Mikey 37th in Pocono 500 by Kellyanne Lynch 8 June 2008 A late race caution during green flag stops trapped Michael Waltrip one lap down in the Pocono 500, today's Sprint Cup series race at Pocono Raceway. His #55 Napa Camry finished one lap down in 37th. Michael Waltrip Racing drivers David Reutimann and Michael McDowell placed 19th and 27th respectively. "Got a copy on me, Bobby?" Ty asked at 2:05pm ET. "Hey man. Got you loud and clear," Bobby replied. "10-4. I had a problem with the 44 radio yesterday. I changed a wire, and now it's all clear." "It all sounds good to me," Mikey said. "Cool," Ty said. "Thanks." TNT reported that Mikey's team was in 33rd pit box. David's was in the 40th, and McDowell's was in the 34th. "Hey, Glen or Gary," Bobby addressed two team members. "Glen or Gary. Truck drivers. Hello. One of them." "10-4. What do you need?" somebody replied. "We need a clip for the back of the NASCAR radio. This radio doesn't have a clip." "10-4." Bobby then addressed the driver. "When you get rolling here, let me know when you're in the tunnel," He wanted to know if Mikey could hear him there. "Okay. I will," Mikey responded. "I'll talk with y'all when I get over there." The air temperature was 83 degrees with 64% humidity; the track temp was 107. Due to internet issues, the radio was unavailable for a few minutes here. "All right, if it's green, on pit road lap 29, on lap 29," Bobby said when the internet connection returned. "Complete 28 and then pit, right?" Ty clarrified. "That is correct." "All right, buddy. One to go when you get here." use own senses, no way to clear him when in back, we'll just go from there. "Yeah, no problem." "Get your belts good and tight." Bobby also told Mikey to get heat in his brakes. "Have a good day." "Y'all too," Mikey replied. We'll have a good day and battle them all day long and see what we can get. Right now, I'm 260 260, for some reason." "All right. Make sure you've got all your switches on there, and it should go down there once you get some air going through 'er there." "Hey, Ty, on pit road, if you can get him in, I'll take him from the 6 car, which is five away." "Okay, 10-4," Ty responded. "All right, bud. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's straight, everybody's straight. Right there to your side. All clear. 42's got a run, but he's tucked in behind you now. Still outside, the 26. Still outside. Outside by a nose. Outside. Outside. He's got one up there with him. Outside. Still outside on your corner. Still there. Clear clear clear." The green flag waved at 2:20pm, and Jimmie Johnson immediately took the lead from pole-sitter Kasey Kahne. Mikey started 19th and dropped to 20th. David was 29th, and McDowell was 38th. "Clear one back." Ty then cleared Mikey when Juan Pablo Montoya's #42 attempted to pass. "Clear three back. Nice job." "56.15. Leader 55 flat," Bobby told his driver. "42 is one back," Ty warned. "Inside, inside. Got a run inside. You're going to have the 1 trying to follow him." He cleared Mikey behind the #1. By lap 4, Mikey was 22nd. Montoya and Martin Truex Jr had passed. David was 25th, and McDowell was 41st. "Very very very..." "Half back," Ty cut off the driver, but Bobby clearly heard Mikey. "All right, 10-4," said the crew chief. "Give me a temp reading when you get a chance." "Looking inside," Ty continued. "Still clear three back, still clear three back. Still clear two back." "Temperatures are 220, 250," Mikey reported. "10-4." "70's going to have a run. Inside, inside, inside. He's there. He's got one with him. Back to clear. Good job." On lap 5, Mikey was 23rd. "Clear three back." "56.60, 56.60. Leader 55.70," Bobby reported. "Quicker than the next six in front of you." "Got a run on the inside," said Ty. "Inside, inside. The 70 is there. Down behind him if you need it. Clear two behind him to the 44. Still on your corner. Still there. Back to clear, clear." "Keep me posted on what the car is doing." Bobby considered putting wedge back in. "Just real loose in, good everywhere else," Mikey reported. "Okay, 10-4." "Got a run one back. Still clear, all clear," Ty continued. "Got a run on the inside, got a run inside." "Man, I'm just loose everywhere," Mikey complained. "10-4," Bobby acknowledged. "Just keep riding. We'll get you tightened up." "44's inside, inside. Clear back five behind him if you need it," Ty directed. On lap 11, David moved up to 22nd. Mikey was now 24th, and McDowell was 40th. "It's really loose on my right rear," Mikey said. "All right, 10-4, 10-4." Bobby again suggested a wedge adjustment. "Let's try the track bar first or some air." Bobby said they wouldn't do that under green. He mentioned a round and a half of wedge out would put them back to where they were in last practice. "57.40, 57.40. Leader a 56.80." "Still outside to your corner. Clear, clear." David was 23rd on lap 13. Mikey was 24th, and McDowell was 40th. "57.40. Good lap right there. Good lap," Bobby praised. "Still clear two back to the 70," Ty noted on lap 15. "57.85, 85." "Run inside, inside. 70 car, all by himself. Clear five back to the 22." Kasey Kahne claimed the lead on lap 17. Mikey was now 25th when Jason Leffler in the #70 passed. "It's just, I mean, I'm not even driving it in 1," Mikey reported. "It's just backwards there. It's pretty good in the other two corners." "Okay, 10-4, 10-4." "You're about twelve laps away from pitting, twelve away. I'll put a little bit of wedge in your and a small air pressure adjustment. 57.70," Bobby said. "Leader a 30. "About the same speed as 11th back to you. "57.90, 57.90." By lap 20, McDowell was 41st. David and Mikey were still 23rd and 25th respectively. "Ten laps away from pitting," said Bobby. "Ten away. "95, 95. Leader a 15." "Still leaving that 22. I know that's not what you want. Still leaving. No pressure," Ty noted. Bobby mentioned that Mikey might want to put on his brake fans to help. "Thank you. I just did," Mikey replied. "This thing is getting really loose." "Okay, 10-4. Stay with it. Eight more laps to pit. Eight more." By lap 22, McDowell was back up to 40th, having passed Sam Hornish Jr. One lap later, he gained another spot to Reed Sorenson. "Flat," said Bobby. Ty cleared Mikey three back. "All right, I'm scanning everyone, and they're saying the same thing as you. Really loose," Bobby reported. "58.15, 58.15. Five away." Ty warned Mikey that Dave Blaney and David Ragan were coming. "One back, inside, the 24. Clear two back to the 12. Big run here. All right, back to clear. Two back to the 12." Mikey was 28th on lap 26. Blaney, Ragan, and Jeff Gordon had passed. "Inside, inside. Still at your door. Another one is going to try to sneak in there. Got one inside. Clear there, clear. Clear." The first caution was on lap 27. "Inside, inside. Caution's out, caution's out, caution's out for debris," Ty noted. "You got the 10 there. You should be in front of the 10." "I've never been this loose before. I mean, I can't understand how loose I am. I don't even drive it in 1. I just let off and start to pray. Terribly loose," Mikey reported. Bobby asked where he was loose. "I'm fucking loose from the time I let off to the time I finally get going straight again." He then referred to Patrick Carpentier driving with him. "Somebody explain to this cocksucker what the rules are." Bobby called for a rubber out of the right rear with the caution. He called for wedge in and rubber out of the right rear. "I don't know if there's any way to lead a lap here," Mikey said. He mentioned the quickie yellow. "It's going to take forever to do this stop. What do y'all think?" Bobby said it wouldn't take forever for the stop. Ty pointed out they were pitted after the start finish line, so it would take two laps to lead. "On pit road. Ten away, ten away." "Around the 6. 5, 4, 3, wheels straight. Put on the brakes. Straight," Bobby guided. "Go go go go. Halfway, halfway. All the way up behind the 10." "5,000, 5,000 is what you need to go here. 5,000," Ty reminded. Scott Riggs stayed on track to lead a lap. He had pit before the caution. Ragan overshot his pit box. Something happened to David and to Truex Jr so that they also wound up at the back of the field with Ragan. "Did I have anything wrong, or is it the way it is?" Mikey asked. "I ain't got the pressures yet from Ron, but the tires look good," Bobby replied. "All right, Michael. We're coming around to the green. Coming around to the green." Bobby reported that the build-ups look good, and the tires just showed that he was free. "All right, not going to go, not going to go. They're going to give you one to go again." "What happened to the 44?" Mikey asked. "His brakes were getting hot, and they asked him to take the tape off the brake stops." Ty said the tape was really down there and took a while. "And they just came in and topped off again." Riggs led the lap 31 restart with Mikey in 33rd, McDowell in 36th, and David in 42nd. "All right, buddy. You're going to be coming to the green this time, coming to the green this time. Pace car is off. Go ahead. Green green green. Clear one back, clear one back. Nobody's got a run. Clear three back. No pressure. Got one inside, all the way to the bottom - the 00. All the way at the bottom. You're clear, all clear." On lap 33, Mikey was 32nd. McDowell was 36th, and David was 41st. "Clear one back. Whatever you need. Still there, still inside. The 1's back up with you." Ty said he was still inside. "Clear one back, clear one back. Clear five back. They got tangled up back there." "57.15, 57.15," Bobby said. Lap 35 saw Kahne reclaim the lead. By then, David was 39th. Mikey and McDowell were 32nd and 35th respectively. "Clear ten back," said Ty. "No pressure." "57.20, 57.20. That's faster than the next seven in front of you." "Yeah, they're all bouncing up off each other," Mikey commented. "I'm stuck here. I don't know why." "All right, 10-4." David was 38th by lap 37. "Clear one back to the 77. Inside, inside. Clear there, two back." "I don't know... I'm just so... that didn't do nothing to it," Mikey commented. "Okay, 10-4," Bobby replied. The #55 was 33rd on lap 38. "Something's wrong, bad. I'm killer loose everywhere, every turn. That adjustment didn't do nothing, so we've got to reallign our thinking." "Okay, 10-4." "Inside, inside. Got another one, got a run inside. Clear there half back." Mikey was 34th on lap 39. "I'm just bouncing into that first turn, and it spins out." The second caution was on lap 40. Kurt Busch's #2 broke loose on his own and slid through the grass. "Spin off of 1, spin off of 1," Ty warned. "In the grass. Stay up top, stay off top." "I can't drive it, Bobby. I don't know what it is. I don't know what it is. I mean, I just can't hold onto it at all. It goes into Turn 1, and it just wrecks," Mikey complained. "Okay, 10-4," Bobby replied. "It's like there are way not enough compression in the front shocks at all. I don't know what we've done, but I can't drive it. I'm going to wreck." Bobby talked about closing off shocks and going with less rebound. Mikey suggested another set. "I've never felt anything like this. I'm going to wreck." "Yeah, you still have bleed when it's closed off, when you'll have bleed in the shims." "220, 250." Bobby called for the shocks to be closed off. "All the way on the right front, and close that left two. Yes." Leaders pit under caution. "On pit road, ten away." "Around the 16. 5, 4, 3. Right here, right here. Wheels straight, put on the brakes." The #55 was in the box. "Here you go, Chris. Just close it off. Plenty of time. Just get it right. Close this one off here also, on the left front. There you go. Okay." Mikey headed back on track. Truex Jr didn't pit and picked up the lead. "Having a difficult time with NASCAR breaking up a lot, but I believe we're going back to the green. I'll let you know in a second," Ty told his driver. "Yeah, buddy, be ready. We're coming to the green this time. Coming to the green. Be ready. Pace car's coming off. Be ready. Green green green." Truex Jr led the lap 43 restart. David was 31st, Mikey was 39th, and McDowell was 41st. One lap into the run, Johnson took the top spot. McDowell had also gained a position. "Clear seven back. No pressure," Ty said. "Clear five back. You're seeing three wide going into the tunnel. Back to two wide. Clear five out the back. Inside, inside. The 2. Inside. Another one going to look. You're clear now, clear. Clear, whatever you need. Coming inside - the 70. Coming inside. 70's inside, all by himself. Clear now, clear. Still there, outside. 21. Still there. Still outside, still outside. Still outside. Okay, stay low, stay low. 18's blowing up up there. I don't know if he'll throw any schrapnel." "Seemed like maybe the front was a little bit better, but it's just... I don't know. I'll have to give it some time, but it seemed like the front was a little better," Mikey said. "Okay, 10-4," Bobby replied. "We'll go ahead and pit now." "Yeah, we're nowhere near right, so do whatever you want." "Yeah, we'll pit here and get four tires." "Not coming yet, Michael. The pace car doesn't have the leader yet," Ty said. Kyle Busch drove up into Jamie McMurray, drawing the third caution on lap 47. Busch's spotter had just said #26 and had not said what side McMurray was on. "This is a long day, guys. We'll just keep hammering at it," Mikey said. "I think it was a little bit better there, definitely a little bit better on the short haul." He thought different pressures would help him. "All right, pit road is open, pit road is open. 5,000," Ty observed. "Four tires, guys," said Bobby. "Four tires." "Ten away." "Around the 1 car, around the 1 car. 5, 4, 3. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Right here," Bobby guided. The #55 was in its box. "Halfway, halfway, halfway. Good stop, guys." "5,000, bud 5,000. 5,000. "All right, bud, one to go. No lappers yet." Mikey was 42nd after the stop. David was 23rd, and McDowell was 27th. Johnson was still in the lead. Racing resumed on lap 51 with Mikey in 39th. "All right, buddy, be ready. You're going to be coming to the green this time. Be ready. Pace car's off. Green green green. Clear two back. One looking low. You're clear, all clear. Whatever you need. Got the 45 slow up top. Clear in the middle. Both sides. Still outside. Still there, outside. Looking inside. Going to be three-wide here. 45 on the outside giving up. You still have one inside, 38 inside. Clear down there, clear down. Two back." Lap 52 saw Mikey in 38th. David was 26th, and McDowell was 31st. "Clear five back. Still there, still there. Clear there, three back if you need it. Clear the 41. Clear." "57.10, 57.10," Bobby read off lap times. Mikey was 36th on lap 54. McDowell was just behind him. David was 27th. "Still outside. You've got the 41 coming to push," Ty said. "Still there, still there. Clear, clear." "57.40, 57.40." "Still clear one back. You see that 7. Still clear one back. Clear, clear. Still outside. Clear, clear." "57.15. Good laps right there." On lap 55, Mikey was 34th. "57 flat, 57 flat. The car any better?" Bobby asked. "Spin in front of you, spin in front of you. You see it. Come up to the top if you can, come up to the top if you can. There you go. Caution's out. Hell, they just now put it out." On lap 57, the fourth caution came for a wreck. Sam Hornish Jr and Patrick Carpentier had wrecked after Hornish spun and got into him in Turn 1. "Yeah, the car hasn't really been doing anything wrong." Mikey said the adjustments had helped but that he may have slid his tires as he hit his brakes hard. "The car's way better, but if I flat spotted the left front, that would bite me. I don't feel it, but I'm afraid that I did." Bobby went with the same pressures and four tires. "I know I can't take a chance. I'm going to go with what you tell me you feel." Mikey said to put it in the tires and not the liners. He was a little bit tight but that it was better. Bobby called for four tires. The #55 made a pit stop. Bobby noted a lot of two tire stops. "Yeah, all those guys who took two tires last time took two tires this time." Kasey Kahne had to pit again after three lugnuts came off a tire that the team decided last minute they would not change. The #9 pit again. Brian Vickers stayed on track and kept the lead. "260, 260." "10-4, 10-4." Ty told Mikey they were on one to go. "Michael, the 9 had a lugnut issue. He had to come back on pit road. He had been leading the race. He's about 6 or 7 behind you. The 83 is leading the race, and he did not pit. He's the only guy who did not pit. "All right, bud. They're not going to let us go. Not going to go. The 77 got a lot of grass packed up in his engine, and he shut it off on the straightaway here. How are your temps doing? Are they doing any better now?" "No." After a pause, Mikey added, "260, 280." "10-4. What's your water pressure gauge say?" "Uh, I don't see which one that is. 40." "Okay, you're in good shape. Once we get to the 47, you'll have issues there." Bobby noted a lot of grass in Mikey's car that had to get cleaned out in the last pit. "They're saying one to go, Michael, but they're bringing a truck back out... again," Ty noted. "Got your radiator fan running, bud?" Bobby asked. "Yeah," Mikey replied. "Sure looks like the weather's coming. What's the weather showing there, Billy?" Ty asked. "I swear it's going to cool off sometime soon, M-Dub, and Bobby, it looks like the weather's coming between Turn 1. They're still saying they're going to restart, but there's still a truck." Racing resumed on lap 64 with David was 29th, Mikey was 31st, and McDowell was 32nd. "Be ready. Pace car's off. Be ready. Pace car's off. Green green green, green green green. Clear three back. Clear there. Clear two back right there. 26 is the one labouring there on the bottom, labouring there on the bottom." One lap into the run, Johnson took the lead from Vickers. "Clear, whatever you want. Still there. Good run here. Clear there. Clear two back. Got a run inside - the 9. The 9, all by himself. Clear behind the 9 if you need it. There you go." Mikey was 32nd on lap 65. David was 26th, and McDowell was 33rd. "Clear by one." "56.75." "Clear half back to the 00. Four back to the 2." Lap 68 saw the fifth caution for a multi-car wreck. Gilliland and Carpentier ran into each other again and collected Hornish. "Spin behind you, spin behind you," Ty reported. "No caution yet. No caution yet. Slowing. No caution yet. Caution's out, caution's out." "This set didn't work a crap. It's loose in again and too tight off. It's sliding back to the tendency of earlier. I don't know why. Really really unbalanced compared to the set before," Mikey said. "Okay, 10-4, 10-4," Bobby replied. "Maybe a little bit more air out of both fronts and less pressure all around or something." "10-4. Yeah, they're making an adjustment right now." Ty said he had felt a drop of rain. "It looks like it's going to start in the backstretch and go the other way a bit," Mikey said. Bobby confirmed that it looked like they'd just miss the bad weather. "220, 260. 220, 250." "Chris," Bobby called to a crew member. "Up top, up top. Right hand side. Yes." "Coming, Bobby?" Ty asked. Bobby called for two right side tires. He watched the wrong car on track. "Your car and that car looked so similiar, I think you thought it were him," Ty explained. "It did. It's happened all damn weekend," Bobby responded. "You should have thought about that when you picked the pits," Mikey said. "I picked before him." "You should have had him by the arm." "Yeah," Bobby laughed. "You're right." "There's big ol' drops over here." "Yeah, I don't see how they'll get away with not losing Turn 2 over there, but we'll see," Bobby replied. "Have there been any casualties with all these spins, or do they spin out and just keep going?" Mikey asked. "Yeah, the 77 has spun out twice, but he keeps going," Ty replied. "230, 250." "10-4," said Bobby. "All right, pit road is closed, pit road is closed, but they're going to lead you down pit road," Ty informed his driver. "Did Turn 2 get wet?" "No, not yet. It hasn't even started raining in Turn 2, just in Turn 1. In fact, that's the least it's rained since we went under caution," Mikey said. "Get Shelly here to change my shields here. It's getting too dark. Get me a light tint," Mikey requested. "Okay, 10-4." On lap 71 at 3:50pm, cars were parked on pit road. David was 18th, Mikey was 31st, and McDowell was 38th. "What do you got up there, Ty?" Bobby asked. "Man, I don't know. It's not really raining around the track," Ty replied. "I bet you we're not down there for five minutes." "Hustle, Shelly." Bobby talked about the heat and told Mikey to take off his helmet. A few minutes later, he said, "Ty." "Yeah, go ahead." "When we assign these paint schemes in the future, we're going to have to talk. I looked dead set at the 00." Ty said they could make adjustments and convince Champion Morgage - McDowell's new sponsor - to go with something less confusing. "Yeah, it happened when I was clocking him yesterday in the tunnel," Bobby said. "I was clocking the #00." "How was he running?" "Pretty damn good. He was running a 30." He said he started with Mikey and went with McDowell. Ty said maybe they could convince NASCAR to time Mikey like this. "Bobby, they said you can take off tape and take off a tear off, but no air pressure adjustments." Bobby told a crew member to look for grass in the shaker tunnel. "You want to leave the tape alone, right Bobby?" somebody asked. Bobby said to check for grass, and if it were there, they'd have to readjust the tape. The crew member said it was clean. At 4:00pm, the race returned to yellow. "All right, here we go," said Ty. "They're going to try to come back around to one to go. Michael. And Bobby." Bobby had him repeat, and Ty did. "Okay, 10-4. "Pit road will be open. It is going to be one to go." "All right, keep those tires worked in good," Bobby told his driver. He said he was arguing with Goodyear and officials for more tires. "Have fun," Ty replied. "Pace car's off. Be ready. Green green green." Johnson led the restart on lap 73. David was 17th, Mikey was 29th, and McDowell was 40th. Mikey was up to 28th one lap into the run while McDowell was 35th. David was 18th. "Clear six back to the 07. Clear one back to the 9. He's going to be looking low. Clear one back. Outside, still there. Got a run on the inside, inside, inside. Clear down behind him, three back if you need it." Mikey was 29th on lap 75. Ty warned Mikey about a car on the outside. "Be outside, outside. Clear up behind him if you need it, clear if you need it. Still there low, still there. Clear the 22. Clear." Lap 76 saw Mikey in 27th. "Sliding up in front. Clear low, clear low. Still there. Still outside. Clear now, clear. Pulling away. Good job." One lap later, Mikey lost a spot. "Inside, inside, inside. Got the 19 with him. Inside. Still there. Still got the 41 down there. Clear now, clear. Clear ten back, clear ten back." "56.95, 56.95," Bobby read off times. The sixth caution was on lap 80. Mikey was 26th. Clint Bowyer got loose, spun, and nailed Montoya. Bowyer hit the wall hard, and Montoya's #42 burst into flames. "Right in front of you. Keep rolling. Everybody's straight. Stay up, stay up, stay up, stay up. Keep going. Everybody's rolling." Bobby asked about the car. "That was better in, still just a little tight off," Mikey replied. "That was a little bit better off, yes." Bobby talked about the air adjustment he had made before and decided to add liner pressure in the right rear. "How many laps there, Billy?" He told the crew member to be quick. "We have two minutes," Mikey replied. "I need a little bit of time to think," Bobby said. "I'm a little slow." "Roger. I didn't know what to do in that case. I was following that thing and didn't know what to do. I guess it worked out." Bobby said it all worked out. Ty said it may be a while with an ambulance on the track by Bowyer's #07. "Remember, like the first half of the field, they did not pit last time either." "We need to get a tear off again. I got oil from that wreck," Mikey said. "Did you run through any debris?" "No, I don't think so." Bobby considered gas only and a tear off. "Pit road's closed, pit road's closed." "I just don't think that would be good. We need to build for the end, and I know we're not right now, so I'd like to adjust it and get it better." Bobby said they still had 120 to go. They'd go with four and would try to get track position later. "Pit road's going to be closed. The 42's been on fire at the exit of pit road. Just a couple more things to clean up." "Just be on your toes," Bobby warned. He said a number of guys would go for two tires or fuel only. "Okay, then. Those two tires worked good. Just remember that for later," Mikey replied. "10-4. We'll get a tear-off on this one here, tear-off on this one here." "Pit road's still closed, pit road's still closed," Ty noted. "If Goodyear doesn't give us any more tires, it's going to be down to two tires is all I can give you." Leaders pit under caution. Ty said it would be at one to go. "Still coming for four, right Bobby?" "10-4. 5,000." "Ten away." "4, 3. Right here, right here. Wheels straight, put on the brakes." The #55 was in the box. "Go go go go. All the way, all the way." "A lot of two tires there. 5,000 there, bud. 5,000. That's not smoke. That's just the speedy dry kicking up," Ty told his driver. "Everybody's going to be coming to the green this time, coming to the green this time. Work them in a little bit. "All right, everybody, be ready. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Inside only." Elliott Sadler had not pit and led the lap 86 restart. Mikey was 33rd, David was 15th, and McDowell was 31st. "Still there, still there," Ty said of the #31. "Still there. Still inside, still there. All clear." Mikey was 32nd on lap 87. "Checking up. Everybody's straight, everybody's straight. Still outside. That 26 up there is struggling. Still outside to your corner, still there. Clear. Back outside. Clear. I couldn't tell. Looking low, looking inside. Still down there, still there. Clear, all clear. Clear one back." Mikey was 30th on lap 89. "Still there. Clear now, clear." "56.20." Lap 90 saw Denny Hamlin take the lead. "Clear four back. Still outside. Still there. Still outside. You're going to be clear behind him anymore. Got a run now. Not clear anymore. 26 is outside. Clear, clear." "57.40." On lap 92, Mikey was 30th, David was 20th, and McDowell was 39th. "Still clear, three back," Ty said. "25, 57.25." "Clear the 5. Clear. 45 slow up top. Clear low, clear low. Clear, clear. Clear three back to the 5." "57.40. "56.90, 56.90." "Still clear five back." "6 car still outside. Clear, clear, clear. Trying to look low. You're still clear. Nice job. All clear. You're clear three back to the 5 now." Mikey was 27th on lap 96. David was 22nd, and McDowell was 39th. "How's your car?" Bobby asked. "Better in, just a little loose in the centre, and then just normal off," Mikey replied. "10-4. 57.15. Pretty good lap there. You'll be catching those cats in front of you." "I would say a little loose in, a little loose in the centre, and a little tight off." "Okay, 10-4, 10-4." Mikey picked up 26th on lap 100, having passed Scott Riggs. v "Still there. Clear, clear," said Ty. Bobby asked for temps. "200, 250." "10-4, 10-4. Thirteen away from pitting, thirteen laps." "Still clear four back to the 66." Sadler came onto pit road on lap 103 for a scheduled stop. He had not stopped under the last caution. Mikey moved up to 25th. Bobby Labonte followed suit. "Clear four back to the 6 now, four back to the 6. "Back to the 6, just one back." "We're ten laps away, ten away from pitting. I'm going to make inner line adjustment on this next stop," Bobby said. "Got one inside. Hang on, bro. Hang on. Come on down. You can see the replay better than I can. How did we do there?" Ty asked. Mikey spun and hit rear-first into the wall on lap 105, bringing out the seventh caution. "Be ready, guys," Bobby said. "I don't think we hit anything hard, Michael," Ty said. "Tell me, Michael. Did we hit anything?" "Just tell me where the pace car is at," Mikey asked. Ty was telling his driver where the pace car was. Bobby said both were talking at once. "Talk to me, Michael." "I need to know where the pace car is. It's that simple." "I'm trying to tell you, Michael. The pace car's just off of Turn 1. You've got time." "I just can't understand why this thing is so frickin' loose, but it does. I don't think I have any suspension damage, Bobby," Mikey said. "I got some back end damage." "Okay, you're okay in the back," Bobby said during the stop. Ty watched the pace car at the driver and crew chief's request. Bobby yelled at the crew to get barribond. "What the fuck are you doing?" Ty continued to watch the pace car. "Go go go go. 5,000. Get your head out of your ass! Get this shit ready!" Bobby yelled at the crew. "Okay, Michael, 5,000 to the end. All right, go ahead and roll." "You should be fine. It looks fine," Bobby said. Ty said they would go to the back anyway. He tracked the pace car off Turn 1. "You'll have about a minute if you want to come now." Bobby decided to pit again. "Michael, 5,000. We're just about on the Long Pond straightaway." "I'm coming onto pit road, actually," Mikey said. "I know. I'm talking about the pace car." Ty tracked the pace car again while the #55 was on pit road. After the stop, he said, "Got three or four of them coming around you here. The 78. Looks like the 38, the 21, and then you'll behind the 21. And the 45's the lucky dog." Sadler led the lap 108 restart. David was 22nd, McDowell was 31st, and Mikey was 39th. "All right, bud. Be ready. Coming to the green, coming to the green. Pace car is off. Green green green," Ty led his driver back to the line. "Clear two back." One lap into the run, Tony Stewart passed along the inside and took the lead. "Still there," Ty warned. "Clear half back. Still outside." Mikey was 38th on lap 110, having passed Bill Elliott's #21. "21 still there. Still outside, still there. Outside - 21. Outside. Outside, still outside. Still there, still there." Mikey was 39th on lap 111 when Elliott got back around him. "Still outside. The 21 still there. The 45's trying to fill the hole up top. Clear behind the 21 if you need it, if you need it. Still outside on your corner. Still there, still there. 45's going to look low. You're clear now, you're clear." On lap 112, the #55 was back in 38th. "56.90, 56.90," Bobby read off lap times. "All clear, all clear. Two back." Mikey passed Sorenson for 37th on lap 114. McDowell was 36th, and David was 18th. "56.90, 56.90." "Still outside. Clear, clear." Two laps later, the #55 picked up 36th. "Got one outside, got one outside. Clear high, clear low," Ty said. "You see them up there. Get down, get down, low. Clear, clear." Whatever happened there gave Mikey 35th. The incident appeared to have involved Leffler. "All right, what you got there?" Bobby asked. "It's just loose in, still, tight off still. Same old," Mikey replied. "10-4." "It seems even wrecking it don't help nothing." "57.45, 45." The ninth caution was on lap 121 when Dario Franchitti hit the wall after running into Gilliland. "Still outside, still there. You're clear. You see it in front of you. Go down, go down. No caution yet. Caution's out," Ty guided. "All right, get caught up. When we pit, we're going to take a little time," Bobby said they'd make and adjustment. "I'm loose as shit in entry and plowing off," Mikey reported. Ty observed that something on the back of the #55 was flapping. A crew member said they'd repair the right rear after the stop and would check out the front first. "Maybe some more air in the inner liners. I mean, help me. Tell me you're thinking of something. I mean, I proved to myself that I was going to wreck, so I'm not going to say that anymore," Mikey said. Bobby told him about the inner liner adjustment. Leaders pit under caution. The #55 came in, and Bobby directed the crew to use barribond on the back. "Tail end's in three, Michael. Tail end's in three. One to go," Ty noted. Johnson led the lap 125 restart. Mikey was 34th, McDowell was 38th, and David was 23rd. "Clear three back," said Ty. On lap 126, David was 22nd, and McDowell was 36th. Mikey was still 34th. "Clear five back." "56.20," Bobby gave the lap time. "Three-wide. 7's still there. Two-wide. 41's still there. Still outside, still there, still there," Ty warned. "Clear behind him if you need it. Clear, clear." On lap 127, Mikey was up to 33rd. He was 32nd one lap later. "Clear one back." Kahne took the lead on lap 129. "Clear low if you need it. Clear low, clear low, clear low. Clear three back. Clear all clear. 21's behind you. Spin behind you, spin behind you. Caution's out, caution's out." The tenth caution was on lap 130 for a collision between Hornish Jr and Franchitti. Montoya received the free pass. "I don't know. It seems to be worse. Whatever you did on the air pressure that one time made it so good, we're going worse, we made it worse," Mikey said. "It was good that one time when we went up on the pressures and the inners, but now it's not good with what we've got it on." "10-4," Bobby replied. He told his driver to stay out if others came in. "I don't have any damn tires. I only have tires for a couple more times." "Well, I don't know. We'll just do whatever you say. I just know we ain't no good." Mikey said, if they didn't have tires, they couldn't change air pressures. "Be on your toes, guys. If we do do it, it'll be two tires. Just watch it, guy, here. Stay out, stay out, stay out. Yeah, I know we aren't real good, but we're much faster than them. I think we just got around a bunch of them right there." "That little incident finally got the 77. I don't know what he broke, but he's finally in the garage. That's about the fourth time he's been involved in something," Ty commented. "All right, buddy, you're on one to go, one to go." "Bobby, I know you're probably doing this, but we need to be working this thing backwards from the end to find out when we need to pit," Mikey adviced. "10-4, 10-4." Kahne led the restart on lap 133. David was 19th, Mikey was 23rd, and McDowell was 35th. Ty warned Mikey that drivers behind him did get tires. "Clear three back," Ty said. "Clear two back to the 83 with tires, clear two back. Got a run. Looking low. All by himself. Clear three back behind him." Vickers passed on lap 134, moving Mikey back to 24th. "Clear four back. Nice job," Ty praised. "Two back to the 24. Looking inside, inside. Clear behind him if you need it." Lap 135 saw Mikey in 25th. Johnson went to pit road for his final pit stop. "Clear five back." Mikey moved up to 24th with Johnson's pit. "Clear two back. 88's right there one back. Still clear one back." Mikey was 23rd on lap 137 as Mark Martin made a stop. "Clear one back. He's going to have a run. Outside, outside, outside. Clear three back to the 5. You've been outrunning him all day. Still clear two back. One back. Inside, inside. By himself, clear down if you need it." "If you can pit road, do it this time. We'll do right sides only," Bobby said. Ty said Mikey couldn't with a car inside. They decided to pit the #55 the next time around the track. "Still clear there. Clear one back." Mikey pit on lap 140. "Don't slide it if you can help it. Don't slide the left sides, we're going to keep them," Ty said. Bobby led Mikey to the box and told the crew to go with two tires. "Go go go go go. 5,000, 5,000. Easy on the tires." Ty led Mikey back on track. "Go go go. Leader's just now in 3. 18 coming outside. You're going to be all clear." Mikey was now 37th. "All right, bud. Leader's just now in 3. I'll let you know when he's at the start/finish. At the line... now." On lap 142, Mikey was 36th. "56.80, 56.80. Leader 56.30." Mikey was 35th on lap 144. "56.55, 55. Leader 55. There you go! Good lap! "56.85, 56.85. "56.75, 75. Leader a 90. "85, 85. Leader 40. "57.10, 57.10. Leader 75." Around lap 149, more drivers made green flag stops. "57.35, 35. Leader's about four seconds back." "I just have no grip at all," Mikey complained. "About ten back to the 66. Leader's at the line now. Should be pitting pretty soon," Ty noted. "20's going to be coming inside here, inside. Clear four back to the 66." "It's just so loose. It hits that right rear hard." "Okay, 10-4, 10-4." "66 is one back, bud. One back," Ty warned. "Inside. Clear behind him." Mikey fell to 36th on lap 151 as Kahne pit. "I feel like I'm going to spin out," the driver said. "Hang on, bud. One back to the 9." Ty said the #9 was pitting. "Hang in there, bro." Mikey was 35th on lap 152, and more drivers went to pit road. Greg Biffle had picked up the lead with Kahne's stop. "57.50, 57.50. "740, 57.40." Mikey was 32nd on lap 154. David pit the next time around the track. "45 to go, bud. 45 to go," Ty said. "Stay with it," Bobby encouraged. He said they'd make one more stop. Edwards took the lead when Biffle pit on lap 156. "Still seven back to the 1, seven back to the 1. Leader's at the line... now. We're in good shape, brother. Good shape. Clear three back to the 1. He's all by himself. Clear behind him by half a straightaway. Clear." Lap 157 saw Dave Blaney inherit the lead. "57.90, 57.90." "You see that 84 coming up on you there," Ty warned. "You're doing a good job here, bud. Nice job." "60, 57.60. There you go." Vickers picked up the top spot on lap 158. Mikey was 27th. "57.80, 57.80." "Still ten back to the 29," said Ty. "All right, two back. We'll be pitting in about eleven or so. Inside, all by himself. Still clear. He'll have a run, run on the inside, inside. Clear half a straightaway back." "95, 95. Stay with it. About ten more laps to pit, ten laps." NASCAR penalysed Blaney and Carpentier for speeding on pit road. "Okay, you're three back to the 26. Clear behind him." Mikey was 28th on lap 161. Blaney was black-flagged for not coming in to serve his penalty. "Stay with it. Seven more laps, seven more laps before our final stop. I'll tighten you up," Bobby assured his driver. "My front tires feel like basketballs," Mikey reported. "10-4, 10-4." "So does my right rear." "12 looking low. He's not there yet. You're clear one back, clear one back." "75, 75." Vickers pit on lap 165, giving the lead to Kahne. "Good corner, bud. About five or six more," Ty praised. "Have a run. 12's right there. Looking low. He's all by himself. You've got that slow, slow car. The 40. Clear low." Biffle picked up a penalty for speeding on pit road. Mikey was 18th on lap 167. David was 19th, and McDowell was 26th. "Okay, you're two, three back to the 44, and the 88 is behind him," Ty noted. "44's right there. Outside, outside. Clear two back to the 88. Just came off pit road. Got a run inside, inside. Clear behind him." Mikey was 20th on lap 168, and David was 19th. Bobby told Mikey to run two more laps before pitting. "Four tires, guys, four tires. Two more laps." "Clear five back. Okay, Bobby, we're going to complete this lap, and then we're going to pit at the end of this lap. Is that correct?" "Correct," Bobby replied. Mikey was 18th on lap 169. "Next time by, next time by. Four tires." Ty warned somebody was two back. "Inside, inside. Clear behind him. We're coming this time. They've busted people for entering and exitting too fast." Bobby called for air pressure, four tires, and fuel. "Slam 'er full, Art." "Clear there. Hustle on around, hustle on around. Give me 5,000 at the cone right there. 5,000 at the cone right there." Bobby guided Mikey the rest of the way to his box. "Watch the gas man, jackman. Watch the gas man. Go go go go go. Five grand, five grand. All the way out, all the wall out." "5,000." He told Mikey not to cheat it. "Clear there, clear there." Mikey was back to 36th on lap 171. He was marked one lap down. "Clear, clear," Ty said. "All right, bud, here we go, 29 to go." "56.30. There you go! Good lap!" Bobby praised. "Still there. Clear, clear." "56.40, 56.40. There you go! Dig in! Give me 26 more of those, 26 more of those," Bobby encouraged his driver. Mikey was 35th on lap 174. "56.40, 56.40." Kahne pit on lap 176. Others also made stops. Edwards now led. David was 9th, and McDowell was 19th. "Clear. 18's been pretty lame since he came back out. Clear." "56.10." Bobby pointed out that the #9 had pit and the #99 led. The eleventh caution was on lap 177 when Kyle Busch spun. Matt Kenseth was marked in the lead. "Got a car spinning in two, car spinning in two. Caution's out, caution's out." "Well that sucks," Bobby said. "That 10's going to get the friggin lucky dog after that... shit," Ty complained. Carpentier was one spot ahead of Mikey. Cars pit under caution. Ty asked if they were pitting. Bobby said they did have a set of tires and they'd see what they have. "Yeah, the 10 hit the lucky dog, but some of those other guys like Stewart have tires and are going to be faster than us." Mikey said he needed tires. Bobby said he'd look into who was a lap down. "Yeah, Stewart had to pit again. That's why he's a lap down," Ty said. Bobby said they'd pit and asked Mikey about the car. "No. It was a little bit better, yes. Before, it just felt like we had way too much air in the front tires," Mikey replied. The #55 pit under yellow with lapped traffic. "Go go. All the way, all the way. 5,000. All the way," Bobby said after the stop. "All the way," Ty added. "5,000." Ty said the #83, #88, and the #9 in the top three spots were on older tires. "You and Tony are obviously on newer ones. Tony was running 6th or 7th before he had that pit road incident. So hopefully he'll get by the 88 and 83, but we'll see. "One to go, one to go. 20 laps to go." "What the hell is that 7 doing?" Bobby asked. "I don't know," Ty replied. "Pull your belts tight. 19 to go, 19 to go." Vickers, who stayed on track, led the lap 181 restart. Mikey was 36th, David was 28th, and 30th. "All right, bud, you'll be able to see the green," Ty said. "Green green green. Inside. Still outside, the 9 car. Still outside. 7's trying to go outside with the 9. Inside, now, inside. Both sides. Outside now. Clear low, clear two back. Still outside, still there just barely. Still outside, three wide now. Clear there, clear there. Clear two back." Mikey was 37th on lap 183 with Robby Gordon's pass. "One back to the 48, he'll be looking low. Clear behind the 48. There's three of them up there. The 43 and the 2. Still clear. Still clear two back. Still clear. Clear one back. Got the 2 and the 31 right there with you. Inside, inside. 2's coming with him, 2's coming with him. Got another one looking. The 43. Inside. Clear there, clear there." On lap 185, Kahne reclaimed the lead. "Clear five back, five back. Fifteen to go," said Ty. "One back to the 43. He's there. Inside. Still clear. Clear one back. Inside, clear behind him. Clear two back, clear two back. Clear up right there, clear right there. Clear two back. Clear one back to the 7 and closing. Inside the 7. Got the 8 down there with him. Inside the 8. The 17 coming inside, inside. Low." "57.30, 57.30. Eleven to go." "Five back to the 1, five back to the 1." "56.90, 56.90." "Three back to the 84, three back to the 84." "The 7 is for position." "Clear. Back outside, back outside. Back outside. Clear one back. 84's got a run. Outside, outside, outside. Clear there. Clear four back to the 1." "57.60, 60. Eight to go." "99's outside. Inside. Clear behind him." "57.50." "29's one back, 29's one back all by himself. Six to go. Six." "57.30, 30." "29's looking low. Inside. Clear behind him, one back." "70, 70. Five to go, five to go." Ty said something about the #7 car. "You're clear five back. "Four to go, four to go. Clear three back to the 24." "57.80, 80." "Clear, still clear, still clear. Still outside. Still there. Clear five back. Two more, two more. Clear five back. All right, white flag, one more. Clear four back. Clear three back. 24, 16 racing for position. Two back. Got a run inside, inside. Clear there. That's it." "Well, that caution certainly hurt us anyway," Bobby commented. Kahne won. David finished 19th, McDowell 27th, and Mikey 37th and one lap down. Coverage of next Sunday's Lifelock 400 begins at 12:30pm ET on TNT. The Meijer 300 is the day before; coverage starts at 8:00pm on ESPN2.