Mikey 24th at Charlotte by Kellyanne Lynch
11 October 2008
Michael Waltrip and the #55 Napa Auto Parts team rallied back from two accidents to finish 24th in the Bank of America 500, tonight's Sprint Cup race at Lowes Motor Speedway. Their efforts put the #55 in the top ten speed-wise by the end of the night. David Reutimann's #44 UPS machine suffered a brake issue and came home fourteen laps down in 32nd. AJ Allmendinger, who drove the #00 Champion Morgage Toyota today, crashed out early and finished 43rd in the garage.
"Hey, Bobby, you have a copy?" spotter Ty Norris came on the radio at 7:33pm ET. "What'd you got, Bobby? You have a copy?"
"Go ahead," crew chief Bobby Kennedy replied.
"Yeah, just wanted to hear anybody, make sure everything is working."
"Yeah, all good, bud. All good."
"Thank you."
"Got a copy?" someone else said.
"Test 1, 2. Hello?" Mikey came on the radio next.
"Yeah, loud and clear, bud," Bobby replied. "Loud and clear."
"Yeah, me too, bud. Got you good."
The call to start engines came at 7:35pm. Due to rain, qualifying was cancelled, and the field was set according to owner standings. Mikey rolled off 31st, David 26th, and AJ 38th.
"They're waiting on the 24," Ty informed his driver after a long pause on the radio. "Everything's all set. Do you copy, bud?"
"Yeah."
"All right."
After another pause, Mikey said, "I never could... like at Dover and at places where I like my car at Michigan, I was able to get a heavy, heavy feel for the front end, like I could feel the front end all weighty, like it weighed a lot, and here I haven't felt that."
"Yeah, everywhere you said you felt heavy, we ran well," Bobby replied. "All right, we set that tact a little different. You should be three green, 4150. Three green, 4150."
Bobby and Ty both told Mikey where his pit box on pit road was at the same time. Ty said he was two past the opening.
"All right, that right front tire, you have a pound and a half less than you were yesterday in practice," Bobby said. He asked his driver to keep him posted.
"Okay," Mikey replied.
"4150 sound all right?" Ty asked, regarding pit road speed.
When Mikey said what he saw, Bobby said it was right and then their estimation was three over that.
"All right, buddy, it will be one to go this time. One to go," Ty said.
"All right, get some heat in your tires and your brakes. Tighten your belts tight. Coming to the green," Bobby told his driver.
Points leader Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag at 7:46pm.
"Okay, buddy, you're going to be coming around to the green. Coming around to the green," Ty stated. "You ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Still outside."
Mikey was 30th on lap 2. David was 27th, and AJ was 35th. Johnson held the top spot, while Jeff Gordon had scuffed the wall.
"Still outside. Still there," Ty warned. "Still out there. Clear there clear there, half back."
On lap 3, Mikey was 31st again. AJ was up to 34th.
"Clear all clear."
David was 26th on lap 5.
"Clear two back," Ty noted. "Looking low, looking low. Still inside. The 84's got you by a bumper there. Still there. Clear half back."
David was 25th on lap 8.
"Three-wide on the bottom, three-wide on the bottom. One inside. Back inside. Clear. Good job. Clear one back, three-wide behind you."
Mikey was 30th on lap 9, having passed David Gilliland.
"20.95," Bobby read off the lap time.
Jeff Gordon pit on lap 10, allowing Mikey to pick up 29th. David was 24th, and AJ was 34th.
"Half back to the 66. Half back," Ty warned. "Inside, inside."
AJ picked up 33rd on lap 12.
"Still there on your bumper. Still there. Still there. He's still looking inside. Clear low if you need it, clear low if you need it. Outside, still there, still there. Clear up, clear up. Got the 84 on the bottom. Inside. Inside."
Mikey was 30th on lap 13 but 29th one circuit later.
"Clear. Half back to the 7. He's been working the top side."
"Um, it's a little darty off," Mikey reported on lap 15. He was 29th, David 24th, and AJ 32nd. "It's a little darty late off, pretty good everywhere else."
"10-4," Bobby acknowledged. "95, 95."
"Still clear one back to the 7. He's been working the top side."
"90, 90." Bobby's voice sounded incredibly tinny.
On lap 18, David had picked up 23rd. Mikey and AJ were still 29th and 32nd.
"95, 95. Leader 50.
"90, 90.
"80, 80. Good lap."
"Bobby, just so you know, he's working the top side both ends now," Ty informed the crew chief.
"10-4," Bobby replied. "80. Leader 70."
Mikey was up to 27th on lap 21. David was 24th, and AJ 32nd.
"Still down there. Still there," Ty warned. "Still there. Clear, clear."
Mikey picked up 26th on lap 22. He had passed Reagan Smith.
"Still there to your bumper. Clear, clear."
"31 flat, 31 flat," Bobby read off times.
"Leaders at the line now. Doing good," Ty said.
"31.05, 05. Leader 75."
By lap 25, AJ was 31st.
"31 flat, 31 flat. Leader 85.
"85, 85. Good lap there. Second fastest car."
David dropped a spot on lap 27. He was now 25th, right in front of the #55.
"31 flat, leader 05.
"05, 05. Same as the leader."
On lap 29, Mikey passed David. He was now 25th, David 26th. AJ was 31st.
"Clear," said Ty.
"31.10. Same as the leader."
Mikey picked up 24th from Kurt Busch on lap 31.
"Still there, still there. Clear."
"15, 15. Leader 25.
"12, 12. Leader 10.
"05, 05."
Tony Stewart took the lead going into lap 34. Mikey passed Juan Pablo Montoya for 23rd on the same lap. David was 27th, and AJ was 31st.
"Still clear three back."
"40."
"Still out there. Still there. Still there. Nice job. All clear."
"15, 15. Same as the leader."
On lap 37, Mikey passed Travis Kvapil for 22nd. He picked up another spot from Brian Vickers on the same lap. David was 28th, and AJ was 31st.
"There you go! All clear, all clear. Clear two back to the 28," Ty praised.
"03, 03. Good lap. Second fastest car.
"05, 05."
David had dropped to 29th on lap 40 while AJ had picked up 30th.
"05, 05."
AJ dropped back to 31st on lap 43.
"05, 05. Still the second fastest car."
The first caution came on lap 44. Joe Nemechek had hit the wall. Ty told Mikey he was right in front of Paul Menard, in 20th.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Car in the wall in Turn 4. You should be in front of the 15."
The crew chief asked for temps.
"Uh, ten o'clock, one o'clock."
Bobby asked about the car.
"That's pretty good. I couldn't really complain much there."
"10-4. All right, we'll get you four," Bobby said. He told Mikey he was consistently the second fastest car and that the #28 of Kvapil behind him was third fastest. Bobby also told him to go around the #20. "Ty, if you could get him to the Bud car there, then I can see him from that point."
"10-4, 10-4," Ty replied.
"That would be six pits away you can drop him to me."
"Yeah, Michael, when you get to pit road, when you see concrete pits, you're about ten away."
"It will be three green, three green. Two past that 29 car. Around that 29 and the 20."
"On pit road. Ten away."
"5, 4. Right around the 20. Right here, right here. Wheels straight."
The #55 was in the pit box.
"Straight out, straight out. Right behind the 17. Three green."
"There you go," Ty added. He blended him in behind the #19. He said they were in pretty good shape and warned Mikey about safety trucks.
AJ led under yellow but pit after that. Johnson was now in the top spot.
"Tires look real good, real good." Bobby then added. "All right, just get your tires worked in, get them worked in. Some guys complained about the stickers last night, so get them worked in."
"All right, bud, one to go, one to go," Ty informed his driver. "Here come the lappers."
Johnson led the restart on lap 49. Mikey was 19th, David 33rd, and AJ 34th.
"All right, bud, be ready. Pace car is off. Green green green," Ty guided the #55 back to the restart. "Everybody's rolling. Clear half back."
On lap 50, AJ passed David. They were 31st and 32nd.
"Still clear one back, to the 12. There you go. Clear. Half back to the 12. Still clear all clear. Two back."
AJ gained a spot on lap 51.
"You're all clear. That slow one on the bottom is the 45, jamming everyone up. Still clear high. All clear now. All clear one back."
Carl Edwards pit with a loose wheel on lap 53. AJ was 27th and David 29th.
"Got one inside. The 2."
AJ brought out the second caution on lap 54 by hitting the wall hard.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Got a car in the wall behind you."
"This set here is no good. It's not good at all. It's pushing its ass off already. So whatever you did with the change in tires has put me in a bind. I can probably maintain, maybe. I don't know."
"All right, let's try to maintain," Bobby said.
"Your buddy got into the 00, put him right in the fence."
"Just goes to show you, you never know in this game as to what the best moves to make are," Mikey commented. "That was a superspeedway crash though. That car is pretty well ruined."
"Yeah, just watched the replay. The 01 came down on him and put him into whoever was below, the 45. Tore him all up."
"Pit road's still closed, Bobby," Ty said.
"We're staying out, staying out."
"So what if they start coming in around me? Do you want me to stay out no matter what, or do you want me to use my judgment?" Mikey asked.
Bobby told him to use his judgment. "We're a 50/50 deal right there, I'd say."
"Okay, I'm just really nervous about staying out, because when I started the race, it was pretty free," Mikey said. "I don't know how to frickin' adjust it either, because I don't know what to say or do because of how this thing reacts, but it felt like it had more air in the front tire."
Bobby said the #44 went through that yesterday. "We're ready for you, either way, bud."
"Pit road's still closed."
"Anybody scanning anybody to see what they're doing?" Mikey asked.
Ty said he was talking to the #12's spotter. They were pushing before.
"Yeah, we haven't heard anything yet, but we are scanning," Bobby added.
"All right, quicky yellow. Ryan's dad said he is not pitting behind us."
"All right, everybody's scanning. They're saying the same thing, are people coming. Be ready guys. If they do come, it will be three green, three green."
"All right. Those are lappers who came in. Those are lappers."
"Come on. Let's go get tires. Come on. Three green. 5, 4, 3. Right here. Wheels straight, put on the brakes," Bobby led the #55 to pit road. Meanwhile, the #99 stalled on pit road after getting trapped a lap down. Bobby led Mikey out of the box.
"4150, 4150," Ty added.
"Hey, I don't know why, but the front end felt heavy again at the start, and it still felt heavy there when it was pushing, so we have something going on that's positive," Mikey stated.
"10-4, 10-4," Bobby replied.
Ty warned Mikey about safety trucks.
"We only gave up five spots," Bobby noted. "You should get right by those cats. Coming to the green."
"You'll be coming back to the green. The 99 had a loose wheel. He got a lap down and didn't get his lap back, so I'm sure he'll be mad. Yeah, I'm sure he'll have a little rage there. All right, pace car's off. Rolling. Green green green. Everybody's rolling, everybody's straight."
Johnson led the lap 60 restart. Mikey was 23rd, David 28th, and AJ in the garage in 42nd.
"Clear the 21."
David was 27th on lap 62.
"30.60, 60."
On lap 63, David picked up 26th from Bill Elliott.
"Clear two back," Ty noted. "One inside, inside. Clear low, clear low. Still out there, still three-wide. Two-wide. In the wall behind you. You're all clear, you're all clear. Caution's out."
The third caution was on lap 66. Mikey had cut into the grass a bit and hopped into Mike Skinner in the #84, pushing him into Ken Schrader's #96.
"Yeah, I couldn't see, man. I couldn't see what the hell had happened," Mikey said.
"Right side looks perfect,"
"I got that little dip, and I lost room," Mikey stated. "I believe I wrecked Mike, and I hate that happened. I don't know where I could have went."
"Yeah, looks like a racing deal, bud. We'll stay out. Yeah, looks like they kind of wrecked after the fact on their own," Bobby said. "You got them going that direction, and they finished it off."
"They trying to fix the 00 or not?" Mikey asked.
"I doubt it, the way it looked when it rolled by here," Bobby replied.
"No. Looks like it fell out of an airplane. They loaded it up. Upon further review, he was trying to split a lapped car and a car he was racing, and it didn't come out so well," Ty informed the car owner. "By the way, it's a real pleasure watching you run this place like you did in the 15."
"Yeah, I haven't been able to do that for a while," Mikey replied. He complimented the team on their work. "We might have to figure out how to loosen this thing up."
"All right, yeah, 10-4, 10-4," Bobby replied. He told him Billy had something laid out.
"Lappers will get to you in the middle of 1 and 2," Ty said.
"Wonder if Carl figured out who's the boss or not," Mikey commented.
Ty said Carl was lined up third along the inside line. He said something about water on the back straightaway. "He's bumping the motor to try to keep this thing rolling.
"They're giving you one to go. They're just now pushing that car, getting into 3. Trying to get it next time. One to go."
Johnson led the lap 71 restart. Mikey was 17th, David 19th, and AJ was in the garage in 42nd.
"All right, bud, coming to the green. Pace car's off. Rolling. Green green green," Ty said. "Everybody's straight. Clear two back."
Mikey was 16th one lap into the run, having passed Kvapil.
"Clear, clear."
David picked up 18th on lap 74.
"35, 35," Bobby read off lap times.
"Still clear. You've got that 45 slow on the bottom still. Inside, inside," Ty said. "Still down there. Still there. Cleared now, clear. Side by side, two back."
David was 17th on lap 76.
"Two back to the 44. Backed up, 44. Looking low, inside, inside. He's there. All by himself."
On lap 78, David passed Mikey. They were 16th and 17th. One lap later, Stewart took the lead.
"Still there, still there. Clear the 45. All clear. Half back to the 42. He's been coming. Big run here. He's going to be looking inside. Clear there. Half back to the 24. Inside, inside."
Mikey was 19th on lap 82. David was 15th.
"Clear there. Okay, bud. Get your rhythm. They had tires."
"31.20."
"28's down there. Inside. Still there."
"95, 95. There you go.
"05, 05."
"Just to let you know, Bobby, he's running the bottom," Ty informed the crew chief.
"05, 05.
"31 flat, 31 flat.
"31.10, 31.10.
"15, 15."
"Got a run inside, the 11. Inside," Ty warned. "Clear. Clear one back to the 28."
Mikey was 20th on lap 92; Denny Hamlin had passed. David was still 15th.
"35, 35."
"All clear."
"20, 20."
"Inside, inside."
Kvapil got around the #55 on lap 94. Mikey was now 21st.
"Clear there. Half back to the 43 and 15."
"10, 31.10. Leader 85."
"It feels like these last two sets have gotten worse on the left front," Mikey commented.
Bobby acknowledged and said they were twenty more laps away from their next pit stop, at which time they'd adjust.
"Run on the bottom. 43 inside," Ty warned. "You're back inside, looking low. Clear."
"25, leader 05.
"I'll make an air pressure adjustment on our next stop."
"Still clear one back. Still outside. Still there. Clear up, clear up."
Mikey was 22nd on lap 100. Bobby Labonte had passed. "Run inside, inside. By himself. Clear three back behind him."
"It's really tight," Mikey complained.
"10-4, 10-4."
David was 14th on lap 102.
"Still clear half back to the 26. Still clear. Got a run outside. By himself. Clear two back."
"All right, be on your toes, Ty. You'll have lead lap cars pitting in the next six to seven laps," Bobby warned.
"Yeah, 10-4," Ty replied. "Trouble turn 2. No caution yet. Caution's out, caution's out. Junior's in the wall. Come through on the bottom."
The fourth caution was on lap 104 when Dale Earnhardt Jr lost a tire and ran into the wall.
Bobby said he'd go up half a pound in the right rear, which had helped the #44.
"They say it helped them a lot, so yeah," Mikey replied.
"They put a rubber in the right rear too. If you need that too, we might take the opportunity."
"If you're going to do that, we might try to lead a lap."
"Um, yeah, we can do that. There's only six behind us."
"Yeah, it's going to be lengthy or long enough to go through it all, so we might as well get them and be safe. So if we take the rubber, we'll lose spots. So we might as well take points with our beating."
"Yeah, 10-4," Bobby agreed. "We'll have to make one more lap."
"Yeah, roger."
"Rubber in the right rear there, Andy. Stay out one more to lead."
"Stay out one more, bud. Stay out one more," Ty said. "Just picked up one spot, because the 28 was speeding off pit road."
Bobby said they'd pit next time and that they'd do the air pressure adjustment and put in wedge. "How's your windshield?"
"It's fine," Mikey replied.
Mikey led lap 106 as AJ was marked 43rd and David 15th.
"All right, three green, three green," Bobby reminded his driver.
"All right, bud, here we come. 4150, 4150. Ten away."
"Five, four, three, two. Right there. Wheels straight, put on the brake."
The #55 was in the pit box and serviced.
"Three green. All the way out, all the way. All clear."
"Sit tight at the end of pit wall, uh, pit lane there. It's still going to be red," Ty said.
Matt Kenseth led under yellow.
"One to go when you get there, one to go," Ty said. "28 was too fast, and the 7 was the lucky dog. Those two will be behind you."
"5 car as well," Bobby added.
"Well, sit right there, I guess. Guess we didn't control a tire."
"Well that's kind of dumb," Mikey commented.
"That 5's got some engine issues, bud. I don't know if he'll start up there or not. I don't know if the lucky dog's supposedly behind us or not. 99 behind you. Okay, go around the 7. That 99 behind you, he had about sixteen laps on pit road. Electrical issue."
Stewart led the lap 109 restart. Mikey was 26th, David 13th, and AJ 43rd.
"They're rolling. Green green green," Ty said. "45's down inside, inside. Clear now clear. Looking outside, outside. He's there. Clear behind him if you need it."
On lap 110, Mikey was 27th after Matt Kenseth passed. Kyle Busch took the lead.
David was 14th on lap 113. Mikey was back to 27th.
"Inside, inside. Inside, the 45. You're clear, clear. Inside, the 45. Inside. Clear."
"95."
David was 15th on lap 116 after Jeff Gordon passed.
"Still there. Clear, clear. Still out there. Clear up. Clear two back."
On lap 119, David picked up 13th. He had passed Kasey Kahne.
"Still out there. 22's still there. Clear clear. Outside. Clear up now, clear up."
The fifth caution was on lap 121 when Mike Wallace spun with a right rear flat.
"31.10, 31.10."
"Car in the wall in Turn 2. Caution's out. Stay up, stay up. Back it down and stay up."
Bobby asked about the car.
"Man, it's just nowhere near the same car I started with."
"Did that make any difference there?"
"Yeah, it made me frickin back into the turn, then I'd land, and it would still plow. That made it feel terrible, but it was better than it was before."
"10-4."
"We need to probably take some wedge out or do some different air stuff. Left side air. Something. I mean, when I started the race, the right front tire never vibrated, but now it vibrates in less than five laps. But now it vibrates so bad, I can't stand it."
Bobby said they'd change the air and would put on four tires.
"All right, pit road's open. 4150, 4150. Everybody's coming. That 20's going to be there pretty early. On pit road. Ten away. In front of that 20. We're in good shape, right there."
Bobby guided Mikey around Stewart's #20 and into the box.
"All right, straight out, straight out. Right behind the 01."
"Quite a bit of two tires and some fuel only there, Michael," Ty informed his driver. "All right, bud. One to go, one to go. Work them in. You're p23 right there. Here come the lappers."
Ryan Newman led the restart on lap 126. Mikey was 23rd, David 15th, and AJ in the garage in 43rd.
"All right, buddy, be ready. Pace car is off. Be ready. Green green green," Ty said. "Clear one back, clear one back."
Mikey was 24th one lap into the run.
"Inside, inside. Clear behind him. Have a run, run on the inside. Still there. Still there. Clear of the 19. All clear."
Passing Elliott Sadler's #19 on lap 130 moved Mikey into 23rd.
"Another one coming outside, outside. Still there, outside. Still there. Clear up, clear up."
David was 13th by lap 131.
"He's looking inside, inside. One with him, one with him. Clear now, half back to the 38."
Mikey was 24th again on lap 132 when Sadler got back around him.
"Half back to the 17. Half back. Still half back."
On lap 134, Johnson took the lead. Mikey fell to 25th.
"Got a run. Clear inside. Clear behind him."
"I don't think my motor runs like some of these guys," Mikey commented. "Can anyone just acknowledge me when I..."
"31.20, 31.20."
"Still clear. Going to get a run on the bottom. Inside. Clear on the bottom. Inside. Inside, inside. Another one down there. Another one down there. Inside. Clear now. One back to the 38."
Mikey was 27th by lap 136.
"31.10, 31.10."
On lap 137, Brian Vickers took the lead.
"12, 31.12."
"Still down there. Clear up."
"Just, it's just really loose, and it still won't turn," Mikey said.
"10-4, 10-4. 31.15, 31.15."
David was 12th on lap 140 and 11th one lap later.
"25, 25.
"25, 25.
"35, 35.
"45, 45."
"We've totally, totally fucked this car up," Mikey stated on lap 146.
"All right. Just hang with it. We'll get you changed up on the next stop," Bobby replied.
"40, 31.40.
"45, 45. Leader 55.
"50, 50."
"I guess my spotter fucking quit."
"Clear all clear," Ty responded. "99's closing in on you. He's going to be looking inside, inside. Clear three back behind you. Clear three back to the 96."
"45, 45."
"96 has tires, one back. Clear the 5. Clear. Inside 96. Clear behind him."
"You still loose in with that?" Bobby asked.
"Hell yeah!"
"10-4. 50, 50."
"Keep these lap times coming," Mikey requested.
"Slow one on the bottom, coming to the pits. Clear," Ty warned. The car that pit was Montoya's #42; he had a vibration.
"45, 45."
Mikey was 26th on lap 155.
"25, 25.
"25 that lap. 25.
"30, 30. Leader a flat."
On lap 159, David took 10th from Kurt Busch.
"All clear the 10. All clear."
"25, 25. That's faster than the next ten in front of you.
"40, 40."
David moved into 9th on lap 161. Newman had pit out of sequence. Mikey was 25th.
"About twenty away from pitting. I'm going to put that air back where we started. 25, 25," Bobby told his driver.
"All right, bud, the leader's the 83. He's at the line now," Ty observed.
"20," Bobby said. "22, 22.
"29, 29. Same as those two cars in front of you.
"45, 45. Leader a flat.
"30, 30."
Mikey was 24th on lap 167.
"Still down there. Still there. Clear clear. Leader at the line now."
"25, 25. Leader a 15.
"35, 35.
"25, 25. Leader 10."
"Clear, clear. 78's just coming off pit road with tires."
"19, 19.
"30."
"All right, bud, leader's about fifteen back. He's been running the bottom of Turns 1 and 2, the top side in 3 and 4."
"25, 25. Leader 20."
Mikey was 23rd on lap 174.
"Still down there," Ty warned. "Clear, clear."
"15, 15. Good lap."
David picked up 8th on lap 176 as Jeff Burton pit. Mikey was 19th.
"15, 15."
On lap 177, David was 5th.
Ty warned Mikey that cars were coming off pit road and that the leader was three car lengths back. They were close to pitting now.
"Still there," Ty said. "Slow one on the bottom, slow one on the bottom. Keep rolling. All clear."
David pit on lap 179. Mikey was 4th.
"Clear the 77. One back to the leader."
"Clear. Pitting this time by, right, Bobby?" Ty asked.
"This time by."
"Looking on the bottom. Inside. Still clear, still clear. Clear four back. You're good. Here you come. 4150 at the cone, 4150."
"Three green, three green. Air going back like we started the race."
Mikey pit, as did Vickers.
"All the way out. Three green," Bobby said.
"All right, bud. Three green, three green. Still going to beat him off pit road. There you go. Go."
Mikey was faster than Vickers back on track.
"He's going hard. It will be clear when you get there. Inside, inside. Still there, clear."
Stops continued to cycle.
"Got another one rolling inside. 19. You're clear, clear."
Vickers was back in the lead on lap 182 after stops cycled.
"Got a run inside, to your door. Still there, still there. Clear by half, clear."
Mikey was now lapped. Mikey was 23rd, and David was 9th.
"Inside, inside. Inside. Still there. Still right there at your bumper. That 42's labouring up there. Inside. There you go. Clear half back."
Mikey was 22nd on lap 184.
"You're chasing that 9 for the lucky dog now," Ty informed his driver. "Still there, still there."
"Seems like to me the 01 would be the lucky dog. I swear my motor's not running right."
"The 7 would be the next one. The 01's down. 10-4 on the motor," Bobby replied.
Mikey was 23rd on lap 186. David was 8th.
"90, 30.90. Leader 40."
"85, 85."
The sixth caution came on lap 187 for debris. Kasey Kahne got the free pass.
"95, 95. Same as that 9 car," Bobby said.
"Caution's out. Caution's out for debris."
"I don't mind. You've got me so effed up, I can't even begin to explain it," Mikey stated. "I'm so loose in. That's why I finally went up to the top there. But you can't do that on new tires. It really is a joke how bad I am. Y'all think you know, but you don't know."
Bobby said he'd take the rubber out of the right rear to get back to where they started.
"Yeah, I thought we would have done that when I told you how loose we were in," Mikey said. "I thought that would have been what we changed already, but I think that would be a good change, I think. I don't know what else. You back into the corner, and you get no benefit from it. As soon as it lands, it plows."
"We'll be pitting next time, pitting next time," Ty said. "We're in lucky dog position. You sure we don't want to take our chances on a quick one here."
"I'm trying to count cars here," Bobby replied.
"I'll stay out and try if you want to," Mikey offered.
"Yeah, let's just stay out."
"I know we're racing that 19. Who else we racing? The 42?"
Bobby listed several cars.
"Yeah, that 01 should be two laps down, because he had to pit twice," Ty noted.
"Yeah, but he didn't pit, so that sucks," Mikey replied.
"Correct. Yeah, he's two laps down," Bobby said. He told his driver the rubber was still in there because of the other changes they'd gone with before.
"All right, bud. One to go, one to go. That 6 back there is also a lucky dog contender."
"Yeah, make sure your tires are clean."
Vickers led the lap 192 restart. Mikey was 22nd and lapped while David ran 8th. AJ was in the garage in 43rd.
"All right, bud. Be ready. Coming to the green," Ty said. "Green green."
Mikey was stuck behind the #01, who was significantly slower.
"Still outside," Ty warned. "Still outside. Still outside. Clear outside. 20 outside. Clear up right there if you want it. Clear up. Outside outside outside."
Mikey was 23rd by lap 195.
"Clear there, clear there. Outside. Outside, he's there. Outside. Outside, 44. Clear up there if you want it. Outside now, outside. The 7. Got the 42 with him. Caution's out, caution's out, caution's out."
"I ain't... yeah, nevermind. Fuck it."
"Chill out. We're fucking pitting. Now you've got me cussing," Bobby replied. He said they'd get four tires.
The seventh caution was on lap 196 for a multi-car wreck. Paul Menard pushed Bill Elliott into Tony Raines, and Raines went into the wall. Matt Kenseth, Travis Kvapil, Chad McCumbee, and Paul Menard were also collected."
"Car up against the wall coming into Turn 1. One on the apron too, I believe."
"I'm just confused how it can go so bad, so we'll work on it here," Mikey said.
"Yeah, 10-4, 10-4." Bobby said the loose in was a mess from the front air, and hopefully the rubber out would get them back to where they started. "It got away from us, I'm sure."
"Well, the first set of tires, it was fine. It was perfectly fine. Then it started... they're going to red flag. I can't get into the corner at all. Then it lands, and it won't turn. So there's nothing good with where I'm at right now."
"Yeah, right
"And now I've been cussing. I don't want to cuss. Old people and my daughter are listening. So I'm sorry. I'm going to try not to do that anymore," Mikey apologised. "I just don't know what happened to my car. When the race started, it didn't bounce, and now it's bouncing. I don't know if something went wrong with our shocks or springs or what."
Mikey then complained that it's like they didn't learn anything.
"I don't know how big a dip you went through with that Skinner thing. Could anything have bent?" Ty asked.
"No. Hell no."
"Still closed, still closed.
"Lead lap cars. We'll be pitting next time."
"All right, four tires," Bobby instructed the crew. "Get that rubber out of the right rear, right rear. How's the windshield?"
"It's fine, thank you," Mikey replied.
"10-4."
"All right, here we come, here we come. 4150. Ten away."
"5, 4, 3. Right here, right here," Bobby directed. "All the way out, all the way out."
"He's rolling, rolling."
Bobby asked, when the car bounced, was it both fronts or the left or right.
"It feels like it's both fronts. I mean, it's different, you know. I don't know what made it different. It wasn't doing it at all at the start, and now it is, so something's changed. If I had to say, I'd say right front, but it's hard to tell. They're kind of tied together."
Martin Truex Jr led the lap 203 restart. Mikey was 26th and lapped, David 10th, and AJ in the garage in 43rd.
"Still outside. Still outside. One more," Ty observed. "Clear behind that 83 ir you need it. Coming outside now, outside. Still outside. The 07."
Jeff Gordon took the lead on lap 205.
"Another one outside. Clear there if you want it. Clear if you want it. Coming outside now, the 11. Still outside. Still there. 43 outside. Three-wide right there."
"All right, Ron. Have all your splitter stuff ready."
"Too bad," Ty added. "We went through the grass
"There was something on the grass. There was oil or something on the track coming off of 4."
"Did you say the..."
"The tow is knocked off, and the splitter is knocked off again like it did at Chicago."
"Are all your tires up?"
Mikey's words were in static.
"Have your splitter braces, Ron."
Ron said the splitter braces looked good and to get ready for the tow. They would also put on four tires.
"Just get two if that's what you need to."
"Yeah, I see the pace car. Okay, three green, three green."
"We're good, we're good."
The eighth caution was on lap 208. Mikey got sideways and into Bobby Labonte after slipping in oil.
When a crew member asked about the tow, Bobby said it sticks on both sides. A crew member directed people to deal with the stick on both sides.
Bobby told a crew member to have the jack stand ready to jack it up.
"All right, bud. Let's come back around, come back around. 4150."
A crew member said they'd adjust the tow when Mikey came back around. The #55 pit again.
"Three green, three green. Not in 2." Bobby told Ty to let him talk as he could see the pace car. "All right, come on back, guys."
The #55 came back out again after a second stop.
"Run it hard. Let us know what it feels like to you. We're good in here if you don't feel like we need to come back," Bobby told his driver.
Ty warned Mikey about a clean-up truck. "All right, 3 and 4 are all clear, if you want to get a feel for it."
"Feel normal to you there?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah, well, I don't know. Let me come back to you. Just check the tow now that you adjusted it. It was real darty. It was doing the same thing as when it started bouncing. It's doing the bouncy thing in the corner. It feels darty. I'll come back to you, and maybe we can put the tow sticks on it, and maybe we can see what we've got."
Ty warned it was one to go.
"Let's just look at it. We'll catch back up. Either way, Bob."
Bobby decided to pit the car a third time.
"I don't understand who let the oil or fluid down. Did they figure that out, Ty?" Mikey asked
Ty said they hadn't.
Bobby told Mikey the #48 had laid down fluid.
Jeff Gordon led the lap 212 restart. Mikey was 29th, the last driver one lap down. David was 9th.
"Clear all clear," Ty said after calling the restart. "One back to the 88. Coming hard. One back."
"30.65."
"Inside, inside," Ty warned. "Two back to the 99."
David was 10th on lap 216.
"85, 85."
"Inside, just looking. He's there inside. Clear there. Clear, clear. Still clear."
David was 9th on lap 219 but lost the spot one lap later when Stewart got back around him. The pair were running side-by-side.
"31.30. 90 the lap before that.
"20, 31.20.
"31.40."
"Still one back to the 43."
"25.
"25.
"30."
"Still clear one back. 43's starting to work the top," Ty observed. "Coming outside. Outside. On your bumper. Clear two behind him. Inside, the 84. Inside 96, inside. Clear."
"43, 43.
"25, 25. Leader... now.
"25."
"Still clear, still clear. Still outside. Still on your bumper. Clear now, clear. Still clear. Coming back outside, outside. Still outside. Still on your bumper."
On lap 232, David picked up 9th. He passed Johnson.
"Clear behind him, two back. Still looking inside, inside. The 96. Still down there. All clear."
On lap 233, Denny Hamlin got into the wall but continued. The race remained green.
"Clear, whatever you need. Inside. Still there. Still on your bumper. Clear, clear."
"35, 35. Leader now.
"32, 32."
"Clear, clear."
"05."
On lap 239, David was up to 8th. He had passed Vickers.
"Let me know about your car when you get a chance," Bobby requested.
"Uh, feels like it's been crashed."
"10-4," Bobby laughed. "31.50."
"Leader now," Ty warned. "Going inside this time. All the way there."
"I don't care about him," Mikey commented.
"Figured that."
"45, 45."
David was 9th on lap 242 after Vickers got back around him. On lap 242, Gordon dropped inside the #55 and put him a second lap down.
"40."
"24's looking inside, inside. All clear behind him."
David was 8th on lap 244, having passed Truex Jr.
"50, 31.50.
"35, 35. Leader 05."
David passed Vickers again and was 7th on lap 246.
"Still down there. The 84's still down there. Clear clear."
"40. That 42 in front of you is for position. You're about a half a second quicker than him."
"Second place about one back," Ty added. "Still not there. You're still clear. Inside. Clear behind him. Clear four back."
"50, 50."
Gordon pit on lap 251 for a scheduled stop. Greg Biffle now had the top spot, and David was 6th. Mikey was 28th.
"35, 35."
Paul Menard was blackflagged for a flapping panel.
"Still down there. Still there. Clear, clear."
On lap 254, Vickers hit the wall hard and smoked on his way to pit road.
"Car in the wall over in Turn 2. No caution yet. No caution yet. Keep rolling. No caution."
David was 5th on lap 255 as stops cycled.
"Inside, inside. You've got a slow one on the bottom. The 15 also. Inside the 31. Still there. It will be clear there, clear."
Biffle pit on lap 257, and Jeff Burton took the lead. David was now 4th.
Bobby said they were about to pit and asked if there were anything he could do for the car.
"No, I've wrecked it."
"35 that lap. 35."
"I wrecked it, Bobby, so I'm living with it."
"Okay, bud. 10-4."
David led lap 259 as stops continued. Mikey was 25th. David then spun at the entrance of pit road, getting in. He was too fast entering pit road and was penalised for that as well.
"Okay, you're two back to the 29. He'll be coming inside. It will be clear behind him. It will be clear there."
Robby Gordon led lap 261. Mikey was 20th.
"Clear," said Ty. "Clear one back to the 11. Coming inside, the 24."
"All right, if you can get to pit road. We'll pit one more time," Bobby said.
"Inside, inside. Come down if you can, if you can."
"Four tires, guys. Three green," Bobby guided. "Grill, Chris."
Reed Sorenson led lap 263 when Robby Gordon's #7 pit. The #7 team had a problem with their air hose.
"All right, bud, go hard," Ty said. "Clear ten back. Five back. Still clear."
Robby Gordon's left front tire blew with seventy laps to go.
"All clear. He dropped off."
The ninth caution was on lap 265 for Gordon's #7. Mikey was 28th, and David was 32nd.
"Caution's out for debris, caution's out for debris," Ty said.
"All right, what you're car doing? It all over the place?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah. It's just, it's just bent," Mikey replied. "Something's bent, but you couple that up with the fact that my car got all over my bumpstop and juked me all over which way. It's just shooting me everywhere, Bobby. I don't know why the front spring, something's just crazy different than the way we started this race. I don't know what. I just know it's bad."
Bobby said he'd pull packer from the left front bump stop.
"If y'all didn't make a drastic air pressure change there, something felt drastically different, but I don't know."
"Maybe it's just getting used to it being bad."
"I don't know. It's just really really hard to drive it. It bounces and skips and all that kind of crap."
"We'll put four tires on it, take that packer out of that left front bump stop." Bobby apologised for calling in Mikey last minute after getting lapped again by the #24.
Mikey said he'd wanted to stay out longer and have stolen some spots.
"Two cars clobbered the wall, since Gordon and others were still pitting, they didn't want to clobber him. Then David was running 7th, and he lost all his brakes and spun going onto pit road."
"Three greens. We're going to pull that packer out of the left front. Come on, guys. 5, 4. Right here." After the stop, Bobby said, "Okay, three green."
"All right, one to go, one to go."
"How'd he lose all his brakes? I don't understand."
"I don't either," Ty replied. "He came onto pit road, and he spun on pit road. Then he just sat there. Then he got to his box and he hasn't left since. Shawn said he lost all his brakes."
Bobby said they were racing the #38 and the #15.
Greg Biffle led the lap 270 restart. Mikey was 26th and two laps down. David was still in his pit box, ten laps down in 33rd.
"Clear there, clear," Ty said. "Outside, the 5. All by himself."
Mikey was 27th on lap 272.
"31.20.
"20."
"Still one back to that 99."
"15 is for position. The 38 in front of you is for position. 05."
"Still there. Still outside," Ty warned. "Still outside. Still there. Clear there, clear. 99's coming inside. Got the 88 with him. You're clear, clear. Still all clear."
"95, 95. There you go!"
"Still there, still there. Clear up, clear clear."
Mikey was 26th on lap 278, having passed Menard's #15. Jeff Burton took the lead one lap later.
"15, 15.
"Flat, flat. 38's next position."
"I'm extremely loose," Mikey reported with 55 laps to go.
"All right, 10-4 on the loose."
David was back on track, thirteen laps down and running 33rd.
"Clear behind him if you need it. Clear ten back."
"65, 65.
"25, 25."
"Still out there. Still there. Still there, still there."
"35.
"30. You're catching that 38 about a tenth a lap.
"45, 45."
"Still clear all clear. The 84 one back. Looking low, inside. Clear, clear."
"60. Same as the 38 that lap," Bobby said. "Still bouncing the same?"
"No, I think you made that better," Mikey replied.
"10-4."
"Still bouncing though."
"10-4. 35. 75 on that 38."
"Clear."
"35."
"Got one coming, the 44. He's working the bottom. Leader's at the line now."
"25."
"Still clear one back."
Mikey was 35th on lap 295, having passed Gilliland.
"Still down there. Still there. Clear now, whatever you need. Clear the 5. Clear. Still down there. Clear clear. The 44's inside to your door, inside. Inside. It will be clear behind him. Clear all clear."
The tenth caution was with 37 laps to go. Montoya had hit the wall following some beating and banging with Kurt Busch.
"In front of you. Come down come down come down come down. Caution's out, obviously."
"Well, my car's way too difficult to drive on new tires, so I can't really go anywhere, but then when things sort of, pressures come up, then I can really start to make a little bit of time to get that worked out. Main problem I've got is that I'm loose. But I think, damnedest thing, you helped me on that right front. My times were better, right?"
Bobby said yes.
"I'm just sorry I got messed up in the middle of the race. I saw the 18 turn sideways, and the next thing I knew, I was sideways. I know there was something on the track. There had to be."
"Yeah, there were three or four of you sideways." Bobby said he'd put the track bar down a couple rounds.
"Okay. How many two down does it go back to?"
"Okay, we got the 15, 38, 01, 42, 77. So it's going to be 22nd to, 22nd to.... 27th."
"Okay. You sure about, is the 01 two down?"
"Yes sir, yes sir. 77, you can take him out of the mix. All right. Arte, just enough fuel for the finish. Don't fill it up. Yeah. Two rounds down on that track bar."
"All right, here we come, here we come," Ty said.
"All right, three green."
"Ten away."
"5, 4, 3. Right here," Bobby finished. "All right, all the way out. All the way, all the way." He then told Arte just to give it what they need for fuel.
"Well don't take no chance, because I have to start last anyway."
Bobby said he didn't want to give him too much tail weight. "We're good, we're good. All right, this is the update here. We're racing the 01, 77, 38, 15. 01, 77, 38, 15. 22nd to 26th."
"All right, bro, you're going to be coming back to the green. 33 to go," Ty added.
Burton led the lap 302 restart. Mikey was 24th and two laps down. David was thirteen laps down in 33rd. Ty warned Mikey people would be racing why some didn't take tires.
"Still outside," Ty warned. "Still outside. Still outside."
Mikey was 25th one lap into the run.
"24 coming outside. 38's outside. 15 outside. Still there, still there. Still outside. Still there. You're clear there, clear."
On lap 304, Mikey was 26th.
"30 to go, 30 to go. You've got time to get them. They'll come to you," Bobby encouraged.
"Clear two back. Still there. Still there still there still there."
Mikey regained 25th from Menard on lap 307.
"Still there outside. Still there. Clear up clear up."
"95, 95. Same as the 38.
"90, 90. 31.30 on that 38.
"55.
"25 to go, 25 to go. You're catching them."
On lap 311, David picked up 32nd as Montoya was in the garage.
"Clear back to the 38," Ty said.
"05, 05."
"Still clear. That 12 has been struggling up top, Michael. Clear clear clear. Still out there, still there. Outside, outside. Clear there, clear. Clear. 12 all clear. Here we go. 22 to go."
"Damn, I can't believe how much difference it made with that left front," Mikey commented.
"10-4," Bobby replied. "25, 25.
"90. Good lap!"
"Clear all clear."
"31 flat.
"31 flat. Leader 95."
Mikey got around Gilliland on lap 318 and picked up 24th.
"All clear. Who's next, Bobby?" Ty asked.
"77, 77," Ty replied.
"05, 05."
"77's at the line now."
"31.10. 20 on that 77. He's about three seconds ahead of you there. I don't know if you have enough laps, but keep doing what you're doing. You have great lap times."
"Clear, clear."
"20, 31.20. 14 to go, 14 to go.
"15, 15. 27 on that 77."
"Still there, still there. Clear."
"10 to go. 31.15, same as the leader."
"Still there. Clear, clear. That 77 and the 01 are racing each other pretty hard up there."
"15."
"Ty, tell that 44 to back off if we get up to him and give us room. He's not racing anyone. 40," Bobby said. "20. 35 ahead of you."
"Five to go."
"25, 25. 50's ahead of you.
"15, 15. 30's and 40's ahead of you. Four to go. Leader run a 30.
"15. 40's ahead of you. Three to go. You're going to run out of time.
"Two to go, two to go. 25. 55 ahead of you. You'll be pretty damn close to catching them."
"White flag. One more."
"Still there, still there. Clear. That's it."
"Man, that was good there at the end. I know you know that. You heard your times," Bobby said.
"Well, I'm sorry I lost my cool," Mikey apologised. "That's no way to be if you want to be the leader of a company. And I want to be a leader. I don't know how you take bumpstop out and it got better there. I'm sorry about the middle of the race. It cost us. But it has nothing to do with effort. We're all trying."
Bobby agreed and said he appreciated Mikey driving his butt off.
"Well, I promise you one thing. I will never give up. Just know that"
"Yeah, I know that, after ten years of seeing it. I at least knew that. You know, with lap times, you could have run in the top six or seven at the end."
"I want you to give this thing the best ever postrace in the world, because it's crazy. It was bouncing and pushing, and at the end, it wasn't bouncing or pushing and I could drive it. It's just amazing. I really appreciate y'all's effort. I'm sorry I became a smartass for a little while. We'll get 'em in Martinsville. We've got a good car there."
"Right on."
Next week, NASCAR will be at Martinsville. Coverage of the Sprint Cup's TUMS QuikPak 500 begins Sunday at 1:00pm ET on ABC. The Nationwide Series is off next weekend.