Mikey 30th in Sharpie 500 by Kellyanne Lynch 23 August 2008 A poor spotting call from Casey Mears' #5 team cost the #55 team in the Sharpie 500, tonight's Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mears was told he was clear three times, causing him to move up the track into Michael Waltrip's #55 Napa Auto Parts Camry. Mikey finished eight laps down in 30th. David Reutimann, who also picked up damage in that accident, was three laps down in 25th, and Mike Skinner in the #00 was four down in 28th. Mikey made the field due to owners points; he started 42nd. David Reutimann qualified on the outside pole, and Mike Skinner qualified 42nd. "Copy," somebody said over the #55 frequency at 8:09pm ET. "Gotcha," crew chief Bobby Kennedy replied. "Hello, 1, 2, 3 out there," Mikey said a moment later. "Got you loud and clear," someone replied. "Yeah, we copy you down here," another person said. The crowd set the world record for the wave before the call to start engines at 8:12pm. "Where's our pit? Right off Turn 2?" Mikey asked. "Yeah, 10-4," Bobby replied. "Second one in, second one in off Turn 2." "Okay, thank you." "All right, buddy, got a copy?" spotter Ty Norris asked. "Yeah, I hear everybody just fine," was the driver's response. "10-4." Mikey asked for a reminder for where to pit under green. "All right, Ty, I'll get him in the box and out, and then he's yours the rest of the way," Bobby spoke to the spotter. "Ah! They're going to warn us about that." "10-4." "All right, everything happens really fast here," Ty said. "Be ready all the time. Bobby, as soon as the caution comes out, I'll let you talk to M-Dub all the time." "10-4, 10-4," Bobby replied. "All right, we'll get rolling here. We'll be looking for second gear, 4800." He was talking about pit road speed. "Bobby, do you have one of those fighter pilot things to put over your mic?" Ty asked the crew chief. "Negative," Bobby responded. "I have the new style microphone that's supposed to take care of that." "It sounds great right now. All right, we'll see. Cool." "I've been riding along here about 4200, but um, whatever," Mikey commented. "All right, 10-4, 10-4," Bobby acknowledged. "What do you want want to go with, Bobby?" Ty asked. "4100?" "I want to go with 4100. That's what our numbers show." Bobby said their numbers were spot-on. "If we see ourselves getting wasted on pit road with the first set of stops, we'll adjust accordingly. Work your tires in, get some heat in the brakes. Get some heat in the brakes before we get going," he told his driver. "All right, man, it's going to be one to go when you get here," Ty said. "One to go. The 6 car is going to be dropping to the back. He'll be on the bottom." "All right, bud, pull those belts tight. 500 laps. Get all you can," Bobby encouraged his driver. "Use patience when you can. Ty, take care of him. Everybody in the pits, game on tonight. Let's have a good one." "All right, bud, they're not going to go this time. Not going to go," Ty noted. "Feels like somebody needed to get a commercial in," Mikey commented. "Yeah, actually, they sent a truck up there," Ty said. "But you're not getting one to go this time either. "All right, buddy, one to go, one to go." "All right, I won't give any lap times until you feel like you need them," Bobby said. "I'll stay off the radio to let y'all two have it. Just tell me when you need them." "10-4," Ty responded. "250, 230," Mikey gave temps. "10-4," Bobby acknowledged. "All right, buddy, be ready. Pace car's off. You ready? Green green green. Everybody's straight, everybody's straight." Ty led Mikey to the green flag as Carl Edwards led the field. Mikey was 42nd, David 2nd, and Skinner 33rd. "I got the 43," Mikey said. "Still there inside. Still there. Still inside, inside. Clear low. Inside. Inside, inside." "He passed before the green, man!" "I'll get the official," Bobby said. "Clear, all clear," Ty noted. "There inside. Still inside. Still there. Still there, still there. That 88 three in front of you is black flagged. He'll be working his way to pit road. Slow one on the bottom. All right, everything's cool. Clear inside." On the first lap of the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88 had blown past a bunch of cars and was black-flagged for this. By lap 7, Mikey was 39th. "6 is inside, 6 is inside. Clear. Back inside. Inside. 6 is still inside. Still down there." By lap 11, Mikey was 38th. David was 4th, and Skinner remained 33rd. Edwards continued to lead. "There you go," Ty said. "Still there. Clear, all clear. One back." Lap 14 saw Mikey in 36th. "Clear if you need it," the spotter noted. "Inside, inside." On lap 16, Mikey was up to 35th. "Clear there. All clear. Half back. Clear, clear one back." Mikey was 33rd on lap 19; he had passed Skinner, who was now 34th. David was still 4th. "Still inside. Still there, still there, still there. Clear, clear. One back. Still clear, whatever you need. Clear low if you need it, clear low. Still outside. Still there. Still outside. There outside, still there. Still outside. Clear there, half back. All right, let's work those road blocks back there. The 99 is the leader. He's ten back. Come down low, come down low. You've got one. All right, you're clear. No caution yet. No caution yet. You're clear. 48's slow on the bottom. Stay low. No caution yet. Nice job, bud, clear five back. The leader got hung up in all that crap." On lap 28, Jimmie Johnson had gotten loose and got into Sterling Marlin. He went to pit road with significant damage to the right front of his #48. "Way to wheel it, buddy, way to wheel it," Ty praised. Mikey was 30th by lap 31. David was 5th, and Skinner was 34th. The next time around the track, David picked up 4th again. "Leader's at the line now. Great job," Ty encouraged his driver. On lap 34, Mikey was up to 29th. He had passed Sam Hornish Jr. Skinner was back to 35th. "Way to work that road block, man! Nice job!" Ty praised. "Nice job! How's the car? How's the car?" Bobby asked. On lap 39, David lost a spot to Kyle Busch; he was now 5th. "Clear, all clear," Ty spotted. Mikey was now 28th. Meanwhile, Johnson returned to pit road for more fender repairs. He fell to thirteen laps down. On lap 41, Mikey picked up 27th from Reed Sorenson. "Still there," Ty warned. "Still there. Clear, clear. The 09's been wrecking, pretty lame. Clear two back. Clear there, all clear. Two back." The #09 was Marlin, who had the incident with Johnson several laps ago. On lap 47, Mikey was 26th. Skinner was 36th while David continued in 5th. "Awesome job! You've lost the leader, man! You've stretched it out on the leader," Ty pointed out. "Great job! "Clear three back," the spotter continued. "Clear three back. No pressure." Kyle Busch took the lead on lap 56, using the lapped car of Juan Pablo Montoya to his advantage. "Still clear three back," Ty noted. Skinner was 35th on lap 60, having passed Sam Hornish Jr. Four laps later, David Ragan dropped him to 27th. "Inside. Clear... mother f... clear three back," Ty said. "All right, bud, everything's cool. Get your rhythm back. Right side looks good. Inside, inside." One lap later, Dave Blaney passed; the #55 was now 28th. "Clear two back," Ty noted. "The right front's giving up grip," Mikey said. "10-4, 10-4," Bobby replied. "Inside just a little bit, inside," Ty warned. "Inside, inside." "It won't turn! Fucking stop that!" Mikey yelled. He was 29th on lap 72. Meanwhile, Skinner lost the lead lap. One lap later, the #55 was 30th. "Clear two back. Leader's half a straightaway back," Ty observed. "Clear high. All clear." On lap 77, Mikey fell to 31st when Sorenson passed. Skinner unlapped himself around the same time. "Inside. Clear," Ty said. Skinner was lapped again. "Still clear all clear. Half back. Inside, inside. Clear." Mikey fell to 33rd on lap 83. "Be the leader right there in your mirror. Two car lengths back. Two cars back. Inside, the 18. Clear behind him. Clear two back." The #55 fell off the lead lap on lap 85. David was now 6th as Ryan Newman had passed him. "Clear half back to the 24, by himself. Clear about half a straightaway back. Bobby, how are his lap time on the bottom verses the top?" "Just a little better, just a little better," Bobby replied. "Just a little better there, Michael," Ty relayed to the driver. On lap 95, David fell to 7th. "One back to the 99. All by himself." "Give me lap times," Mikey requested. "60, 50. 5-0." "Clear there, clear there," Ty said. "Hard to hear, Bobby. Caution's out. Back it down. Turn 4 wreck. Track will be clear when you get there." "Everything was great until the frickin' left front tire blew up with air," Mikey commented. "10-4. We'll be second time on this deal here. It will be left side air adjustment," Bobby directed. The first caution was on lap 99. Martin Truex Jr swerved to the right and put AJ Allmendinger into the wall. Truex Jr had lost a tire. "Pit road is open this time for the leaders. We'll be in next time." He told his driver Mikey would have a straight shot in and out and reminded him of pit road speed." He guided his driver to the pit box. "Go go go go go. All the way. 4100. All the way." "4100, bud, all the way," Ty added. "All right, we've got all these people on the front stretch who beat us. 4100. At that line. There you go. Go on, ease it up, ease it up. How about three more. 19's the last one. There you go. All right, bud, one to go, one to go. We'll start to double up when we come back around. Just follow that 43 on up there. "All right, here we go. All right, bud, you see that restart line. Green green green. Still outside, outside." Kyle Busch led the restart on lap 104. Mikey was 31st, Skinner 32nd, and David 8th. "Still there, still outside," Ty warned. "Still there. He's got one up there with him, one up there with him. Clear there, clear there. One back. Looking inside there, 29. Inside, inside." On lap 108, Mikey was 33rd while Skinner was 31st. "Feels like I have a right front flat," Mikey announced. "10-4. I'll let you know where everybody is. Still in there," Ty replied. Mikey was 34th on lap 111. "Inside. Clear all clear, still clear all clear. Clear one back. Still clear, 20's got a run on you. Still there. Inside, he's there. Clear low behind him if you need it. Clear low. Outside. Clear high, got the 01 inside." By lap 116, Mikey was 33rd. David was 9th. "Clear half back right there to the 88." Elliott Sadler went to pit road with a loose seatbelt. Meanwhile, Clint Bowyer cut up and clipped Dale Earnhardt Jr, so Earnhardt Jr moved him aside. "07 inside, the 88 down there with him," Ty said of both drivers involved in that incident. Inside, the 88. Inside." On lap 121, Mikey was 34th; Earnhardt Jr had passed in the #88. "Clear there. Clear half back to the 21. Down there, inside. The 8 looking... inside." Skinner was 32nd on lap 125. Mikey was still 34th. "Clear there," Ty said. "He's looking low. Inside. Clear behind him. Clear two back." By lap 129, David was back to 10th. He was 11th one lap later. "Give us some lap times, Bobby, whenever you get a chance," Ty requested. "20, 20," Bobby replied. "Still clear two back." "25. "20. "15, 15. "35, 35. "30, 30. Leader a 20. "30." "Clear one back to the 22," Ty warned. "Inside. He's all by himself. Clear three back if you need it. Still there, still there. Clear." "Very tight under the throttle," Mikey complained on lap 149. "10-4, 10-4," Bobby acknowledged. "Got a look on the bottom - the 15," Ty noted. "Clear one back to the 2, clear one back. Car's got a run. He's all by himself right now. 26 is down there. Going to be clear behind him if you need it. The 18 is the leader, just now in Turn 2. Still down there. The 17 is catching you guys. Still clear all down there. Look inside, the 26. Leader's at the line now. Clear two back to the 17." David was reporting that he was loose and that the rear tires were spinning off. "35, 35," Bobby read off lap times. "That's the best lap you've had in a while. "35, 35." "Coming to you. He's going to be looking inside. He's going to be down there. Going to have a big run on the bottom, at your door. Run to your door again. Got the 6 sneaking up with him. Clear one back. Still got six cars between you and the leader. The 6 down there now. He's there inside. Clear there, half back. All right, you've got three cars between you and the leader now. All the way inside this time." On lap 175, Earnhardt Jr passed Skinner, who was now 33rd. "Those two laps have been real good," Bobby praised. "17.30, 30. "35, 35. That's the leader in your mirror." "Five car lengths back. He's working the bottom," Ty warned. "55. You're 32. 35. Leader 15. He's coming to you quicker than anybody in the field." "All the way down the bottom." On lap 185, Busch had lapped Mikey a second time. David was now 12th. By lap 194, David was 14th. "All right, you see that 09 lame in front of you there," Ty noted. "In the middle. Clear." "40, 40. 17.40," Bobby read off lap times. "35, 35." Lap 197 saw the second caution for a multi-car wreck. Hornish had gone up into Marlin, who slowed, and Tony Stewart got into Marlin. Joe Nemechek did not slow and ran into Jeff Burton. "Watch, they're checking up." "Yeah, I was just way too tight from the word go. I don't know. That adjustment was the worst." "Yeah, I took some air out of the right front. I took two pounds out." He said he'd make up the difference and would pull out some wedge. "I would go up on air and would make an adjustment to the car to stop it from blowing up so much," Mikey said. Bobby asked him to repeat, and the driver did. "Pit road's still closed, pit road's still closed." "We need to do it like we did at Michigan when I liked it so much," Mikey said. He gave temps at 220 and 240 and said they'd been like that all day. "Still closed, bud," Ty said. "Still closed. Anything for the driver there, Michael?" "No, just normal." Leaders pit under yellow. "All right, pit road will be open for the leaders. Next time by," Ty noted. "All right, we'll have a straight shot in and a straight shot out. 4100 and second gear," Bobby told his driver. "230, 250," Mikey gave temps. "10-4." "All right, here we go." "4100 and second gear. Come on. Right here, right here, right here. Wheels straight," Bobby directed the #55 to the pit box. "Go go go. 4100 all the way out. 4100." "Nice job, guys! 4100 all the way out," Ty praised. "All right, 4100. We've got them all beat. 4100. Come on come on come on. There you go. They're going to be beating on your bumper, because you're two down, and they're one down, but you want to hold that spot there, right?" "Oh, yeah!" Bobby replied. "All right." "There you go. Keep them worked in." "Going to start to double up when you get to turn 3. One to go. Go ahead and go, go ahead and go." Busch led the lap 207 restart with David in 12th, Skinner one lap down in 31st, and Mikey two laps down in 32nd. The #55 was to the inside of the leader. "All right, don't beat the leader to the restart. Coming to the green. Green green. Clear clear. Outside now, outside. Still outside, outside," Ty warned. "4's coming. You're clear there, clear. Inside. Another one inside. Going to be clear there half back. One inside, inside. 20's got a run on the bottom. Clear half back. Inside, inside. One more down there. Clear half back." On lap 214, Mikey was now marked in 33rd with Skinner in 32nd - Mikey two laps down and Skinner one. "One looking down low. In there, inside," Ty warned. "Clear there, clear. All the way inside, the 5." A huge wreck happened on lap 217 for the third caution. Casey Mears was cleared high, which was right into Mikey. Many cars were wrecked, including Robby Gordon, David, and Sam Hornish Jr. Kasey Kahne's car was on fire, and the red flag came out. "Inside, inside. Stay up, stay up." "They got him." "Steering wheel... steering seem straight?" "I got oil pressure. I got smoke. I'm just going to come right to ya. I don't have any chassis damage." "10-4, 10-4. They're going to redflag it for a second." "How come y'all aren't talking to me?" "I was talking. Okay, Ty, give me a report." He talked about cutting the splitter. "Yeah, they hit us with all they got on the left side there." "Also, I got the wing's flapping," Mikey added. Bobby told Ron to get barribond. "I don't know... Ty, does he even have a spotter?" "I don't know. He's done it three or four times now." "I don't even understand how a man... at least he's got a good ride next year." "Yeah, 10-4. The wheels are straight." Bobby said it was the splitter. "It feels like to me... the steering's fine. The thing that I saw that was obvious is the wing's flapping, so you're going to have to barribond the trunk down and do as little to the splitter as you can." Bobby said they'd cut the splitter and that they didn't need it. "Shaggy, as soon as you get down there, give me a report." The team talked about the centre being in tact but braces being busted. Bobby said the splitter was flapping so don't worry about the deal with the brakes. Mikey told them to saw the splitter in half so they don't do any more damage. A crew member talked about the centre brace again being in tact. Ty noted no fluid. Mikey asked about the tires, and a crew member confirmed they were still up. "Casey said his spotter said he was clear clear clear, and he wasn't," Ty told the driver. "So he blamed it on his spotter, which was the right thing to do." "That wasn't the full story. I'll tell you what the cocksucker said," Bobby replied. "The splitter broke loose all the way past the centre thing to the side, so we'll just take it off." He said they couldn't save it. Mikey told his team not to worry about fueling and just get everything fixed on the front. "Get a sledge hammer," Bobby told a crew member. He said they wouldn't be allowed to leave until the splitter was cut off. At 9:45pm, the race returned to yellow. Ty told Mikey to crank it up and said that pit road was closed. "Go around that 44. Come on," Ty instructed. When the #55 went to pit road, Bobby told the crew not to create damage. He instructed the crew to get the barribond on the splitter as they made multiple stops under yellow. A crew member yelled to cut the fender. "Art, make sure there's nothing flapping back there. Get it all right, get it all right," Bobby told the crew. Ty kept giving updates on where the pace car was. Bobby told Ron to get it clear so it wasn't flapping. "This ain't Indy. It doesn't have to be perfect. I can still run minimum time," Mikey commented. "Come on, four tires. Hurry up. Right side tires! What are y'all doing?" "Inside, all by himself," Ty said shortly after the lap 226 restart with Busch leading and Mikey 31st. The #55 was five laps down. "15.70, 15.70," Bobby read off lap times. David was 12th, and Skinner was two laps down in 28th. "85, 85." By lap 233, David fell to 16th. "Temps are good," Mikey commented. "Come back on that, buddy," Bobby asked. "The temps are good." "10-4, 10-4. 16.90." David was 18th on lap 237. "16.80, 16.80." "Ten back to the 18," Ty warned. "Three back to the 18, the leader. He's got about four car lengths to the 99. Inside, all by himself. Half back to the 99. Clear, clear. Half a straightaway back to the 11." Mikey was now six laps down in 31st. "11 car is there. He's going to be inside," Ty said. "Clear behind him about ten back to the 20." "1 car's a hundred laps down, a hundred laps down," Bobby noted. "10-4. 20 car is with you, about half back. It's going to be clear behind him. Half straightaway back to the next guy." "17.20, 20. Leader a 16.90. "50, 17.50." "Clear one back to the 24. Half back." "Stay after it, bud. We're two laps ahead of the next car we're racing. The 45, Ty, is one lap behind us," Bobby encouraged. "After he gets lapped, it will be two. Stay after it. Hell, you're running faster than some of them. Stay after it." "12 car lead lap," Ty noted. "It will be clear behind the 12." "17.50. Leader a 98." "29's right there with you. Inside. Inside, the 29. It will be clear behind him. There you go. Clear about ten car lengths back." "17.50. Leader a flat. "50." "That 8 car's going to be on the inside," Ty warned. "Clear now behind him. Clear about seven back." "17.30, 17.30. Leader a 10." "Clear one back, clear half back to the 96. He's going to be inside to the corner. The 01 with him. Clear there, three back." By lap 274, David had fallen off the lead lap. "35, 17.35. Leader 18." "Inside, 88. Got the 2 with him. 70 with him. Inside. Clear there half a straightaway. Leader at the line now." "17.40." "Got one inside, the 07. Clear there. Half a straightaway back. Full straightaway back." The fourth caution was on lap 282. Dave Blaney had clipped the #01 of Reaghan Smith going into the corner. "Crash behind you, crash behind you. Caution's out," Ty said. "How's your chassis now there, dude." "Well? It pushes severely, so I don't know what to do, because I've been in a crash. Over." "10-4. Let me try to take some wedge out of you." Bobby called for two down on the right rear. "Checking up here," Ty warned. Bobby said to pull fender from the right front while Mikey was in. "Well, Bob, I'm going to drop to the end, so y'all do whatever you need to do to be safe," Mikey said. Bobby said they had no smoke and everything else looked good. "Did the 45 lose another lap?" "He's behind us now. He's two laps behind us now." "We'll just have a normal finish here, get out of here with the least amount of trouble as we can, we'll just go to California with our new car. I appreciate the damage control y'all have done. The ol' Napa Toyota, she's tough." He said they'd build for the last twelve races. Bobby said they'd come out of the race in the 20's and would pit the second time by. "What happened to this car? It's torn all to pieces." "Nutrition setting in here at Bristol," Bobby commented. "Nutrition." "What the 22 do?" Mikey asked. Bobby had Ty answer. "I said, he and the 01 doored each other off the corner, and he pulled in head on into the outside wall," Ty explained. "How are our other two cars doing?" Mikey asked. "Uh, 44 is 17th, one lap down. The double not there is 27th, two laps down. We are five laps down," Bobby replied. "We've got fifteen cars on the lead lap, fifteen cars on the lead lap. Just to give you an update behind us, 45 two laps behind us, 19 four laps, 48 ten laps." "How many laps down is the 78? Three?" "Four laps down. Four. 66 is three down, lap by himself, 78 four down, lap by itself. We're five down, lap by ourselves." Leaders pit under yellow. "It will be next time by, next time by," Bobby said. "We'll stop you just a little short, the 15 will be pitting in front of us. Four tires guys." Ty warned Mikey that cars were checking up. "Be gentle with it, Art," Bobby said. "Be gentle. Gas is good, gas is good. Make sure you're clear there, Chris. Get it good and clear. Are you good? All right, 4100 and second. All right, Art, look at the tape and time it right there on the fuel." He said to break down per gallon per second. "All right, one to go when you come around," Ty said. Busch led the restart on lap 295. Mikey was five laps down in 30th. Skinner was two laps down in 27th, and David was one lap down in 21st. "Inside, the 19. Looking inside, inside. Going to be clear behind the 19." David was up to 20th on lap 299. "Clear behind him," Ty said. "16.80, 16.80," Bobby gave lap times. "75. "70, 70. "75." "48's down there, by himself," Ty warned. "85, 85." "Still there, outside. Still there, still there. Clear, clear." David was still reporting that his car would not turn. "Still inside, the 21." "05, 05. Leader 75. "15, 15." "1 car one back. That will be the leader coming up. He's one or two car lengths back. Inside. It's going to be clear about six back to the 99." On lap 320, Mikey went a sixth lap down. "40, 16.40." "The 99's inside. Going to be clear behind him, about four back to the 24." "25, 25. "25, 25." By lap 325, David fell to 22nd. Tony Raines had been messing with him. He kept bounding into him, so David bounced back into him. Bobby Labonte got by, so Raines hit him. "25, 25. How are your temps?" "Clear there. Clear two back to the 29. Coming inside. Clear there. Clear two back to the 12. Inside. Clear two back to the 20." David was 23rd by lap 330. "Going to be inside. Going to be a straightaway clear behind him." "30, 17.30. The rest of the field is running about two-tenths quicker than you, just so you know where you're at. They're running 17.10's. 35. "35, 35. "29, 2-9." "07's going to be looking inside, all by himself. Clear behind him," Ty said. "35, 35. "35, 35. "45, 45." "Two back to the 8, lead lap car," Ty noted. "83's inside, inside. Then the 8. Inside. The 8's down there. Clear one back. 6 is going to be looking low. You're clear half back. Clear there, clear." The fifth caution was on lap 344. The rear of David's car had come off. "Caution's out for debris, caution's out for debris." "All right, how's your car there, bud?" "It's literally plowing. I can't do anything with it. It would be nice if we could go up on the air," Mikey said. He also figured on a chassis adjustment but told his crew to do what they figured they should do. "10-4," Bobby replied. "Pit road's open to the leader. We'll be in next time," Ty said. Drivers made stops under yellow. "All right, here we come, Bobby." "Okay, four tires. Three, two, one. Right here, right here," the crew chief led the #55 to the box. "Go go go go go. Straight out, straight out. All the way. 4100. Hey, Art, time that fuel again." Ty warned Mikey that AJ Allmendinger was slow on the bottom. "Three more coming. The 21 will be the last one." "All right, same scenerio. 45 car is one lap behind us, the 78 car is one lap in front of us, and the 48 car is three laps behind us." Lap 349 saw the restart with Busch leading. Mikey was 30th and six laps down. David was two laps down in 25th, and Skinner was four laps down in 27th. "It's the best it's been on the start all night," Mikey reported. "10-4," Bobby replied. Skinner was 28th on lap 355. At the front of the field, Carl Edwards was looking for the top spot. "65," Bobby read off lap times. "Still clear one back to the 48. Inside. Clear behind him. Clear back three behind him to the 41. "16.90, 90." The sixth caution was on lap 365. "They're talking about some debris," Ty said. "No caution yet. Caution's out, caution's out. Debris' off of Turn 2, right off the Food City sign." "The adjustments you made seemed to be good for a little while. Then it's still screaming tight." Mikey again said the car was good at first, then got tight. Bobby asked Art how they were on fuel. "Pit road's open for the lead lap cars." "Do we have a rubber that can go in that right rear?" "Yeah, we got them hanging. We'll go ahead and shove them in there for you." "Yeah, y'all need to be practicing working with me. Say what do you think, do we need rubbers? Make us learn something. We can learn how to do a better job doing adjustments. I'm really really tight. I want you to say you want to work on rubbers or something like that." Bobby said he was just figuring out fuel first. Mikey told his crew chief the last adjustment was great; they just needed to get more aggressive with it. Bobby led his driver to the box and back out. "Good job on that right there, Andy." "Yeah, y'all have done a hell of a job on pit road tonight. Sorry it won't be worth more than it is, but y'all did a good job. It will be worth something next week." "Right on," Bobby added. "All right, the scenerio's still the same on the cars we're racing. Lap totals are still the same." "All right, we're going to be coming around to the green next time, bud," Ty said. Bobby asked how many sets of tires they had left. Busch led the lap 370 restart. Mikey was six laps down in 30th, David two laps down in 25th, and Skinner four laps down in 28th. "1 car coming outside, outside. The 1 car. You're clear now, clear," Ty spotted. "Looking low, inside. All by himself. Clear there." "65, 65," Bobby read off lap times. "70, 70. "70." By lap 378, Skinner picked up 27th from Scott Riggs. "Still outside, still there," Ty warned. "Still outside, still there. Clear clear, clear. Clear five back. Got a run right on your bumper. Car's got a run inside, all by himself. Clear four back." "Plowing. Skating the right front," Mikey reported on lap 390. "10-4," Bobby acknowledged. "It's a little freer off." "All right, 10-4, 10-4." "Half back to the 41," Ty warned. "Leader's at the line now. Inside. All by himself. Clear two back." "50, 50," Bobby read off lap times. "13, 13. "20, 17.20. Leader a flat." "Clear three back to the 18. Looking inside, inside. Clear five behind him." By lap 408, Mikey went a seventh lap down. "35, 35. "35, 35." "The 99 half back," Ty noted. "Inside. Going to be clear behind him. Two more coming, inside, inside. Clear there." By lap 414, Skinner went a fifth lap down. "Inside, the 24. Clear one back to the 11. Clear behind him." "40, 17.40. "45, 45." Skinner was 28th on lap 420. "Going to be coming inside. Going to be clear behind him, three back," Ty said. "40, 40. "35, 35. "35." "Inside, the 12. Clear two back to the 28. Inside. Will be clear half straightaway to the 20." "29, 29. "33, 33." David dropped to 26th by lap 430 and was now a third lap down. "45, 45. "35, 35. "45." "One back to the 20," Ty said. "Clear behind him. Two back to the 07." "Don't cut that 07 any slack," Bobby told his driver. "I'll tell you about it after the race." "Let's not get turned around. Clear one back. Inside. Clear five back to the 8." "30, 30. 17.30. "30, 30." "All right, just sixty more to go, sixty." "40, 40. "35." "Still clear one back. Coming outside. You've got the 8 and the 6. Still outside. It will be clear up behind him. Got the 17 and the 96 one back. 17's working the bottom, inside. Inside, the 26 and the 96 with him. Clear by half back to the 84. Inside. It will be clear two back to the 16. 16's going to be clear half a straightaway." "50 to go, 50 laps to go," Bobby said. "55, 55." "Caution's out for debris, debris on the back straightaway." The seventh caution was on lap 253. "All right, get caught up," Bobby told his driver. "We'll pit second time by. Another deal of trial and error here." "He must have got the 45, didn't he?" Mikey asked. "10-4, 10-4. He's still two in back of you, two back." Leaders pit under yellow. Bobby called for four tires. "How long's the caution going to be, Ty?" "Not very long. It will be just a little debris caution," Ty replied. He reminded Mikey to go to pit road at 4100. "3, 2. Come on, right here," Bobby guided his driver the rest of the way. "Go go go. 4100. All good, all good. All right, get your tires worked in. All right, have a chance to catch your breath here. About 40 laps left of racing, about twelve minutes. It won't be long." "Okay," Mikey replied. "All right, buddy, one to go when you get around," Ty said. "40-something laps to go, so you know what that means at Bristol. People will be taking instead of giving." Kyle Busch led the restart on lap 459. Mikey was seven laps down in 30th, David three laps down in 25th, and Skinner four laps down in 28th. Ty told Mikey the #41 would be dropping back due to being too fast on pit road. "Clear there," Ty told his driver. "Still there, still there. Clear, clear." Debris on the front stretch drew the eighth caution on lap 262. It was tape off Kurt Busch's car, and he was in line for the free pass. "Caution's out for debris, caution's out for debris," Ty said. "We're going to stay out here, stay out," Bobby said. "That felt like a freer start for me," Mikey said. "Yeah, 10-4. Keep me posted on that. That was a pretty significant change on this one compared to the last one." "Yeah, the last one didn't do nothing special for sure." "All right, 10-4. Keep these worked in for me." Racing resumed with 35 laps to go. Busch led, David was three laps down in 25th, Skinner was five down in 27th, and Mikey was eight down in 30th. "Outside only, outside only," Ty reminded. "Inside, inside." Edwards shoved Busch for the lead, and Busch shoved him back. The two battled side-by-side with 30 to go. "85, 85. Thirty laps to go, thirty to go," Bobby said. Edwards was in the lead on lap 473. Skinner was now 28th. "80, 80. "80." Mikey said something, but his words were covered by static. "95. "17 flat. 23 to go, 23." "41's closing. He's one back," Ty warned. "Inside. You're clear behind him." "15, 15. 20 laps to go, 20. That's the leader in your mirror there, about a straightaway back. 17 flat, 17 flat. "25. "20, 20. Leader in your mirror, half a straightaway back." "This is way worse," Mikey commented. "All right, 10-4. That was lower air on the right front." "The 99's coming. He's one back," Ty warned. "Clear there." By 13 to go, Mikey was down another lap. "30, 30. 13 laps to go. Second place in your mirror." "Second place two back, working the bottom. There you go," Ty added. "All lead lap cars behind you. Let them go," Bobby advised. Ty said they were all working the bottom and said the #11 and #29 were coming. "Inside, inside. Clear there, half straightaway back. 9 to go." "30, 30. Eight laps to go, eight to go," Bobby said. "30, 30. Six to go, six to go." "12 car going to be working the bottom. One back to the 07. There will be three lead lap cars. 17 is coming. You'll be clear there." "Three to go, three to go." "All right, man, one more, one more," Ty said. "All right, that's it, that's it." "What was the deal with the air right there, just for my notes." "Well, it did exaclty what it did." Mikey siad it got tighter as time went on. "Right there, when we made that first adjustment and took air out of that right front, it really really vibrated and pushed, and I said that was too low of air. Then throughout the race, it was way better, but then that was right back to what it was earlier in the day when it was just vibrating." "10-4, 10-4. You got all that, Billy, in your book there? Well, if my calculations are best, I think you gained a spot in the points." "Well, I guess I can't see where my trailer is," Mikey said. "I just hate that we had trouble, but y'all did a good job of overcoming it." "There was nothing I could do about that wreck. I had no idea that boy was going to come down low," Mikey said. He said Mears had just gotten into him. Mikey finished eight laps down in 30th. David was three laps down in 25th, and Skinner was four down in 28th. Coverage of next week's Pepsi 500 at California begins next Sunday at 7:00pm ET on ESPN. The Nationwide Series' Camping World RV Service 300 takes place the day before, and coverage starts at 9:30pm on ESPN2.