Mikey 24th at Phoenix by Kellyanne Lynch
9 November 2008
Two good things happened today: The Carolina Panthers won, and all three Michael Waltrip Racing teams are in the top 35 in owners points. Marcos Ambrose in the #47 Little Debbies Toyota finished 18th and on the lead lap. Michael Waltrip in the #55 Napa Auto Parts machine and David Reutimann in the #44 UPS Camry finished 24th and 25th respectively, both two laps down.
Mikey qualified 25th for the race, with David 4th and Marcos 18th.
The #55 radio was first keyed at 3:51pm ET. "You got a copy there, bub?" someone asked.
"Yes, loud and clear," someone else replied.
The command to start engines came two minutes later.
"All right, bud, you have a copy?" spotter Ty Norris asked.
"Yes sir," Mikey replied.
"Cool."
"All right, we'll be looking for 5200, 5200. Three green. 5200," crew chief Bobby Kennedy said after a long pause.
"5200, three green, got you right there. I just passed the 6," Mikey replied.
"Right on, right on. Hey, Ty, can you see the flag and the start okay, or can you get it?"
"I can get the green," Ty said. He told Bobby he couldn't see out of the pits, so Bobby would have to guide him out.
"Okay, 10-4, 10-4."
"And, if you see something in 3 or 4 that you don't hear me say anything, say Turn 3 or Turn 4," Ty requested. He said, with all the flags and motorhomes, he couldn't see.
Bobby said he couldn't see well in that direction either. "M-Dub will handle all that then. All right, when you get a chance, get some heat in your brakes, get some heat in those brakes."
"Was there a concern about front brakes, or are we okay?" Mikey asked.
"No, we're okay. We're okay."
"All right, buddy, go ahead and close up when you get here," Ty said. "One to go. 312 laps."
"All right, if it's green flag this first run, we'll be looking at lap 37, 38 on pit road. Pull those belts tight."
Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag at 4:02pm.
"All right, buddy, pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Still outside."
Jamie McMurray led lap 1. David fell to 5th, Mikey 28th.
"Still on your corner, still there. 6 car. Clear behind him if you need it, if you need it. Clear all clear. Half back. Still clear half back to the 20. The 20 inside. Still on your corner, still there. Still there, still there. Clear inside the 6, inside."
By lap 4, Mikey was 27th, and David was 7th.
"Still there on your corner, the 19. Clear, clear. Nice job," Mikey said. "Still rolling. No caution, no caution. Clear one back."
Mikey was 26th on lap 6.
"Inside, inside. The 20. Still there, still there. Still there inside your corner, still there. Clear down behind him if you need it. Half back 17."
Mikey was 27th on lap 9. Tony Stewart's #20 had passed.
"It's going to be clear if you need it, clear if you need it. 17's looking up top. Up top. outside, outside. Still on your corner. One with him, 83, inside."
Mikey was 29th on lap 11; Matt Kenseth and Brian Vickers had passed. David was 8th.
"Still out there, still out there. The 6 with him. 6 still there, outside. Clear there. Clear one back, clear one back. Still there. Still there, still there. Clear clear."
"29.10," Bobby read off the lap time.
"6 is there," said Ty. "Still there on your corner, still there inside. Clear behind the 6 if you need it. Clear three back. Clear low there, clear. Two back."
Lap 16 saw Mikey back in 30th; David Ragan had passed. David was 9th. One lap later, Mikey passed Vickers for 29th.
"There you go. All clear, half back."
"25, 25. That's a good bit faster than those cars in front of you," Bobby noted. "Keep an eye on that 1, Ty. They're reporting him leaking something."
"10-4. Still there, still there. There you go, bud. Clear one back. Two back."
Mikey was 28th on lap 20, having passed Reagan Smith.
The first caution was one lap later. Sam Hornish Jr spun and tagged Elliott Sadler.
"It's just a tiny, tiny bit free, a tiny bit free on entry, and early in the run on centre," Mikey replied. "I'll do whatever you want."
"Okay. We'll take just a little bit out of that right rear," Bobby said, calling for three-tenths.
"We can try two if you want. Let's just think about it."
"10-4, 10-4."
The #55 team made a two-tire stop.
"Right in front of you there, got one spun around. There you go," Ty warned. Kasey Kahne had turned Sam Hornish Jr.
"That was my fault there. I didn't go when you said," Mikey apologised.
"It's all right," Bobby assured his driver.
"If it's any consolation, there was a wreck about where I would have been."
"10-4."
"We'll be on par with a bunch of them, Bobby," Ty said. "Quite a few two tires up here."
"All right, 10-4."
"Go ahead and work them in. You're coming to one to go.
"All right, buddy, you'll be coming aorund to the green, coming around to the green. All right, right side only. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green. Clear one back. Inside. 29 inside. Still there."
Kurt Busch led the lap 25 restart. David was 11th, and Mikey was 20th. Marcos was 28th.
"Still there, bud, still there. 31 with him. Inside. Clear there. Half back to the 16. 20's inside, inside. Inside."
Three laps into the run, Mikey was 23rd.
"Clear behind the 20 if you need it. 07 looking. He's there inside."
Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr, on lap 30, was pushed to the garage with overheating issues.
"Still there, still there. Clear there half back, 47."
Mikey was 24th when the second caution on lap 31. Brian Vickers had smoked heavily and had careened into the wall. Parts had flown off his car, possibly a brake rotor.
"One in the wall behind you, one in the wall behind you. No caution yet. Caution's out, caution's out."
"Um, twelve o'clock, ten o'clock. 220, 225. 220, 260," Mikey relayed his temperatures. "Those tires right there or that adjustment, I was unlucky. I was right there with the four tire guys. I was a little bit loose but okay."
Bobby said they needed five or six laps. "It wasn't the perfect situation, but it gives us a good idea for later on in the race."
"Outside, 19," Ty warned.
"Just keep your tires working good, keep them working good," Bobby advised.
"Did he just a blow a right front, Ty?" Mikey asked about Vickers.
"I saw a lot of smoke real early," Ty replied. "He either locked up brakes or something. I'm going to check with the 83 right now. Spotter said he was on the outside, and he just got loose getting into the corner and hit the brakes, locked it up and got into the wall."
"Get a good look at the grill, Bobby," Ty suggested. He said the #1 of Martin Truex Jr got a clear bag on the car that overheated them.
"Yeah, I'm two o'clock two o'clock right now, 250, 260," Mikey replied.
"You're all clean. If it gets warm, we'll pull a piece of tape."
"First car with tires, Michael, is eight cars back," Ty informed his driver. "All right, bud, they say one to go when you get here. They still have four blowers out on the track, but they're still saying one to go."
"Make sure your tires are cleaned off. Coming back to green," Bobby said.
Kurt Busch led the lap 37 restart. Mikey was 24th, David 11th, and Marcos 25th.
"Pace car's off. Be ready. Green. Green green green. Clear one back. Everybody's rolling," Ty said. "Caution's out, caution's out. Inside. Holy cow! Look at this damn truck on the track."
"Needless to say, when you get off of 2, there's a blower," Ty said. "It's sprinkling a little bit up here. Probably won't be much of anything."
"Have all your stuff ready there, Auto," Bobby told a crew member.
The third caution was on lap 38 for rain. The wind had also picked up quite a bit.
"Michael, they want to stagger the cars and try to keep heat in the track," Ty instructed. "Michael, they said it's too early for rain tires. I'll keep you updated."
"Yeah, okay. Somebody should have told T-bow that last week," it sounded like Mikey said.
"He was okay with it."
"I thought he was."
A minute later, Mikey declared, "It's officially raining now."
"10-4. That is noted," Bobby replied."
"All right, pit road's closed," Ty said. "hey're going to bring you down pit road and stop you here."
"All right, Auto. You're going to go into action."
The race was red flagged at 4:34pm on lap 44. Crews covered pit boxes to protect them from rain in the desert. At about 4:55pm, drivers were called back to their cars. Three minutes later, the race returned to yellow, and cars rolled back onto the track. Matt Kenseth would need to return to pit road with a flat left front tire. David also made a stop when pit road was still closed. The #44 team had left a cover on the car that shouldn't have been there.
"Get your tires worked in," Bobby said.
Ty noted when pit road opened. "Why'd that 44 pit, Bobby?"
"He said they left the cowel covered up," Bobby replied.
David pit again for four tires.
"Buddy, one to go when you get around here. One to go," Ty said.
"Keep them worked in. Keep them worked in."
Kurt Busch led the restart on lap 48. Mikey was 22nd, David 38th, and Marcos 23rd.
"All right, be ready. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Outside only. Clear one back," Ty said. "Inside, inside. He's there. Inside. Inside, looking low. To your door, inside. You've got the 6 with him."
Marcos passed on lap 49, moving Mikey back to 23rd.
"Looking low, the 6. Clear clear."
"28.50, 28.50," Bobby read off lap times. "45, 45. Turn your right front blower."
"Going to have a run. Looking low. The 6. Still there, still there. Still there inside."
On lap 54, David picked up 37th.
"Still there. 6 still there. Still inside to your door. Still there, still there."
One lap later, David moved into 36th.
"Clear there, clear. 16's half back on the bottom. He's the first guy who took four tires on that last pit stop. Still clear half back."
Mikey fell to 24th on lap 57 with Greg Biffle's pass.
"16's there. Inside, inside. 6 is trying to get down there with him. Clear there, clear."
On lap 58, David picked up 35th.
"95, 95."
David was 34th on lap 59.
"Going to be looking low, looking low. The 6. He's going to be there inside. Still there."
On lap 61, David Ragan passed Mikey. The #55 was now 25th. Marcos was 21st.
"Clear half back. 43. Got a run inside - 43."
"Pushing," Mikey said on lap 63.
"10-4, 10-4," Bobby replied.
Mikey was 26th; Bobby Labonte had passed.
"Clear there."
On lap 64, Scott Riggs got around the Napa Camry. Mikey was now 27th. David was 32nd, and Marcos was 21st.
"66 is inside, inside," Ty said. "All right, clear there three back. He's got a run. Looking low. Clear now, clear."
"50, 29.50."
"Inside, inside to your door. Still down there. Still there. Clear, clear. Back inside, the 70."
On lap 72, David picked up 31st from Regan Smith.
"Still there. Going to have the 45 down there with him. 45 looking inside. Stillt here. Inside, inside."
Ryan Newman pit, and Johnny Sauter passed Mikey on the same lap. Newman had to pit again for a pass-through penalty. The #55 remained 27th. David was up to 30th on lap 75 as Mikey lost a spot.
"All the way down there. All the way down there. Inside. The 12 real slow on the bottom, real slow on the bottom. Got the 45 inside. Clear there, clear. Looking low. Inside, inside. Still there. Back in there. Inside."
Mikey was 29th on lap 77. Marcos was 19th and David 30th.
"Leader... now. Clear behind him if you need it. 44 half back. Inside."
On lap 79, David got around Mikey for 29th. The #55 was now 30th. Marcos was still 19th.
"Clear half back."
"90, 90."
"You're about thirty laps away from our stop," Bobby said. "I'll take some air out of those tires and put the track down a little."
"These two tires are killing me," Mikey replied on lap 82.
"Yeah, 10-4."
"Got one looking low, looking low," Ty warned. "Still there."
Mikey was 31st on lap 83. Two laps earlier, Jimmie Johnson had taken the lead.
"Clear there one back. Still clear two back. Still one back to the 21."
"85, 85."
"Clear four back."
"75, 75.
"85, 85."
"Blue car up top, Michael. They think they may have broken a swaybar," Ty warned. "Still outside. Still there, still there, still there. Clear the 12. Seven cars between us and the leader."
Mikey picked up 30th and David 26th on lap 93. Marcos was still 19th.
"Do the leaders have to pit before us, Bobby?" Ty asked.
"Uh, negative," Bobby replied. "We're on the same agenda, same agenda."
"10-4."
"We're about ten away. 95, 95.
"85, 85."
"Only two cars between you and Jimmie," Ty warned.
"70, 70."
On lap 99, cars began making green flag stops.
"70."
David and Mikey moved up to 23rd and 27th respectively on lap 100.
"Five back, five back."
"79."
Johnson pit on lap 102. Busch was back in the lead.
"48 pitted behind you. 48 pitted behind you," Ty noted.
"All right, next time, next time. Four tires. Next time. it will be 5200," Bobby instructed.
Other drivers stopped with Mikey on lap 104. David moved up to 3rd.
"Watch your speed. It will be around the 29. 5, 4, 3.. wheels straight."
Meanwhile, Mark Martin was black-flagged for a lugnut issue.
"Go go. All the way. I let some air out of your tires and track bar."
As Mikey was guided back on track, David made his stop. Greg Biffle led lap 106 when Busch pit.
"Still outside. Still there, still there. Clear the 09. Clear all clear."
"28.60."
Biffle pit.
"Still out there. A real slow one up top. The 96. Car outside. Car in the middle. Clear, clear up."
Stops had cycled. Johnson was back in the lead on lap 111. Mikey was 37th, David 35th, and Marcos 21st.
"95, 28.95."
"Still there. Clear all clear."
On lap 113, Mikey was 33rd and David 32nd. One lap later, David picked up 31st while Mikey dropped to 34th. They were both a lap down.
"Still there to your corner. Clear clear. They're there all by himself. Clear five back."
Mikey was 32nd on lap 116 while David was 27th. Marcos was now 18th.
"29.10, 29.10. Leader 85."
"Clear all clear. Half back to the 5. Inside, all by himself."
Mikey picked up 31st on lap 119. David was up to 26th.
"Got a run inside. The 11. Clear behind him if you need it.
"The back end's out of control. The front end's no better," Mikey reported.
"Okay, 10-4, 10-4."
"The front end was a lot better for three or four laps, five laps," Mikey reported.
"10-4. I'll keep working on it," Bobby assured him.
"This car is just skating the right front like a bitch."
"Clear two back. Inside, 17."
"It's like you did something to it overnight that hurt it. The right front's real solid. It never has touched the splitter. We've messed it up. We've got it all up in the air."
Bobby said they hadn't made any changes. "But we can take a look at it and pull some packer."
"On your corner. Still there, still there. Half back to the 77."
On lap 127, Mikey was 33rd. Marcos was 17th, and David was 26th.
"Still there on your corner. Still there. Clear clear."
Mikey had picked up 32nd on lap 128. David was 25th.
On lap 129, Mikey was 31st.
"This car didn't get higher overnight."
"60, 60."
"Right now, he's looking inside. He's inside, by himself."
"I don't know if you can hear me or not..."
"Dude, chill out!" Bobby cut off his driver. "59, 59. Leader 35."
"You're clear three back."
"Yeah, you know, they try it once, and if I don't get it once, that's it. So I guess it's my fault."
"55, 55. Leader 40."
By lap 134, David was 26th. Marcos was 17th and Mikey 31st.
"60, 60."
"The front tires are just grinding like they did when we started practice on Friday... or on Saturday," Mikey said.
"10-4, 10-4."
Ty warned Mikey about a car looking low. "He's down there all by himself. Clear about eight back behind you."
"90, 90.
"75, 75.
"60, 60.
"75, 75.
"80, 80."
The fourth caution was for debris in Turn 2 on lap 142.
"84."
"Caution's out. Caution's out. Debris."
"It's just grinding the shit out of the front tires, just like it started. We fixed it on Saturday, and it's messed up again. It hasn't even remotely touched the splitter," Mikey said. "The front tires are just ridiculous. No grip. Just hell, vibrating and skating."
Bobby said he could see it on the straightaway. He wanted to pull packer and put the track bar down. "One-eighth, Chris. One-eighth. You got it?"
Drivers pit under yellow.
"5200, 5200. Four tires. One round down on that trackbar," Bobby told the crew.
"5200, 5200," Ty repeated. "Pit road, Bobby."
"5, 4, 3. Right here. Wheels straight," Bobby guided. "Go ahead, Andy. Go ahead and knock them off. There you go. Okay. All the way out. 5200. All the way."
"We got 18 cars one lap down, 18 cars one lap down, and 20 on the lead lap," Bobby added a minute later.
"All right, bud, we're on one to go, one to go."
"We're racing everybody but the 84, 09, and 12."
Ty warned Mikey that the field could stack up as Scott Speed in the #84 was second and many laps down.
Johnson led the restart on lap 149. Mikey was 38th, the last driver on the lead lap. David was 27th and Marcos 17th.
"Still there. Three wide, three wide. Clear one inside. One inside, one inside. Clear there, all clear. Still clear low if you need it. 22's trying to peak outside, behind that 96. Still there, still there."
Mikey was 36th on lap 154.
"Still there on your corner. Still there. Clear. Still out there on your corner. Still there, still there. Clear the 19, clear up if you need it."
Mikey was now 35th on lap 155.
"Clear all clear."
Mikey was up to 34th on lap 157.
"Still there inside. Still there inside. Clear if you need it. Clear. Clear whatever you need. Clear two back. Clear clear. Looking low. The 21 inside, inside. Still there, still there."
On lap 162, David lost a spot. He was now 28th.
"Clear there, clear."
One lap later, Kasey Kahne scuffed the wall. He had put his nose where it didn't fit, outside the #44.
"Still outside on your corner. Still there, still there. Got one looking outside. There you go. Still outside. There you go. Nice job, bud. Still outside. Still there, still there. Clear up. Clear clear."
Mikey was 33rd on lap 165. David was 30th, and Marcos was 15th.
"It's about the same," Mikey reported.
"Okay, 10-4, 10-4," Bobby replied. "35, 35.
"40, 40.
"45."
On lap 170, Mikey moved into 32nd.
"Still there on your corner. Still there. All clear, clear."
"55, 55.
"45, 45."
Mikey passed Robby Gordon for 31st on lap 173.
"Still there, still there. Clear the 7, clear."
"60, 60.
"60, 60."
"Still clear two back. Still out there. Still there. Clear up. Coming back outside. Still on your corner. Still there. All clear, bud. All clear. All clear."
"55, 55.
"70, 70.
"70, 70.
"74, 74.
"60, 60."
"All right, bud, keep rolling. Leader now," Ty warned. "Clear the 84. All clear. A run inside. Back to clear, clear. A run inside - the 70. Still there. Still at your door."
"Is the rear of the car any better?" Bobby asked on lap 190.
"Neither end is," Mikey replied.
"10-4. 75 that lap."
"All right, about seven cars between you and the leader," Ty noted. "Leader at the line now."
"60, 60.
"60, 60."
"Seven cyllanders in front of you, that 24."
"70."
"Clear the 24.
"Now."
"80, 80.
"69, 69."
"Keep rolling. Four back to the 48," Ty said.
"80."
"One back. Inside. Race as hard as you can. They just started talking about some debris."
On lap 198, Mikey went a second lap down.
"90."
"There's no debris out here," Mikey stated.
"Yeah, 10-4," Ty replied.
"70, 70."
David went a second lap down on lap 201.
"80, 80.
"65.
"90, 90.
"75, 75.
"We can go to 226. 20 away. 60, 60.
"I'll make an air pressure adjustment and take some wedge out of her on the next stop. 69, 69.
"70, 70."
The fifth caution was on lap 211 for debris.
"Caution's out, caution's out," Ty said.
"All right, that packer didn't make any difference, bud?" Bobby asked.
"No, unless y'all saw it in lap times," Mikey replied. "Plowing in the centre and backwards off. No, no, no splitter hitting at all. Nothing good. Just big ol' fat right front tire."
"Okay. All right, I'll make another air pressure adjustment and squeeze some wedge out of it. Got that, Paul?"
Leaders pit under yellow.
"All right, 5200, 5200," Ty said when pit road opened to lapped traffic.
"5, 4, 3. Trash on the grill, Chris. Trash on the grill," Bobby said to a crew member. "Go go go. All the way, all the way out. 5200."
Bobby listed the cars they were racing.
"Okay. That 48 just got up there and got us. That was unfortunate. Lost all our track position when he got us. So we had to do something. If you didn't see it in the lap times, I didn't feel it in the car," Mikey replied.
"No, it was all the same. It was all identical. All right, one to go, one to go."
"One to go, one to go," Ty repeated.
"Ty, did you watch it? Did the 47 stay out and lead a lap?" Bobby asked.
"Uh, dude, I don't know, bud. I don't know. That would have been the time to do it. We have a little less than a hundred laps to go. All right, not going. Not going to go."
"All right, back on one to go."
"Did my pressures come in high that last run?" Mikey asked. "It just feels real stiff."
"Uh, actually, no, it didn't come in real high at all. It came in 44, 45 and 44. It must have been shock or spring."
"All right, bud, coming around to the green. 47 did lead a lap," Ty said.
"Thanks," Bobby replied.
"Pace car's off. Green green green."
McMurray led the lap 219 restart with Marcos 16th, David 30th, and Mikey 31st. Johnson immediately reclaimed the lead.
"Outside, outside," Ty warned. "Still out there, 07. Still there. Outside, outside. There's a gap. Still there. Clear up there, clear up, clear up. Clear half back to the 99. Inside - 99. Clear one back, half back. One back."
"28.60, 28.60," Bobby read off lap times. "55, 55."
"Half back to the 29. Inside, all by himself. Clear there. Two back to the 8. He's right there, looking low. Inside. Clear there, clear there. One back to the 20. Looking low. Inside. He's all by himself."
"29 flat.
"20, 20."
"The 16's going to be looking outside, outside. 18 half back. Outside. Clear up behind him. One back to the 31. Inside. Looking low. 31. To your quarter. The 17 down there with him, one back. Still there, still there. Clear there, one back. Got a run inside. He's there inside. The 17. Still down there. Still there, still there. Inside, the 10. Inside. You've got another one. Clear there, clear there. 10 and 42 lead lap cars, side by side, half back. Clear low, clear low. Still outside on your corner. Still there. Looking low, inside."
AJ Allmendinger in the #10 and Juan Pablo Montoya passed Mikey on either side and continued their side-by-side battle.
"Outside inside. Both sides. Clear behind the 10."
"65, 65.
"40, 40. Good lap.
"65.
"75.
"45, 45. There you go! Good lap."
"Still clear two back to the 6."
"65.
"55, 55.
"55, 55."
"All clear there. All clear."
"50, 50.
"50.
"50, 50.
"63, 63."
"About 55 laps to go. 55."
"55, 55."
"I don't believe that it's over yet. Still outside. Outside, outside, outside. He's there," Ty said. "Clear there, two back."
"30 flat, 30 flat."
The sixth caution was with 50 laps to go for debris in Turn 3. Johnny Sauter received the free pass in the #70.
"65, 65."
"Caution's out. Caution's out for debris."
Bobby asked about the car.
"Yeah, it was a little bit better. Didn't do all that vibrating and chattering. Just a little too, a little too, it just won't roll the middle. Then it gets me in a bind on the way off, and it's loose off. But that was the biggest improvement we made there. We helped it in the middle, and we helped it off."
Bobby called for another half and another round of wedge. "One down. Right rear. One down."
"Pit road will be open to the leaders. We'll come in next time," Ty said.
Lead lap cars pit under yellow, including Marcos in 16th. David and Mikey pit the next time around the track.
"5200, 5200. Four tires, guys. Four tires," Bobby said.
"5200," Ty reiterated.
"5, 4, 3. Right here. Straight in, straight out. Straight," Bobby instructed. "Go go go. Halfway, halfway. All the way. 52."
"Uh, they said the 09 in front of the 55," Ty said.
"He let me go," Mikey replied.
"One to go, so we're going to be pulling up."
"They said 09 and 55. I don't understand why."
"No, he beat me off pit road, and then he let me go."
"Okay, he's dropping to the back."
Bobby read off who they were racing.
Johnson led the restart with 46 laps to go. Mikey was 30th and David 29th, two laps down. Marcos was 17th and on the lead lap. Casey Mears got sideways by Elliott Sadler but corrected the car and kept going.
"Outside, outside," Ty said. "Stay low, stay low, stay low. No caution. Three-wide. Two-wide. Still... still outside, still outside. 7's now on your corner. 7's there. Outside."
Jeff Gordon was smoking heavily, and he went to the garage.
"Still there, still there. Still there. Clear there one back. Still there, still there. Still there, still there. Still there. Clear up."
Mikey was 31st on lap 272.
"Back outside. Got another one looking outside. Outside, the 5."
On lap 273, Mikey was back in 30th.
"Still on your corner. Still there. Clear the 7. Clear up. Clear the 7. Clear one up."
"Car in the wall behind you. Caution should be out. No caution yet. Caution's out, caution's out."
The sixth caution was with 39 laps to go, and the field was immediately redflagged. Montoya slammed Casey Mears, collecting Marcos. Scott Speed's car somehow wound up under the rear tires of David Gilliland's #38. Scott Riggs and Johnny Sauter also had damage.
"My car is the best it's been, so we'll probably just stay out."
Bobby said they'd stay out.
"What happened, Ty?" Mikey asked. "Yeah, I just hate, I mean we got all out of whack there. Your adjustments have been good. Now it's competitive, so we had to go a long ways to get there."
"Yeah, I screwed you with the two tires, and I took all that time to get the packer."
"Well, I would have voted for both of those, so don't feel like the lone ranger."
"That last run there, it was pretty competitive. That 48, he's just waxing everyone." Bobby said Mikey's speeds were good.
"Yeah, I'm happy with it now. I just can't tell y'all how bad it is when it gets like that. The tires just shake like it's going to fall off. Now it's just pushing."
Bobby asked about the extent of the damage to Marcos' #47.
Ty noted damage to the fender and hood but said no steam was coming out of it.
"Okay, I see it on TV now."
"Right front fender, hood."
"Yeah. It's a lot."
"Man, that guy was sideways forever, but..."
"Why are they... are there a lot of cars involved?" Mikey asked.
"The 84 is wedged up under the 38," Ty replied.
"Oh, here we go. The 42 spun the 5, and then they started wrecking," Bobby relayed information, perhaps watching the replay.
"The 42 about spun the 31. I've heard people say that the 42 deserved what he got at Texas out of that deal. I, of course, don't have an opinion on that, whether he deserved to get run into or not, but I saw him run into just about everyone.
Mikey said they had bad track position and should be just one lap down. "But we're not. So I don't know what to do about that but bitch about it just a little bit."
"You all hear me okay?" Mikey asked after a long pause.
"Yeah, 10-4," Bobby replied.
"All right, they're going to run these jet dryers through 1 and 2, and they'll be ready to go here," Ty said.
"All right, when pit road opens for us, we will pit. We will pit. Hey, Chris Hall."
"All right, fire it up."
The field returned to yellow. Once cars got going, Johnny Sauter needed a tow truck to push him. Ryan Newman pushed his future car owner to get him going.
"All right, pit road's closed, so it will be a couple laps before we come in there, but when we do, we'll take four tires. Panthers won."
"Well, at least something good happened today!" Mikey replied.
"10-4."
"All right, bud, coming next time, next time," Ty said.
"All right, four tires, guys. Four tires. 5200. You'll be straight in, straight out. 5, 4, 3. Right here. Go go go go go! All the way, all the way."
"All right, bud, one to go when you get around here," Ty said. "One to go.
"35 laps to go. 35."
Bobby listed the cars they were racing.
Johnson led the restart with 34 laps to go. Mikey was 27th and David 28th, two laps down. Marcos was 18th, still on the lead lap.
"Outside, outside," Ty warned. "Still outside, outside. 29. Still outside. Still there, still there. Outside the 22. Looking low. Inside, inside. Clear behind him. Still outside on your corner."
Mikey was 26th on lap 283; David was 27th.
"Looking low, inside. Clear behind the 31. Still clear low. Still outside. Outside, the 6. Outside, outside, outside. Clear right there, clear right there. Clear two back."
Kyle Busch and Reed Sorenson collided, and Sorenson spun. The eighth caution was on lap 285. Kenseth received the free pass.
"Stay low, stay low. Caution's out, caution's out," Ty said.
"Stay out here. Stay out," Bobby decided.
Some drivers chose to stop. David was one of them.
"27 to go right now. 27 to go."
"All right, bud. One to go, one to go."
"Make sure your tires are cleaned off."
"Looks like 25 laps to go. Racing that 15 in front of us."
Johnson led the restart with 24 laps to go. Mikey was 25th and David 28th, two laps down. Marcos was 17th and on the lead lap.
"Pace car's off," Ty said. "Rolling. Green green green. Coming outside. Clear there, clear there. Outside now, outside, outside. Still outside. Still there."
By lap 291, David was 27th.
"Outside. Outside, the 31. Clear up there. Clear up there. Back outside, the 31. Still there, still there. Clear clear. Clear three back to the 29 on the bottom."
The ninth caution was with 20 laps to go for Reed Sorenson's rear sheet metal.
"Staying out, staying out. 20 to go right now. 20 to go," Bobby said.
Mikey was 24th. He had passed Paul Menard under the green flag run.
"All right, real quick, Bobby, who are the guys on our lap?" Ty asked.
"It don't matter," Mikey replied. "I'm just going to go fast. It don't matter. Don't worry about it, bro."
"Okay. The 43 asked if he can go around, and I said no. We're racing too many people behind us. So keep it tight, like they said in the driver's meeting."
"Just tell him I won't hold him up. I won't hold him up, but I can't give him the position with the guys I'm racing," Mikey said.
Johnson led the restart with 16 laps to go. Mikey and David were two laps down, 24th and 26th respectively. Marcos was 18th and on the lead lap.
"Inside and out. Clear off the corner. Clear. 29's got a run. He'll be looking outside. Clear clear."
By lap 299, David was 25th.
"29's looking low. Inside, inside. Back to clear. Clear one back, one back."
Bobby Labonte did pass Mikey.
"It will be clear all clear. Inside, inside. Inside. Still down there, still there. Still there, still there. Still there, still there inside. Still there, still there. Clear the 22. Clear one back. Clear two back. Ten to go. Ten. 88. Inside, inside. Keep rolling. 22's going to be looking low. Still there. All clear, all clear."
"7 to go, 7 to go."
The tenth caution was with 6 laps to go. Allmendinger went three-wide and clipped Kenseth into Stewart, collecting Robby Gordon.
"Spin behind you. Spin behind you. Crash. Big crash. Caution's out, caution's out," Ty said.
"Staying out. Staying out," Bobby said. "Keep heat in your tires. Keep heat in your tires."
"Pit road's going to be open this time to everybody. We're staying out."
"You can turn your blowers off. Turn your front blowers off there. Two laps to go. Come on up behind the 43."
"What's Tony doing, man? That's against the rules," Mikey asked.
"Two to go when you get the green. Two to go," Bobby said.
"Not going to go this time. Not going to go," Ty told them.
"The 44 back there behind the 22 is for position. 22 and 15 are on our lap."
"10-4," Mikey replied.
Johnson led the green/white/checkered restart. Mikey was 24th, David 25th, and Marcos 18th.
"All right, coming to the green. Green white checkered," Ty said. "Green green green. Clear one back. Still there, still there. Clear clear."
Ty warned Mikey about cars wrecking at the end. Montoya and Allmendinger had run into each other; Kenseth had turned Allmendinger. "All right. See what you got. See what you got. Stay up, stay up."
"Did we stay out of it?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah."
"We did well with the adjustments, so be proud tonight. Thank you for everything," Mikey told his team.
David had just barely dodged the large wreck at the end.
Bobby announced that he thought the #47 was back in the top 35 now as the #84 had finished in the garage. "That's two good things. Panthers won, and we're in the back 35."
The last race of the season is next Sunday. Coverage of the Sprint Cup's Ford 400 at Homestead begins at 3:00pm ET on ABC. The Nationwide Series' Ford 300 airs the day before at 4:00pm on ESPN2.