way too tight on the start," Mikey complained on lap 76.
"10-4."
"45 there on the bottom, Mike. Slow," Mark said.
"I need that left front air," Mikey added.
"10-4."
"Clear, clear," Mark stated. "Still out there. Clear, clear. About five rows on the bottom, the 70 there's got them bottled up. Still inside. Clear low if you want it. Back inside, back inside. Clear all around, clear all around. Clear all around. That 70's up on the top now."
On lap 81, Mikey was 30th.
"Still out there," Mark warned. "Clear high if you need it. Clear clear."
Passing Bobby Labonte on lap 89 moved the Napa Camry into 29th. David was 27th, and Dale was 38th.
Lap 93 saw the third caution for debris. David Gilliland received the free pass.
"My car is good. It's good now." Mikey requested to stay out.
"We can definitely stay out," Paul replied. "I just wonder how many are going to pit behind us."
"I don't care. I only care who's going to pit in front of us," Mikey said. "If we're worried about right front tire, then I want to pit. If not, then I want to stay out."
Paul told him they weren't worried. When Mark said all the leaders were pitting, the crew chief said to stay out.
"What was my fastest lap, and what did I drop off to?" Mikey asked.
Paul said it was a 16.25 on lap 70. "But you were running 60's and 70's in that traffic, sometimes, 80's," Paul replied.
Mikey commented that the car had been tough to drive earlier with the right front. Paul said they'd be okay without the traffic and that the right front pressure should hold for them now.
Staying on track put the Napa Camry in the lead on lap 97. Kasey Kahne was sent to the rear of the field on the restart for being too fast exitting pit road.
"And, by the way, up and down pit road, there were a lot of chords. There weren't any this time," Paul said he should be good.
"One to go this time. One to go," Mark said. He warned the lapped cars would be coming up the inside before the restart.
Mikey led the lap 100 restart. He led the first lap.
"All right, Mike, you got the start," Mark said. "Clear, clear all around."
By lap 103, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson had passed.
"Looking inside, inside. Got the 20. Two cars back to the 48. 48 looking. Still looking inside, inside. Clear by five, back to the next car. Clear by five."
"16.40," Paul read the lap time. "16.45."
Mikey was 3rd on lap 104. David was 27th, and Dale was one lap down in 37th.
"Inside, inside. Still there. Got them lined up on the inside there." Mikey was trapped on the outside groove. He was 4th on lap 106 and 5th the next time around the track. "Still lined up here. Clear if you need it. Clear all around. Back inside."
Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer passed along the inside, with Jeff Burton coming next. Mikey was 6th on lap 109.
"Clear right now. Back inside," Mark spotted. "Still lined up. Still lined up on that outside. You're doing good though. Got a hole up there by one. Inside. Clear. Back inside, back inside."
Mikey was 8th on lap 111 and 9th the next time around the track.
"Clear, clear," Mark said. "Back inside. Clear by one if you need it. Clear all around. There you go. Stay the same. That's a good corner."
Lap 113 saw the #55 in 10th. David was 25th, with Dale one lap down in 37th.
"16.70, last two laps," Paul stated. "16.70, a 50 in front of you."
"Clear. Looking inside, inside, inside," Mark continued. "Clear, clear all around."
"16.70. It looks good.
"16.60."
"Spin in front of you. Stay low, stay low, stay low. Caution's out," Mark warned.
The fourth caution was on lap 120. Dave Blaney spun on himself, and Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton made contact. Travis Kvapil received the free pass.
"Well now what do you do. I guess we should pit."
Paul said to do what the leaders do.
"Well, that's a good question," Mikey replied. "I don't know if we can do that or not. I can stay out. I just don't want to run out of gas, and I don't want to get a flat tire. Doing what the leaders do is sissy stuff. Let's make a call. I'm going to need to know pretty soon."
Paul called for a stop with four tires.
"Pits are open this time. 41, 41," Mark said.
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Right on your sign, right on your sign," Paul guided. "All the way out, all the way out. It looked like a lot of people pitted behind us."
Mark said they were good. "Only two cars behind us stayed out, so we're doing pretty good." He warned his driver that four or five lapped cars would be coming to the inside.
Stewart led the lap 125 restart. Mikey was 15th, David was 26th, and Dale was lapped in 35th.
"Clear all around," said Mark. "Clear, clear."
By lap 129, Mikey was 14th.
"Still down there," Mark warned. "Still down there. Clear, clear. Still down there."
Passing Aric Almirola in the #8 put Mikey in 13th on lap 135.
"Clear all around. Clear if you need it," Mark continued. "Got that 70 on the top, holding them up. They can't get by him. Looking inside, inside. Clear all around."
On lap 138, Mikey was 12th. He had passed Carl Edwards. David Ragan got into the #00 on teh same lap.
"Still there. Clear, clear. Clear all around."
"16.60," Paul read off the lap time. "16.55."
"Inside, inside. 24 car," Mark warned. "Got the 99 lined up with him. Clear by six behind the 99 if you need it. Clear all around, clear all around. Clear by four back to the 49."
"16.60."
Gordon got back around the #55 on lap 145. Mikey was 13th.
"16.60."
"I think I got a loose wheel," Mikey complained. He was 14th on lap 147.
"10-4," Paul replied.
"Looking inside, inside. Still inside," Mark warned. "Clear, clear all around. Looking inside, inside. Clear, clear. Back inside, inside. Got the 8 and the 15 one back. Clear by ten behind them. 15 inside. Got a ten car length hole behind that 17 if you need it."
"We're ready if you need them, we're ready if you need them. Pit if you need to under green," Paul told his driver.
Lap 152 saw Mikey in 15th. He was 16th the next time around the track.
"16.80, last two laps."
"I have to come in. It's shaking."
"10-4, it's ready," Paul replied.
Mikey was 17th on lap 155. David was about to get lapped and got bumped by Stewart, but he pulled ahead of him and Stewart bumped into other traffic.
"16.60, last three or four laps."
"44 is going to be slow going into 1," Mark noted. Dale had to pit on lap 170 with problems.
"Clear by ten behind you," Mark continued.. Meanwhile, David was fighting Stewart to stay on the same lap. He got lapped on lap 173. "Still clear by ten behind you. Clear, clear."
"16.65. 16.65.
"16.60, last two laps.
"16.60.
"16.55."
By lap 180, Dale was four laps down in 42nd. David was 26th, and Mikey was up to 16th.
"Right here in front of you, right here in front of you. No caution. Go low, go low. Go high. Caution's out, caution's out. Good job there," Mark guided.
Mikey wove through there and avoided getting into the wreck. He may have made minimal contact with Bobby Labonte.
The fifth caution was on lap 189. Dario Franchitti cut out of his line into Jamie McMurray, who spun. McMurray cut down the track and made contact with Ken Schrader. Bobby Labonte, Ryan Newman and Paul Menard were also collected. JJ Yeley received the free pass, and Schrader and McMurray went to the garage.
"Same pressures, but I know what's wrong," Mikey commented.
"10-4. We'll look at everything real good."
Mark warned Mikey to stay up high to avoid debris.
"Four tires, everybody. Four tires when it opens," Paul told the crew. "Should be a clear pit in and a clear pit out. It should be."
"Okay, pits are open this time, this time."
Paul said the right front didn't look as bad this time.
"Should we come in and take off the spacer?" Mikey asked.
"Negative, I don't think so. I think it's good."
"It's one thing to have bad pit stops, but to have bad pit stops and not get everything right..." Mikey complained.
Paul said tire wear was getting better.
"Okay, Mike. Coming to the one this time, one this time."
The green flag returned on lap 197. Tony Stewart, who was off pit road first, led the field. Denny Hamlin immediately passed. Mikey was 15th and lost a spot by lap 200. David was 24th and lapped, and Dale was four laps down in 36th. Paul Menard was blackflagged for missing a whole right side quarterpanel.
"Looking inside, inside," Mark noted. "Got another one inside. Inside. Still inside. Clear, clear all around."
Reed Sorenson's pass on lap 205 moved Mikey to 17th. He was 18th two laps later. David was 23rd, and Dale was 40th.
"Looking inside, looking inside. Clear, clear all around. Back inside. Clear, clear. Still clear, still clear. Looking inside, inside. Got another one inside. Clear, clear."
"It's pushing really bad," Mikey complained on lap 213. Ryan Newman was blackflagged for a flapping left rear. He took his #12 to pit road.
"16.70," Paul read lap times. "16.75."
"Inside, inside," Mark warned. "Clear, clear all around."
Casey Mears passed on lap 213, moving the #55 to 19th.
"16.60."
"Leader at the line... now."
Paul said "10-4" to something that did not air on TrackPass Scanner, likely feedback from the driver.
"Looking inside. Still clear, still clear," Mark spotted. "Leader is six cars back. Inside, inside. Still lined up inside. Clear, clear. Back inside. Clear, clear. Leader's half a car back. Inside, inside. Clear. That is the leader. Inside. Clear all around."
Mikey was 20th on lap 228. Two laps later, he lost the lead lap.
"Inside. Clear, clear. Inside. Clear. Back inside. Still there. Got another one inside, inside."
"Still the lucky dog, still the lucky dog," Paul said.
"Got another one inside. Second place car, the #20. Clear, clear. Clear by four. Inside. That 29 inside. Clear behind the 31 if you need it. 41 looking inside, new tires. Inside.
Sorenson made an unscheduled stop, moving the #55 into 19th around lap 235.
"My wheels are going to fall off," Mikey said.
"18 inside. Got a whole behind the 18."
"10-4. You're still the lucky dog, still," Paul told his driver.
"Inside, inside. 12 car inside. Inside, 99. Clear behind him. Clear all around. 16 looking inside. Inside, 43 will be slow on the bottom. Clear the 43. Clear all around."
"You are not the lucky dog. You are not the lucky dog," Paul said on lap 247.
"Inside, 16 car. 00 inside. 2 car inside. Clear, clear by two."
"Can't see, it's shaking so bad," Mikey complained on lap 249.
"10-4. We're reading if you need to," Paul replied.
"Clear behind that 9. Clear by three."
On lap 253, David got around Mikey. The #00 was 19th, and the #55 was 20th. Dale was five laps down in 40th.
"Looking inside, inside. The 70," Mark warned. "Got the 88 right with him on the inside. Clear behind that 88 if you need it. Clear by six."
Mikey was 21st by lap 256.
"Still running 16.70's and 80's," Paul noted. "16.80.
"16.75.
"16.80.
"16.80."
"Inside, inside," said Mark.
"17 flat.
"16.80."
"40 car running up top, holding them all up. Keep coming now. Stay low. 10-4, 10-4."
The sixth caution was on lap 278. Paul Menard got into Franchitti and spun him. Behind them, Juan Pablo Montoya did not slow and shoved Hamlin into Casey Mears. David was held in his stall for pitting outside his box.
"Yeah, 10-4, 10-4. You're absolutely right," Paul replied to something that didn't air.
"You're arbitrarily killing me. This thing's shaking so bad," Mikey complained. "You'd better do something this time to fix it!"
Paul told Chris to look at the studs on the lugnuts.
"I don't understand. You know they're effed up. Why am I shaking again?"
Mark said pits were open this time.
Paul told the crew to take a quarter inch off and put it all back together.
"Just take it off! What do you mean, put a new one on?" Mikey asked. "Do you even know what's in there? Is that going to get me into the sway bar?"
"No, no it will not."
"41, 41," Mark said.
Mikey told his crew to just get two, and Paul agreed.
"Don't rev it up," Paul told his crew. "We can't work."
"Let's go! Put the tire on it!" Mikey yelled from the pit box.
"You're going to be good. You're going to be good. Get on out of here, get on out of here."
Mark told them to make a lap and catch up before coming in for the next one. Somebody said the left rear was loose, not the right front.
"Just make sure I don't get into my right front, my right sway bar arm. Where's the pace car, Mark?" Mikey asked.
"Just now getting into Turn 3. Go by him, Mike. He's holding us up. 41, 41."
Mikey went back to his box for being too fast entering pit road. He was sent to the tail end of the longest line for bumping.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised it was the left rear and not the right front. It makes it awful hard to drive when you don't know what's going to happen next," Mikey commented.
On lap 287, Kyle Busch led the restart. He spun moments later.
"What kind of adjustment did we make for the push?" Mikey asked.
The seventh caution was for Busch's spin due to a power steering failure. Mike Skinner's #84 caught on fire just after from the rear. Mark warned his driver. Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne got the free pass.
"Track bar up two. Track bar up two."
Mikey was 22nd, one lap down. David was lapped in 29th, and Dale was five laps down in 37th. Stewart was now in the lead.
Paul said the studs were probably bad, and that's why they had the tire problem before. He said they could pit, but the studs should be fine now.
"I do not want to lose another lap. I don't want to give nothing away," Mikey replied. "What's my options? Can we just stop, put a spacer in left rear?"
"I can keep to pit road one time. I don't know why you say that."
"Because I know exactly what's going to happen. There's no way we're going to get a spacer off and not get lapped at the back of the pack."
Mikey said they'd do it when they had better track position. Paul agreed.
"All I can tell you is that this is a heck of a way to take a good car and mess it up. But I guess I should forget about that."
Paul said they could still have a good day, because there weren't a lot of cars one lap down and they were 22nd.
"Pits are open this time for the leaders," said Mark.
When the leaders pit, Paul said they would go with right sides only and add a spacer to the right rear. He said they should have enough time to do that and not go a lap down. "Everybody got that? Okay?"
The #55 pit under caution.
"Take a visual on them, Chris. Take a visual," somebody said.
"Pace car in Turn 1," Mark warned.
"Okay, okay. All the way," Paul told his driver.
"Check the inside right of that tire, inside right front," Mikey requested.
"10-4. It looks good."
"Okay, Mike. It will be one to go this time. We can pull up in Turn 3," said the spotter. "Follow that 19 right there. That 12's a bunch of laps down. I don't know about that 22."
"Yeah, many laps down. Many," Paul replied.
"Okay, Mike. It will be one to go again this time. One to go."
Stewart led the restart on lap 305. Mikey was 21st and lapped, David was two laps down in 29th, and Dale was five laps down in 36th. Mark commented that the #12 should be behind the #19 before calling the green flag.
"Still there," Mark warned. "Clear, clear high. Clear all around. Clear high, clear high. Inside. Clear, clear all around. Clear, clear."
"16.50. The 19 is the next position," Paul noted. "16.60."
David passed Sam Hornish Jr for 28th around lap 313.
By lap 323, David was 27th; he had passed Robby Gordon.
"Still down there," Mark warned Mikey. "Still down there. Clear, clear. Clear all around."
"16.55."
"Leader half a straightaway back. Back inside, inside. Still there, still there. Clear, clear. Looking inside. Clear, clear all around. Back inside, inside. Got the 20 car inside. He is the leader. Clear, clear by four back to the 2nd place car."
On lap 332, Mikey went a second lap down. He was now 22nd with Kyle Busch's pass.
"Inside, inside. 31 looking. Still clear, still clear. Inside. 31 inside. Clear, clear. Inside, 48 inside."
"Feels like you put air in my right front tires," Mikey told his team on lap 337.
"10-4," Paul replied.
"Clear, clear. Back inside. 07 inside. Got the 15 inside, inside. Got a hole behind that 15. Clear, clear right there. Back inside, inside. Clear, clear all around."
Lap 346 saw Kevin Harvick take the lead.
"Looking inside, inside. Clear," said Mark. "Back inside, inside. 99 inside. 22 right there looking. Clear, clear. Inside, inside. Clear low. Clear, clear."
Stewart took back the lead on lap 351.
"Clear, clear," Mark continued.
"16.75, last two laps," Paul said.
"It feels like you put air in the front tires. man!" Mikey complained. Meanwhile, Dale climbed the hill after Johnson moved him. The #44 was six laps down in 36th.
"Looking inside, inside. Clear behind him. Clear all around. Clear back to the 2. 44 will be slow on the bottom. Clear all around. Inside, inside. Clear, clear all around."
"16.85, last two laps.
"16.90."
"Got the 88 right there with you," Mark warned. "Looking inside, inside, inside. 2 car, lead lap car, looking inside. Clear right there. Back inside. 17 inside. Clear, clear. Looking inside, 1 car, inside. Clear, clear all around."
"It feels like my front tires are full of air," Mikey stated on lap 365.
"83 got a run inside, inside," said Mark. "Clear by ten behind him, if you need it."
"16.75."
"Got a spin in front of you. Caution's out," Mark told his driver.
The eighth caution was on lap 376. Johnson had tried to bump Jeff Burton next and spun himself. Martin Truex Jr received the free pass.
"Did you put air in the right front tires?" Mikey asked.
Paul said they didn't and that they couldn't put take any more out of them.
"Try to get anything out of the right front you can. It's ridiculous. Take two pounds of the left front and one out of the left rear."
Paul said they would just take air out of the left front. He then chose to go with what Mikey said. The #55 made a stop when pit road opened to lapped traffic.
"Okay, Mike. It will be one to go when you get here. You can double up in three," Mark said.
Stewart led the lap 382 restart. Mikey was two laps down in 25th, David was two down in 26th, and Dale was 36 and six laps down.
"Still outside," Mark warned. "Still out there. Got the 00 outside. Still out there."
With 113 to go, Harvick got around Stewart for the lead.
"15 looking outside, outside. Clear high behind that 15. Clear high, clear high. That 44's slow on the bottom."
David passed Mikey by lap 388.
"Got a spin in front of you. Keep coming, keep coming. Got a slow one on top. Clear low. Clear all around, clear all around," Mark warned. Sam Hornish Jr's troubles allowed David and Mikey to move up to 24th and 25th; Paul Menard had moved Hornish Jr's #77.
"Lap times are better," Paul said. "Keep it coming. You're doing good."
"Way too tight," Mikey complained on lap 393.
"10-4."
"Looking inside, inside. Clear by three behind him. Clear, clear."
"16.60. That's a good lap. The 66 is the next place car in front of you," Paul noted. "16.50."
David was 23rd by lap 400, having passed Scott Riggs.
"16.60."
"Still out there," Mark noted. "Clear, clear."
"16.70. An 80 on the 66.
"16.65."
"Easing away from what's behind you. Doing good," Mark praised.
"16.65."
"43 car three in front of you is going to be slow on the bottom. Still out there, still out there. Clear, clear. Clear high."
Stewart got back around Harvick for the lead with 85 laps to go.
"16.80," said Paul.
On lap 416, Mikey got around Scott Riggs' #66 for 24th.
"Clear, clear all around. Good job there! Let's keep on digging there."
"16.70 on the pass. The 00 is our next position. The 00 is our next position. 16.70, last two laps."
"Clear, clear."
"Up in front of the 00, the six car. Up in front of the 00," Paul noted. "16.70, last two laps.
"16.70. Still looking good."
"Still down there," Mark warned. "Still there. Still there. Clear, clear."
"16.70. Good times!
"16.70."
"Still there. Clear, clear. Still there. Clear, clear. Watch that 43, slow on the bottom. Clear, clear all around."
"Doing real good here," Paul praised.
"Leader at the line... now."
"60 laps to go, 60. 16.70."
"Clear all around."
"16.80.
"16.70.
"16.80.
"16.80.
"16.80."
"Still out there. Still there. Clear, clear."
By lap 443, David was 22nd. Mikey was 24th. Dale was seven laps down in 36th.
"50 to go," Mark said. "50."
"16.80. Looking good. Keep it coming," Paul told his driver.
"66 inside. Clear by three behind him."
Lap 454 saw Mikey fall to 25th with Riggs' pass.
"16.80."
"Clear."
"16.70.
"16.70.
"16.70.
"16.70."
"Clear low."
"16.70, last three laps. Good, good," Paul praised.
"1 car looking... Clear, clear. Got that 40 up top. He's slow. Still out there. Clear, clear."
Newman pit with about 33 laps to go after getting into Stewart when Stewart passed him.
"Still there. Clear, clear. 1 car looking inside, inside," Mark spotted. "Got the first and second place clear, clear. First and second place car lined up behind him. Leader right with you there. Inside. 20 car inside. Got the 29 one back from him. Inside. Clear behind that 29. Clear by one back to the 1 car. Clear all around."
On lap 471, Mikey went a third lap down.
"Still doing good, man. The 66 is about to go a lap down. You can still get him for position," Paul encouraged his driver.
"25 to go this time," said Mark. "25. Still out there. Clear high, clear high. Third place car looking inside, inside. Clear behind him. Clear all around, clear all around. Slow one on the bottom there."
"66 and the 96 is for position. 66 and the 96."
"Still out there. Clear high, clear high. Looking inside - the 12 car. Clear behind him, clear behind him."
"16.80."
"No pressure."
"16.65.
"16.80.
"16.80."
"15 to go. 15," said Mark.
With 12 to go, Brian Vickers lost a right front tire, hit the wall, and fell back through the ranks. He slowed and tried to get down the track. The ninth caution finally came out with 11 laps to go. Mikey was 24th at the time.
"Got one slow on the outside of the wall here. Keep digging. Slow on the outside wall. Clear, clear. No caution. Keep digging. Caution's out, caution's out."
Paul said they had air pressure they could put in.
"Still too tight, but I don't know what to do with the air pressure change," Mikey replied.
Paul told him he'd put in more air but not in the right front.
"Okay, we'll pit."
"Got the 1 on the outside of you here," Mark warned. "That car's still sitting off of 4 here on the top."
All but three lead lap cars made stops.
"Is pit road open this time, Mark?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, 10-4. We're going to pit this time, pit this time. 41."
"Clear pit in, clear pit in. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Right on your sign, right on your sign." Paul led his driver out of the box after the stop.
After the #55 left pit road, the crew chief added, "All right, you had a right front flat just then. You had a right front flat just then. It wasn't bad, but just so you know.
"Cars on your lap: 66, 7. Neither one of them pitted. 96, 28, 01."
Stewart led the restart with six laps to go. David was 20th, two laps down. Mikey was three laps down in 23rd. Dale was 35th, seven laps down.
Hamlin shot to the lead immediately.
"Outside, outside. Clear. Clear all around," Mark observed. "Clear, clear. Clear, clear. Three to go this time. Three to go. No pressure. Two to go this time. No pressure. Got a spin up high, got a spin up high. Caution's out, caution's out, caution's out."
The tenth caution came just before two to go. Kevin Harvick slid up the track into Stewart, pushing him into the wall.
"I'll tell ya, this thing is just pushing so bad. It's plowing," Mikey reported. "It's like a spring gave up or something or wedge came out of it or wedge went into it or something. It's nowhere near where it was."
Paul said it was possible they loosened up the jack screw.
"Got the 1 car going to be coming to your outside, about five back," Mark noted. "Okay, Mike, it's going to be one to go. It's going to be a green white checkered."
Hamlin led the green/white/checkered restart. He dropped way off the pace immediately, and Jeff Burton jumped into the lead. Mikey was 23rd, three laps down.
"Clear by the 7," said Mark. "Still there, still there. Clear, clear. Keep digging now. Coming to the white. Got a slow one on the bototm, slow one on the bottom. Clear on the bottom. No pressure from behind. Keep coming. No pressure. Okay, checker this time, checker this time. Good job hanging in there."
Richard Childress Racing finished 1-2-3. Jeff Burton won, Kevin Harvick was second, and Clint Bowyer was third. David was the top Michael Waltrip Racing car, coming in 16th and three laps down. Mikey was three laps down in 24th, and Dale finished eleven laps down in 37th.
"Do we even have a truck in here?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah, 10-4, 10-4. Just keep coming around here," Paul replied.
Short track racing continues in two weeks. Coverage of Goody's Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville Speedway begins Sunday at 1:30pm ET on FOX. The Sprint Series is taking next weekend off. The Nationwide Series, however, will run its Pepsi 300 at Nashville Speedway next Saturday. Coverage starts at 2:00pm on ESPN.
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DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finished: 20th
What did you battle throughout the race after being so strong in practice?
"We just tried to battle track position all day long with the fact that we had to start so far back. We never really could get a break to get it made up. That was kind of the way our day went. We screwed up in the pits -- I was out of the box and little bit and we got a penalty and that put us two laps down or I think things could have been a lot different. All in all it was a good day -- we learned a lot. It was my first race at Bristol in a Cup car because we missed the other two -- it was a decent day in the points because it could have been much worse. It was semi-productive and now we can go to Martinsville."
What will it mean to head to Martinsville locked into the field?
"It will be nice to show up at a race track and know that we are locked into the race -- I haven't known that feeling. The deal is that we have to keep moving forward in our points to insulate things. I'm proud of my guys and we left here without destroying a race car so that's okay."
DALE JARRETT, No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing
Finished: 37th
"Well, it wasn't the finish I would have liked. I'm able to go out with the best sponsor in the business in UPS and I would have liked to have had a better day for them, but I really can't be too upset when you take into consideration the kind of career I have been fortunate to have."