Mikey last in an Allstate 400 marred by competition cautions by Kellyanne Lynch
27 July 2008
A lap 4 accident took Michael Waltrip's #55 Napa Auto Parts Camry out of contention in the Allstate 400, today's Sprint Cup series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The #55 spent over sixty laps in the garage. Mikey finished 43rd, sixty-nine laps down, in a race halted six times by competition cautions due to rapidly shredding tires. Michael Waltrip Racing drivers David Reutimann and Michael McDowell finished 30th and 34th respectively.
"1, 2. Hello. Got me there, Clayton?" somebody came over the #55 frequency at 2:08pm ET.
"10-4. I got you good," spotter Clayton replied.
Mari Hulman George gave the command to start engines a minute later.
"All right, everybody got a copy?" the spotter asked.
"I got ya," Mikey replied.
"Yeah, 10-4. Loud and clear," crew chief Bobby Kennedy said.
"M-Dub, you got me?" spotter Ty Norris asked a minute later.
"Yes, sir, what's up?" Mikey asked.
"I just wanted to say thank you for bringing me to the Brickyard," it sounded like he said.
"Yeah, I'm glad you were able to suck all that in."
"All right, Ty, get him to pit road, then I'll get him to the box and out, then he's yours."
Ty said he had no problem seeing Mikey through the short shoot through Turn 1 but said where Clayton would have to pick him up past the pagoda.
Cars rolled out on track. Jimmie Johnson led the field from the pole. Mikey had qualified 34th, David 33rd, and McDowell 30th.
Ty then discussed further with Clayton where he lost sight of Mikey on track.
"10-4, I've got him right here, right here," Clayton replied.
Bobby said pit road speed was 4850 RPM. He asked his driver if he could hear him on the backstretch.
"I'm off of 2, and I don't hear you, but um, I should be starting to get closer to you now," Mikey said.
"All right, it should be 4850 on pit road, 4850," Bobby repeated. "Ty, you'll have to be the relay."
"10-4," Ty acknowledged. "4850 on pit road. I'll try to be the relay as best I can."
"The most I can make this thing is 46, so y'all will have to tell me what I need to be," Mikey told his crew chief.
Bobby reiterated 4850 and said 5000 RPM would be speeding. He then told his driver where they were on pit road.
Ty then addressed the second spotter. "Okay, Clay, you pick him up right there getting into 3, and when we get to the shortshoot, I'll be able to pick him up in the middle of the shortshoot getting into 4."
"Yeah, 10-4. Did you copy that fuel deal, Ty?" Clayton asked.
"All right, pit road will be closed on lap 8, competition caution on lap 9." Bobby said they couldn't fuel until the second competition yellow. Both were set in place due to concerns with the tires.
Johnson led the field to the green flag at 2:22pm.
"All right, buddy, be ready," Ty said. "Ready? Green green green. Everybody straight. Clear up behind the 5 if you need it. Still there, still there."
"Still there, still inside. 44 inside, inside," Clayton picked up the spotting. "Still inside. Still there on your corner, still there. One more looking with him - the 66."
One lap into the run, Mikey was 35th, McDowell 29th, and David 30th.
"Still there at your bumper. Inside, inside," said Clayton. "Clear, clear. Three-wide behind you. Two back."
On lap 2, Mikey was 36th. David and McDowell had each lost a spot.
"Clear three back. No pressure. Clear, clear. Looking inside, inside to your bumper, inside. Nice job. All clear," Clayton continued.
"Clear half back. Okay."
The first caution came on lap 4. The #55 got loose under Sam Hornish Jr's #77 when Hornish pinched him down, and Paul Menard ran into the Napa Camry.
"All right, guys, it's us. You all right, Michael?" Ty asked.
"Yeah," Mikey replied. "New car tore all to pieces. I had it saved, and Menard drilled me."
"Yeah, 10-4. Uh, heavy damage back and front, Bobby. We're rolling."
"Yeah, I see it on TV," Bobby stated. "Round up, to the garage."
"Hey, Bobby, my steering is fine, it feels like, and my pressures are fine," Mikey informed his crew chief. "We got a damage obviously, but everything's okay on the steering part and the motor part."
"Okay, 10-4, 10-4."
"I mean, it might be a stretch to think you can fix this, but you could try, as messy as this is out there."
Bobby said they'd work on it in the garage.
"Bring tires and fuel to the garage," a crew member said.
"I don't have brakes, so we'll have to change that."
"Okay, 10-4, 10-4."
A crew member talked about getting new brake lines.
"Go to our garage, or go to the truck?" Mikey asked.
"Go to our garage, Michael," the crew member replied.
"Hey, Paul. Paul Jameson," Bobby addressed crew. "Paul Jameson. I didn't get with you earlier, but on the tire deal, it's our team first, but anything beyond that, it stays with the Toyota teams. There will be no fight. They're our tires. They go to our cars first, then other Toyota teams. Damn, it's a long way to the garage."
"Okay, let's get the saws out. Cut this left quarter panel off," a crew member instructed. "Cut this rear bumper cover off and the deck lid." The crew member also said what not to cut off.
"Blane, Blane. Over here, bud. Let's cut this nose off. Let's get this nose off."
Racing resumed without Mikey (in 42nd) on lap 10. Johnson led, David was 25th, and McDowell was 41st. The competition yellow was pushed to lap 14. David bounced off the wall on lap 13. He dropped to 28th that lap and 30th the next time around the track. McDowell was 38th.
The second caution was on lap 14. Kurt Busch got loose, ran into Kevin Harvick, and both were wrecked into the wall. Harvick went to pit road with significant right side damage.
"Anybody back at the truck?" someone asked.
"Yeah," another replied.
"We need a regular screwdriver down here."
"10-4."
Someone then asked for a machine wicker and left side machine plate flat.
Leaders pit under yellow, and Dale Earnhardt Jr picked up the lead. He was still up front when racing resumed on lap 18. Mikey was still in the garage, David was 32nd, and McDowell was 35th. Lap 19 saw McDowell lose a spot to Hornish Jr. David lost a position too, the next time around the track. On lap 22, David was 34th, and McDowell was back up to 35th. They both gained a spot two laps later.
Also on lap 24, Earnhardt Jr dropped back with a vibration. Jeff Gordon picked up the lead.
"Carson, go to channel one please," a crew member on the #55 team requested. "Carson, go to channel one.
"I got you, Paul. What do you need?" someone asked.
Paul said he just wanted to make sure the tires of the wrecked car had been put in a particular area.
The third caution was on lap 30 after Juan Pablo Montoya blew a tire and scattered debris. Drivers went to pit road; this was the first time teams were allowed to add fuel. Scott Riggs picked up the lead. When he pit, Busch was back out front.
Busch led the lap 35 restart. David was 32nd, and McDowell was 27th. Going into lap 37, Jeff Gordon took the lead. Jimmie Johnson took the top spot the next time around the track. Within the next couple laps, David picked up 31st. He was 30th on lap 40. McDowell was back to 29th now. David lost a spot one lap later but gained it back the next time around the track. He was 29th by lap 43, while McDowell picked up 28th. During the next circuit, David gained 28th while McDowell dropped to 30th. On lap 46, David was 27th, and McDowell was 28th when Mark Martin pit early. The #44 dropped to 30th the next time around the track while McDowell was 26th.
Matt Kenseth blew a tire on lap 48 and spun, drawing the fourth caution. At this point, Mikey fell to 43rd as Menard came back on track. Leaders pit, and Kyle Busch was the fastest off pit road. Travis Kvapil stayed out for the lead.
Busch led the restart on lap 54. McDowell was 25th, and David was 34th. Three laps into the run, McDowell was 28th, and David was 34th. The #44 was 33rd by lap 59, while the #00 was 29th. David gained another spot the next time around the track.
Jimmie Johnson took the lead on lap 63.
The fifth caution was a competition yellow on lap 65. David was 32nd, and McDowell was 30th. Mikey was still 43rd and in the garage. Earnhardt Jr received the free pass. Leaders pit, and Allmendinger was the first driver off pit road.
"Hey, Ty, they about got it done," Mikey came on the radio at 3:55pm, under the yellow.
"10-4. We got you up here," Ty replied.
"They about got her done, Ty."
"10-4. We're ready for you."
"The field's off of 4 here, getting to the green," Clayton added a moment later.
Allmendinger led the lap 71 restart. McDowell and David were 30th and 31st. Another competition yellow would come out on lap 81.
"Green flag. Back to green," Clayton observed.
One lap into the run, David picked up
"Got a copy, Michael?" a crew member asked.
"Get that piece of aluminum off of there so I don't get a ___," Mikey said.
"How about you, Ty? Got a copy on him? All set, bud," a crew member said at 3:58pm.
"Coming at you, Ty, Clayton," the crew chief announced.
"All right, 10-4. Competition yellow on lap 81, Bobby."
"All right
"Awesome job, y'all. Great job," Mikey praised.
"All right, the field's off of 4 here."
"Let's take it easy and sort it out here. We're going to have to work on it some more."
"You're all clear. The field's entering 1," Clayton observed.
Mikey was 67 laps down when he came back on track. As he did, Brian Vickers pit. The hood went up on his #83, and he ultimately went to the garage. Meanwhile, Johnson was back in the lead.
"Still clear by a half straightaway."
"Tell me my lap times as soon as you can," Mikey said.
"Ty, you got your fanscan?" the crew chief asked.
"Ty switched over to the 44," someone replied.
"54.18 that last lap, 54.18," Bobby said.
"Well I'm... doing all we can do here," Mikey said.
"10-4. Keep an eye on those temps."
"Uh..." the driver's voice trailed off. "My temperatures are good - 200, 220."
"10-4, 10-4. 54.70, 54.70."
"You want to pit, make sure nothing's rubbing?" Mikey asked.
"No. We're not back there yet. We need another lap. We should be back there. We can check it out."
"It all smells good."
"10-4."
"Yeah, no visible tire smoke. Bobby, they said we need to look at the cowling area when we pit," Ty told the crew chief.
"10-4."
"Its just the barribond and the Napa decals," Mikey replied.
"10-4."
"20 back to the leader," Clayton said.
"54.85, 54.85," Bobby reported lap times.
David was 28th, and McDowell was 30th as Mikey ran 43rd.
"Leader's ten back, and then it's about thirty car lengths back to the second place car," Clayton reported. "All clear. Clear by thirty. Two back. Coming outside. Coming outside. Got another one coming outside, and then there's a gap behind him. Half back. He's got one right on his bumper there. Now you're clear."
Mikey was now 68 laps down.
"Check for rub, check for barribond," Mikey said. "If there's anyone on the pit, I'm not going to get in these guys way."
Bobby led Mikey to pit road. "Take care of that barribond, Ron. Get that razor blade. Check it all out there, Chris. Check it out good. The tires that come off, make sure there are no rubs on them. Make sure you get that barribond fixed. Okay, there you go. All the way out, all the way out. All clear."
The sixth caution was a competition yellow on lap 83.
"Caution's out. Competition caution," Clayton noted. "The 29 and the 2 there, coming outside."
"Good job, y'all," Mikey praised his team. "That was cool. We'll log some laps here and see what happens, but I don't think I had any rubs."
"All right. How are you handle-wise?" Bobby asked.
"I'm really really really really tight, and prior to the wreck, I was really really really loose."
"Okay, 10-4."
"I got myself in a bind too, and that's why I crashed, but I don't know why Menard got into me. What was he doing?"
Bobby's response came in static.
"That was one of those halfway spins that I shouldn't have had to pay the price to get in a crash for, but I guess that's the way it goes."
"Yeah, 10-4. We've got two behind the wall right now. That's it."
"Nah, that's good. That's two we hadn't beat yet, so let's see what happens to them."
"Is that barribond still flapping when you went back out then?" Bobby asked.
"No, I don't think so."
"All right, get ready, guys. We'll get some tires on it. Get some tires on."
"I just drove out of the pit when they threw the competition caution, Bobby."
"All right. 10-4. Just take it easy on them. You don't need to tear those tires out."
Mikey reiterated that he had just come from the pits.
"10-4. You'll be all right. Just keep in mind you've got about eleven laps light on the tires."
"How did my tires look that you just took off?"
"They looked good. Your stuff looked good. I don't even know how many laps you run, I was going back and fourth there."
Mikey estimated five or six.
Bobby noted that Mikey ran faster than ten or fifteen cars. "That surprised me."
"One to go at the line," Clayton said.
"I think I'll just come to you, and you can do whatever you want me to do. Then I'll start in the back," Mikey told his crew chief.
The #55 pit, and Bobby told Chris to get the barribond on the hood.
"Probably just need to cut off the top of that right there. Just cut it off. Try not to cut off my Napa decal. They like it on there."
"Barribond okay on the nose, Ron. We don't need it flapping," Bobby told a crew member. "Okay. 4850, 4850."
Martin Truex Jr led the restart on lap 87. David was 32nd, and McDowell was 33rd. The #55 was 70 laps down in 43rd.
"All right. Pace car's off. Green flag," Clayton said.
"54 flat, 54 flat. That's faster than both our teammates."
"Well they're in a major traffic jam."
"Okay. You were fourth fastest on the track, if that means anything to you."
"They can't all be in a traffic jam, can they."
"If it's that good, they might mention it to me up her," Bobby said. "54.20, 54.20.
"54.50, 50.
"54.60, 60."
On lap 92, David picked up 31st. McDowell was 29th. The competition yellow would come out on lap 97.
"55 flat, 55 flat."
"Clear, clear."
David was 30th on lap 93.
"54.80, 54.80.
"55.20, 55.20."
"All clear."
On lap 97, McDowell picked up 28th from Dave Blaney.
"55.60, 55.60. In about two more laps, they're going to throw a caution. About two more," Bobby told his driver.
The seventh caution was another competition yellow on lap 99. McDowell was 24th, and David was 28th.
"55.80, 55.80."
"Caution's out, caution's out."
"Guys, we've got barribond coming up on the right rear, and we've got barribond coming up on the nose. We need to get those two spots fixed. Four tires," Bobby told the crew. "All right, get caught up, let all those guys pit. We'll pit the next time and not get in those guys' way." He mentioned air pressure.
"No, I wouldn't do that," Mikey replied. "It's pretty slippery out here."
"We'll stay out here. I don't want to mess any of these guys up here," Bobby decided. "All right, make sure you've got razor blades to cut some of that stuff off and to put some more on. Bottom of the right rear is coming loose. Bottom of the right rear."
Under yellow, Dave Blaney led.
"Coming to you."
"10-4. 4850. 5, 4, 3, 2, right here, right here," Bobby guided his driver to the box. "All right, go around and help him. Get the tire back. Where you've got it flapping, you need to get it down here. More barribond back here."
"I wouldn't put much on the front. I know the front's pretty good. It's just going to blow off. Don't put some on the front just for the heck of it," Mikey said.
"All right, back here in the back. All right, good to go. All right, 4850, 4850."
"What tire's wearing out? Still the right side, not the left?" Mikey asked.
Bobby asked Mikey to repeat, because he was talking to somebody else.
"I asked, is the right side wearing out and not the left, or is all four."
"Right side, right side. And your right rear is worn out there. And your right front. You look like the rest of the field now."
"Yeah, it felt like it."
"Yeah, but we have one more lap than those guys." Bobby said the tire looked back coming off this time and to pit the next time he felt it.
"Got a vaccum truck in 4," Clayton said. "Clean-up truck running right down the middle there too."
"So the best I can tell looking at the scoreboard, everyone's still running, huh," Mikey commented.
"Yeah. Yeah," Bobby replied. "The 42's back out there too, so everyone is running. I'll let you know when we get to the point when we can't gain anything, but we're not there yet."
"That's a deal." The he asked, "What's wrong with the 44?"
"I guess he got in the wall a couple times. Clay, you can answer him better than I," Bobby replied.
"Yeah, 10-4. He hit the fence twice." Clayton also said they had a tire roll on pit road this last time and were penalised.
"This is the worst race ever."
"That is a fact."
"Yeah, I'd say there's about 200,000 people who would agree with you."
"It's really disappointing for multiple reasons." A moment later, Mikey added, "They should red flag it, change the tires, and give people something to watch. Give people some kind of a race."
"They're getting there. People around us only have two or three sets left."
"I'd say this is what this lengthy caution is about."
"It may be."
"One to go this time. One to go," Clayton said.
"Hey, guys, come on to pit road here. I've got some kind of barribond flapping in the back. Let's go ahead and pull it off," Bobby directed. "3, 2, 1. Piece on the bottom there, cut that off. How's the other side? Look at the other side. All good? Give me a thumbs up so I know we're good. Okay, 4850, 4850."
"Pace car's in 4, tail end entering 3," Clayton noted.
Elliott Sadler led the restart with 55 laps to go. David was 34th and McDowell was 14th.
"Blowing up right there in front of you there. I know you can see him."
"No caution yet. All right, caution's out, caution's out."
Brian Vickers was the eighth caution on lap 107 after his engine blew. A part had come off Jeff Burton's car just before. Jeff Burton was in the lead; he had picked it up the lap before.
"All right, we're hearing that a lot of the teams are down to one or two sets, so we'll probably have a couple more ten laps run, then we'll stop and go to the Pocono tire," Bobby informed his driver.
"How many laps is the 83 ahead of us?" Mikey asked.
"Not going to be able to get him. Too short, too short, unless we go to a green/white/checkered."
"I wouldn't doubt it."
"Pit road still not opened."
"I would have thought we could have got him. I thought we were back out there with sixty to go, or sixty down," Mikey commented.
"I'm not sure where we are on the lap count," Bobby replied. "As far as where we come out. The first we come back I noticed was lap 71."
"Yeah, Reutimann has... his whole side is torn off."
"Go under the hood and adjust the cambre now, let's see what it gets."
"One to go at the stripe," Clayton said.
Jeff Burton led the restart on lap 113. McDowell was 14th, David was 35th, and Mikey was still last and 69 laps down.
"Going to have the 44 coming around here on the outside," Clayton said. "One more coming beside you. Everyone else behind you has been to the garage. Green flag.
"Got two of them who got together up there. 77 up top."
David was up to 33rd on lap 115. McDowell was back to 23rd.
"Clear by three. Competition lap 125, Bobby," Clayton told the crew chief.
"10-4. 54.24."
David dropped to 36th on lap 116. McDowell was 24th.
"Clear behind him."
Jimmie Johnson took the lead on lap 117.
"54.55."
"Well, for some reason, this set is way tighter," Mikey reported on lap 118.
"10-4, 10-4. 55 flat, 55 flat. We're five laps away from the competition caution. Five away," Bobby replied. "54.80, 54.80."
"Clear by two. Coming inside by himself."
"55.05, 05."
"Clear, all clear."
By lap 120, David was 34th. McDowell was 26th. One lap later, McDowell was 31st, and David was 33rd.
"55.10, 55.10.
"55 flat.
"55 flat."
The ninth caution was on lap 123 - another competition yellow. McDowell was 32nd, and David was 33rd.
"Caution's out, caution's out," Clayton said.
NASCAR issued teams an extra set of right side tires.
"All right, we'll stay out, let everybody do their pits, then we'll come," Bobby decided.
"What's the story on the tires?" Mikey asked.
"They're saying two more stops after this and then that's going to be it. We'll have to switch to the other tires. That's what Paul's telling me here. We'll stay out here and we'll pit the next time."
Cars pit under yellow. Denny Hamlin picked up the lead, picking up eight spots.
"There wasn't a major difference on that set there compared to the ones before," Mikey reported.
"All right,10-4. We'll pit this time. Four tires. Pit this time."
"Coming to ya."
"50, 4850. 5, 4, 3, 2. Right here," Bobby guided the #55 to the box. "Go to the front on the barribond, Ron, to the front on the barribond. Get that drink bottle from him. See what you've got up there. All good? Okay, halfway, halfway. All the way out. Same deal. Same as everyone else. Right rear to the chords, to the chords."
"How would you like to be the genius who thought you could rubber the track up, and it would be fine?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah, it sounded like one of those deals that was good... in theory."
"If they bill anybody, they still got to pay for them," it sounded like Mikey added.
"Yeah, 10-4." Bobby laughed.
"One to go, one to go," Clayton noted.
"Tell you what, the fans around here don't look very happy. We may have a riot at the end of this deal," Bobby commented.
"I bet," Mikey replied. "That's got to be kind of tough."
"I know I would hate to pay $250 to come to watch this."
"Reutimann's got him some track position right there. How'd he do that?"
"Two tires, two tires."
Denny Hamlin led a very slow restart on lap 128. David was 22nd, McDowell was 32nd, and Mikey was 43rd and 69 laps down.
"Green green green," Bobby noted.
"Got one inside you right there," Clayton warned. "Clear by seven. Competition caution on lap 138, Bobby. All clear."
David was 24th one lap into the run while McDowell and Mikey were still 32nd and 43rd. On lap 130, McDowell dropped to 35th.
"54.70.
"54 flat. Good lap right there."
"This is way better. What did y'all do?" Mikey asked with 28 laps to go.
"Special set of tires," Bobby replied. "54.30, 54.30. Good lap time!"
"You're all clear."
"55, 55.
"80, 54.80. 65. Excuse me, I missed you.
"54.90."
On lap 136, David passed JJ Yeley for 23rd. McDowell was 32nd.
"54.80."
"Flat," someone said.
"All right, you're going to have a caution in two more laps, caution in two more laps."
By lap 138, David was 22nd, and McDowell was 31st.
The yellow flag waved for the tenth time with 23 laps to go.
"Caution's out, caution's out," Clayton said.
"Come back," Mikey asked.
"Come back, Michael," Bobby requested. "All right, we're at that point of no return at this point in the race. I gave my two set of stickers to the 00 and the 44."
"10-4. That's good. The car drove a lot better there that time," Mikey said. "We can just cruise home. We don't have to run hard."
Bobby said they'd let everyone else pit, then they'd come in.
Cars went to pit road, and Hamlin was the first back on track.
"Well be pitting this time. Four tires, four tires," Bobby said a moment later.
The #55 pitted, and Bobby noted flapping barribond.
"Yeah, it started coming up the last couple laps," Mikey commented.
Bobby told a crew member to get a razor blade. "What do we got, Ron? What do we got? Good? Good to go? Okay, 4850. All right, these are scuffs you have right here. Scuffs. Keep that in mind."
Hamlin led the restart on lap 142. David was 26th, McDowell was 36th, and Mikey was 43rd.
"Green flag, green flag," somebody said.
"Clear by seven," Clayton noted.
David was 27th one lap into the run while McDowell picked up 35th. David dropped to 31st one lap later.
"54.30, 54,30," Bobby read off lap times.
"Still clear by seven."
David was 30th on lap 145.
"54.40, 54.40. 155 is the next caution, 155. That's eleven laps away," Bobby told his driver.
"How'd my last set look?" Mikey asked.
"Uh, same as before. Right rear worn out, front starting to chord, same as before. 54.20, 54.20.
"55, 55." Bobby then said the caution would be out in three more laps. "54.49, 54.49.
"54.40, 54.40."
"Clear by thirty," Clayton noted.
"65, 65."
The eleventh caution - a competition yellow - was on lap 150.
"Caution's out, caution's out," Clayton said.
"All right, same deal," Bobby decided. "We'll let everybody pit, and then we'll come. This is the last set of tires. We'll put on a set of scuffs."
"Got a big piece of barribond on the right front, right front fender," Mikey reported.
"10-4. Auto. Okay, 10-4."
"I don't need no drink, so you can just figure it all out."
Drivers pit under yellow, and Johnson came off first.
"Okay, we'll be in the next time by, the next time by," Bobby said. "All right, four tires, guys. Four tires. And you get the barribond, Auto."
"Turn 4, coming at ya," Clayton noted.
"Okay," Bobby replied. "All right, 5, 4, 3, 2. Right here. Barribond right front there, Auto. Come to the deck lid, Auto, come to the deck lid. Right rear. Just hang tight a second when we drop here, Michael. Just hang tight. Okay, all good, all good. 4850. All good."
"I think y'all did a hell of a job on the repairs there," Mikey praised. "Everything else is still good, so we did as good as we could do. Crappy day."
"Right on. We'll come around here. It's eight to go right here. Eight to go."
"Car's been a lot better on those last two sets than the sets before, just for your notes."
Bobby noted more consistency in the lap times too.
"Yeah, I've just been farting around. No big deal. Logging laps here."
"10-4, 10-4. Yeah, tires looked a lot better there, just starting to chord, not like the set before."
Clayton warned that people would be going crazy as this was the first chance to race.
"Yeah, I think I'll just lay back on this run," Mikey replied.
"Green flag here, Michael. Green flag," somebody said.
Johnson led the restart with seven laps to go. David was 28th, McDowell was 30th, and Mikey was 69 laps down and last.
"53.80. There you go! That was your fastest lap of the race," Bobby noted. "54 flat."
"Nothing behind you. Nothing behind you. A lap and a half to go. White flag, white flag."
"55 flat."
Jimmie Johnson went on to win. David finished 30th and McDowell 32nd. Mikey finished 69 laps down in 43rd.
"Coming to the checkers," Clayton said.
Next week, look for live practice and qualifying reports from Pocono on mikeypower.com! Coverage of the Sprint Cup's Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 begins Sunday at 1:00pm ET on ESPN. The Nationwide Series' NAPA Auto Parts 200 takes place the day before. Coverage from Canada begins at 3:00pm ET on ESPN2.