Shelby 427 - 3/1/09
Michael Waltrip Racing's David Reutimann picked up his first Sprint Cup top five finish today in the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His #00 Aaron's Dream Machine came home 4th. Meanwhile, contact with the wall and a spin cost car owner Michael Waltrip the lead lap midway through the race. He held onto the car to finish two laps down in 27th.
"Got a copy?" Crew chief Bootie Barker asked shortly after 4:30pm ET.
"Can everyone hear me?" Mikey asked.
"I hear you, Michael. How you doing?"
"Good. How you doing?"
"Very nice. I went on pit road and looked for the speed lines. I could see nothing. I asked Billy about it, and he said Toyota had them up to date." Bootie told Mikey not to worry about them.
Spotter Ty Norris noted that Bootie's radio was low.
"Okay, I have a different headset on," Bootie said. "Now tell me, is it still now?"
Ty said it was better.
Bootie told Mikey to leave the yellow and pink switches for the brake fans off. "I would run your B fans from the get go."
"I agree," the driver replied.
"You have a slight opening in the nose," Bootie noted. He told Mikey he shouldn't need his brake fans, unless there were a chassis advantage to putting them on.
"Yeah, just listen to what I'm saying and tell me what to do so I don't have to think about that."
"I'll think for you. The only reason I can keep up with it is I have diagrams."
Ty asked about pit road speed.
Bootie told the spotter pit road speed was 4150, and their first pit stop if the race remained green until then was at 55 laps.
"Perfect. Thank you."
"10-4." A moment later, Bootie added, "Ty, I see, because of the angle of pit road, where the 64 car is on the race track, if you projected that back to pit lane, that's where I can help."
"All right."
Ty noted that Mikey's pit stall was ten past the first box.
"Okay, everybody sounds good for me," Mikey replied.
Ty told Mikey there were streaks across the track are just stains. "They're not slick or anything. I'm sure you'll figure that out the first few times around the track."
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1."
"Ten in, huh, Ty?"
"Yup, the first pit stall, and then you're ten in."
"All right, does 4150 sound reasonable."
"Sounds reasonable."
"We'll go with it."
"I'm actually getting 4200, which is unusual. Are we sure about 4150?"
Bootie said that's the speed they had.
"Y'all did a hell of a job at California with my speeds," Mikey replied. "I was able to make time on pit road, I felt like."
Ty said they were a little off yesterday. "The Nationwide car was a little off on tack as well." He said they'd go to 4200 if they felt they were lagging.
Bootie said they had 4230 for speed.
"Buddy, one to go, one to go. A couple of them dropping back."
"B fans on, and good luck."
"Thank you." Mikey yawned again. "Y'all were awesome last week on pit road. Great job. Great job with everything on the pit road there. I notice how big those guys are, so I'm going to start complimenting them," Mikey said.
"Yeah, but you're the only 6'5" guy, 220 guy."
Mikey said he was 217 pounds yesterday, but he may have taken care of that today as he'd had a lot of food so he'd have plenty of gas.
The green flag waved at 4:46pm ET, and Kyle Busch led the field. Mikey was 15th, and David was at the back of the pack due to the engine change. Jimmie Johnson took over the top spot to lead the first lap.
"Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Still got them outside. Still outside. 31 checking up. Still on your corner. Clear there, half back. Still there. Clear half back. Spin behind you, spin behind you. Caution's out."
The first caution was on lap 2. Brad Keselowski scraped the wall and turned. Mikey was 10th at the time, and David was 35th.
"Good start, buddy. Nice job there. 31, the 9, and the 25 were sideways in the groove." Ty said the #25 ended up hitting the wall.
Bootie asked about temps.
"Just a little after twelve on both. Water pressure is 12 also. The car was awesome for a lap, which is a lap more than yesterday, so hopefully it will stay awesome."
Bootie said he was trying to get temps, but they were going too fast.
"Okay."
Bootie said he knew Mikey wanted lap times.
"You could give it to me fifteen seconds after it comes on the screen on the backstretch, or you can do it yourself, whatever makes you happy."
"10-4. I'll just try not to screw it up."
"All right, bud. One to go, one to go," Ty said. He told his driver they'd go with 4150 for speed as the #17 was just busted on pit road.
"Well, if 4300 is speeding, then that's okay. I just need to know the window," Mikey replied.
"All right, you're going to be coming around to the green. Pace car's off. Remember, outside only. Ready? Green green. Clear two back. Nice start."
Johnson led the field to the restart on lap 6. Mikey was 10th, and David was 34th.
"Clear one back. 42 trying to work the top along the 46. Clear behind him, clear behind him. Have a run on the top side. Clear, clear if you need it. Clear half back. Caution's out, caution's out. Caution's out. Back straightaway."
The second caution was on lap 7. Matt Kenseth was smoking.
"Okay, Michael. We're going to stay out
"Ty, he's run into me under caution. I don't know what it did to the left rear, but he hit me pretty hard."
Bootie said his car was fine. "I washed him the whole time."
"I'll talk to his spotter to see if he's paying attention."
"What happened that time?" Mikey asked.
"I think the 17 finally lost an engine, and somebody hit him or spun him, I think."
Ty said the spotter said NASCAR never told him the caution had come out. Ty said he'd told this spotter to get his radio fixed.
"Your quarter's great. You're good," Bootie said. "Ty, the 47 has pretty severe quarter damage in the left rear." He said he'd keep him informed.
"My tendency is going to push," Mikey said.
"Do you have any vibes in your butt right now about what you want to do?"
"Maybe up the left side airs a little bit would be my guess. I'm feeling like I'm needing a little more left front grip, or maybe that was so sensitive yesterday that that was what I was leaning for."
Ty said something fell out of the left side of the #1 car of Martin Truex Jr. It was an axel shaft.
Bootie said they'd move the left front up a little bit. "Give me a second. I'll think of some blower stuff too. Try turning your yellow blower on, please."
"Roger."
Bootie told Mikey to shut off the blower and put one on once he got "stretched out." "Michael, that's pretty impressive. There's about four foot of axel hanging out of the 1."
Johnson led the lap 11 restart. Mikey was 11th, and David was 30th.
"Clear two back. Still half back and closing, half back and closing. Got a run inside, inside. He's got the 99 with him. Still down there, inside. 99 still there."
Mikey was 12th one lap into the run.
"Clear one back there to the 78."
One lap later, Mikey was 13th; Carl Edwards had passed. David was 28th.
"84," Bootie read off lap times.
"Halfback, got a run inside, run inside. Still on your quarter. 8 still down there with him, still inside. 16 up top with you. Inside, inside. Clear there, half back. Clear half back."
"It's horrendous," Mikey said on lap 18. He was 15th. David was 27th.
"On the bottom, just looking. The 8. Clear. Back on your quarter, back on your quarter. Clear."
"34.
"21."
"Still there, still there. Clear. Way to work it out, buddy. Clear two back."
"43."
"Ty, tell David and them I won't be polite if it helps," Mikey said on lap 23. He was 14th, and David was 25th.
"10-4. Your track times are really good," Bootie replied. "40.
"43."
Ty warned Mikey that the #24 of Jeff Gordon was catching him a little bit.
"40."
"24's one back, looking on the bottom. He's been running right on the white line. He's one back. Inside, down there all by himself. 25's pretty lame up there, right in front of the 9. All clear. Still there. Clear."
David was 24th on lap 32. He barely nudged the wall a few laps before that.
"59."
"The right front is starting to basketball on me," Mikey reported.
Bootie acknowledged this feedback. "49."
"Still there on your corner. Still there. Clear two back. Nice job."
"43.
"28. Great lap!"
Passing Ryan Newman moved Mikey into 13th on lap 35.
"59."
"All right, right in front of that crowd is the 07. The 19's pretty much all over the place. Clear the 07. Got the 19 on the bottom. Great job!"
"46."
"Clear, all clear."
"60.
"65.
"39.
"47. Oh, I apologise. You're doing great. You're doing good. You're catching everyone in front of you except the 24."
Mikey was 12th on lap 41, having passed Juan Pablo Montoya's #42.
"31. The leader was a 44, so you're bringing it, man."
"Thank you!" Mikey replied.
"Yeah, I'm sorry.
"46.
"47."
"Still there. Clear."
"We'll be pitting in ten laps, ten laps. Last lap 37," Bootie said. "43.
"Ron, find out when the 43 and 12 are going to pit for me. 41.
"37."
"There you go. Clear clear."
Lap 50 saw Mikey passed Bobby Labonte for 11th.
"All right, guys. Everybody be ready. We're going to pit in the next four laps, most likely," Bootie told the team. "40."
"All right, leader's going to pit this lap, Bootie."
Bootie told Mikey to go one more lap.
"Clear the 13. Clear low. Clear whatever you need."
Mikey was 8th on lap 52 as cars pit.
"Clear down there. You're all clear. You want to come this time, Bootie?"
"10-4. 4150 this time, 4150 this time."
"Easy getting on, easy getting on. 4150. They've already busted two of them right now. There you are. Ten away."
Bootie counted Mikey into his box. "Good job."
The #55 was in its box.
"One lane one lane one lane one lane. The 88 is outside. Watch him. One lane one lane."
Ty said Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88 was just passing through, paying a speeding penalty. "Go go go."
"Still clear. You've got one car coming outside. You're going to be clear up, clear up. You're all clear, ten back."
Kyle Busch led lap 54. He was able to go extra laps as he had pit on lap 8 for fuel. When he pit, Robby Gordon picked up the top spot.
"Clear all clear."
"74."
"Clear. Still up on your corner. Still there. Clear up, clear. Really nice job, Michael. They caught four of them for speeding on pit road. Everybody cycled back around. We're going to be p12."
"78. Lap times are good, Michael.
"77."
Mikey was 12th on lap 57. Johnson led, and David was 20th.
"Caution's out. Caution's out for debris. Good job, man. P11."
The third caution was on lap 58. Ryan Newman received the free pass.
"Where's the leader right now?" Mikey asked.
"Leader's on the back straightaway."
"Okay, Michael, that's only seven laps on those tires, seven laps, so most likely, we're going to stay out," Bootie said.
"How about fresh tire laps compared to the leader?" Mikey asked.
Bootie said Mikey was running in the 70's and Johnson in the 50's. He said Mikey was even better.
"I'm really tight. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid to touch it."
"10-4."
"If anything, well maybe, well I don't know. I would be guessing. What do you want me to do, stay out or pit?"
"Okay, if the leaders stay out, Ty, we're going to stay. If I call him, we're going to take two."
"10-4. A good number behind you will pit," Ty said.
Bootie told Mikey to force their hand and come on in.
"You make the call, Bootie. You don't need Ty for that."
"10-4. Come on."
"I believe you wanted to stay out," Mikey said as he was one of the few to pit. Bootie called for four tires.
"Man, have the spotter make the call, and the team wasn't ready."
Bootie said the team was ready but there was a mishap.
"I would have stayed out, but I did what I was told."
Bootie assured his driver it would be all right as so many cars were lapped. "Don't lose your cool."
"It's too late not to lose my cool. Darn it!"
Bootie again assured Mikey he was fine. "We'll be in good shape.
"You're doing great, Michael. Keep your composure."
"Okay, one to go, one to go. Two more lappers coming. All right, keep doing your thing. The 88 was the only one up in that groove."
Johnson led the restart on lap 65. Mikey was 25th, and David was 16th.
"Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling, everybody's rolling. Clear one back. Looking outside, outside. Clear there, clear."
Jamie McMurray got really sideways but managed to get his car back under control.
"Spin in front of you, spin in front of you. He's sideways. He's held it. Keep coming, keep coming. The 26 up there. Clear high, clear high."
Mikey was 24th on lap 66. David was 14th.
"Got that slow 13 on the bottom. Still down there, still there. Still there. Clear clear. Clear high, one back. Clear the 6."
Mikey was 23rd on lap 67. David was 15th.
"31."
"Still there. Clear the 9."
"12."
Mikey was 21st on lap 69. He had passed Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers.
"Still clear, whatever you need. Still down there, still down there. Still there on the bottom. Clear clear."
On lap 72, Mikey passed Reed Sorenson for 20th. David was 16th.
"Still down there, still there. Still there. Clear clear. One back up top, the 43."
"40. Great lap times, man."
The fourth caution was on lap 74. David Ragan's #6 was the second Roush car to lose an engine.
"Caution's out, caution's out. All over 3 and 4," Ty said.
"All right, Michael, that was nine laps on those tires. Feel like everyone's going to come. We'll get two," Bootie said.
"David is going to blow up. Who was that?" Mikey asked.
"The 6 car, the 6," Ty replied.
"Okay guys, right sides, right sides. 4150."
"Reutimann's throwing oil, guys. Just let him know," Mikey said.
"Yeah, I think he knows now," Ty said.
"4150, 4150. Put on the brakes, up to your sign."
"All right, buddy, you're going to have to talk with him quite a bit on pit road. Here we come, 4150."
"I got you. I got you, Michael, coming around the corner. Okay 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Okay, right here, right here. Right sides only." After the stop, he said, "4150, 4150. Nice job, nice job. 4150."
"42 if you want it, 42 if you want it." Ty noted a car was trying to catch him.
"You're doing a good job, Michael. If you would, would you describe what your car is doing now?"
"I don't know now. It was real tight. The adjustments seem to be working now." He said, when it was tight, it felt like it was chattering. "We still don't have a good bouncy package. It bounces bad, so it makes it hard to run the bottom."
"10-4."
"Relay the message to the 00. You're right, they are," Bootie said.
"They were, but it stopped. Do you know what it was, Bootie?" Ty asked.
"I don't know. I don't know."
"I'll tell you, it would take a real real special car to run around on this track, like Biffle's doing. It's amazing how some of cars can do that. Because we would be the worst car here if you had to run around that white line," Mikey said.
"10-4."
"Temperature's 240 under this caution," Mikey reported.
"10-4. If you haven't already, turn on your radiator fan."
"Ty, you need to be giving all your information there. I'm sorry I lost my cool."
Ty said it was all good. He sympathised with Mikey as to how frustrating it must be to be about to catch up with "the heroes" and then having to do it all over again. He told Mikey he was doing a heck of a job. "00 thinks they might have a hole in the water cooler."
"Right now, Michael, we're working lap 79. 206 to go. There are 28 cars on the lead lap," Bootie noted.
"A quick update, Michael. On that 00, they're sort of coming up with a theory that they put too much in it. It's only doing it under caution. It's not doing it under green," Ty relayed to his driver.
David had made two stops under yellow.
"260," Mikey noted his temperature.
"10-4. Chris, next stop, get that left side piece of tape off."
"10-4," someone said after a radio squeel.
"All right, one to go, one to go," Ty said. "Here come the lappers, quite a few of them."
"Okay, Michael, turn your fan off please," Bootie requested.
"Okay, bud, you're going to be coming around to the green, coming around to the green."
Kevin Harvick led the lap 83 restart. Mikey was 12th, and David was 26th.
"Pace car is off. Ready? Green green green. Right side only. Clear one back on the top, still got one on the bottom. Clear, whatever you need. One back. Still down there, still there. Still there. See that you've got that 34 there. Three-wide. Still down there. Three-wide. Still down there. Clear. Great job, brother! Clear three back."
Greg Biffle moved into the lead going into lap 87. Mikey was 13th.
"98."
"Clear one back. Still there, inside, inside. Clear there. Got one inside, the 99. All the way to the bottom. Still there on your quarter, still there. 39's trying to take a peak. Clear low, clear low. Still outside on your corner, still there. Still there on your corner. Still there on your door, still there."
Mikey was 14th on lap 89. David was 23rd.
"Still outside, still there. Looking low. Outside, clear high. That 77 is trying to come on the bottom. Still there on your corner, still there. Clear there three back."
"59."
"One back to the 98, all by himself. Inside."
Lap 90 saw Mikey in 15th.
"Still there on your quarter."
One lap later, Mikey was 16th. He had lost a spot to Paul Menard.
"Looking low, the 26. He's there on your quarter. Inside, the 96. Clear half back. Leader now."
Bobby Labonte passed Mikey on lap 95.
"Coming back inside, the 96. All by himself. Whoa! Keep rolling, keep rolling. He's in the wall. He's all the way on the bottom. You see him. Outside, outside. Great job."
The fifth caution was on lap 96. David Stremme spun.
"Just, just really tight."
"10-4 on that. 10-4. Let's creep up your left front a little bit." Bootie said he knew he had tightened him up a bit. "You're doing a great job. Make sure you shift into first when you're coming around the track please. Chris, make sure you get that tape. How do your temps look right now, Michael?"
"Temps for us when you get a second,' Ty requested.
"One o'clock, one o'clock."
Bootie said he saw Mikey and guided the #55 into the box. "Okay, guys, we've got to step it up. We've hurt him now."
"Yeah, you've been hurting me for sure. So we'll just have to do better, I guess," Mikey added.
"10-4, 10-4."
"All right, one to go, one to go. Lappers are coming underneath," Ty said.
Biffle led the restart on lap 100. Mikey was 22nd, and David was 20th.
"All right, bud. Be ready. Coming to the green, coming to the green," said the spotter. "Ready? Green. Inside only."
Montoya's left front was smoking heavily.
"Going to be jammed up when you get there. No problem. They're still rolling. Lot of smoke coming out of the 42. Can't tell if it's tires or not. 42's going to be slow on the bottom in Turns 3 and 4. There you go, clear, clear." He also warned Mikey about Elliott Sadler's slow #19. "Clear one back."
Lap 101 saw Mikey in 21st and David 19th. Two laps later, they each gained a spot.
"Still there. Clear, clear. Still clear. Inside. Back to clear, clear clear. Clear the 44. All clear."
"47.
"12."
"Clear two back to the 99. Got a run on the bottom, inside. Still there, all by himself. Still there. Clear, clear. Still clear two back."
On lap 108, Mikey was 21st, and David was 16th.
"28."
"Still there. There you go, all clear. Two back."
"58."
Mikey picked up 20th on lap 110.
"One back to the 88, one back. Inside. Clear, clear. Still outside. Clear the 98. Still clear half back. Still down there, still there. Still there on your corner on the bottom, still there. Clear there. Clear four back."
Mikey got around Paul Menard for 19th on lap 113.
"37."
"All right, Bootie, we've got a little elbow room now. Get some times, see how we stack up," Ty suggested.
"10-4. 37."
"Still outside, still there. Outside. Still there. Clear clear. One back."
"Good job. You are catching those guys in front of you. 74."
"He kind of got forced, had to run the bottom the last two laps."
"10-4. His times are still good, real good. 46."
David was 15th by lap 116.
"28."
"Clear two back. 88's got a run, looking low. Down on the inside. 12's trying to jump in there with him, 12's jumped in there with him. Inside, on the bottom. Still inside. Clear high. Clear there, clear half back to that 12."
Mikey was 20th on lap 121; Dale Earnhardt Jr had passed.
"You're clear there, clear."
"53."
On lap 123, Mark Martin was smoking significantly. He had been pitting when his engine blew.
"Ran the bottom this time. Caution's out, caution's out."
The sixth caution was on lap 124 due to Mark Martin's engine failure.
"12, okay, I'm listening."
"Still too tight. I don't know if you want to go back there." Mikey said Bootie didn't need to ask him about tires but that he was tight.
"10-4 on that, 10-4. Absolutely. We'll look at all others, but your feedback is real good. You're doing a good job." Bootie called for a left side air adjustment.
"I need a pull-off," Mikey requested.
"You guys copy that, pull off?" Ty asked.
"10-4. Got it," Bootie replied.
"Come on, guys. Let's pull a California on them. Get a tear-off."'
"10-4. Nice and smooth. Okay, right behind the 12. The 12 will be pulling in, and you'll pull in behind him." Bootie guided Mikey to his box. "All the way, all the way. Behind that 8. Good job. Good job, group."
"Okay, Michael, that's 160 to go. You're running 18th. Everything's going good. You're driving a good race, so you just keep digging. We're going to get you back up front, okay, man?"
"10-4."
Bootie praised Mikey for doing everything right. "I couldn't ask for anything more."
"Ty, that was a good job telling him I was running low," Mikey praised. He said it helped, as he learned he was going faster when running low.
"10-4. Watch that truck up there."
"Your temps good, decent now, Michael?" Bootie asked.
"Yup," Mikey replied.
"Thank you."
"Right now, they're one o'clock, one o'clock."
Bootie said that was 240, 240.
"Then it's a little bit past one o'clock, 250. It's actually about two o'clock."
Bootie told Mikey they were good. "I'll ask, once we get stretched out this time, what your temps are."
"You know, I remember a time when they'd put speedy dry on it, and then they'd throw the green, and nobody thought anything of it. Now they put speedy dry down, and they clean it all up."
"Do you take that as advancement or as taking away from the excitement?"
"Uh, I can't decide. Somewhere in between."
"10-4."
"We restarted many times back in the day when I wished they blowed it off, so I guess that's advancement. I'm going to go with advancement."
"10-4."
"Wonder if it's snowing at home."
"Mm, I'll find out. I talked to my wife just before the race, and she said it was raining like crazy. I don't know what else."
"I guess, when they're blowing it all off, you have time to wonder if it's snowing at home."
"That's true." Bootie asked about Mikey's air conditioner.
"Thanks for asking. I'm hot, and not because it's a hot day. I don't think this air conditioner is working very well. But as far as my feet, my butt, my legs, as far as any hot surfaces getting near me, I'm okay. but it seems this air conditioner could work better."
Ty told Mikey that the #47 was a couple laps down after being caught up in a wreck early on. "It's not good to say this, because David's our buddy, but it's so fast, he's got himself in some two, three-wide issues that he couldn't get himself out of. So we'll have to see on this restart. Here come the lappers."
"Radiator fan off, please. Off," Bootie requested.
Johnson led the restart on lap 132. Mikey was 17th, and David was 12th.
"Clear one back," Ty said. "Outside, outside. Still outside. Clear up behind him, one back. Clear up behind him, one back."
One lap into the run, Mikey and David each lost a spot.
"Clear, clear. Still clear one back. Half back up top to the 20. Clear all clear. Still down there, still there. Still on your corner, still on your corner. Still down there. The 42 is lame on the bottom. Clear there. Outside, outside, outside. Still there, outside. Clear now, clear."
Mikey was 17th on lap 135. David was 14th.
"Still there, still there. Clear, all clear. Half back to the 8 on the bottom. Looking low, inside. Inside."
The seventh caution was on lap 139 for Reed Sorenson. He had hit the wall.
"Clear one back to the 33, running the bottom. Caution's out, caution's out. Car in the wall in Turn 2. Caution's out."
"Just way too tight," Mikey reported.
Bootie said they'd pit and get four tires. "Ain't too many cars on the lead lap, so we're going to take advantage of it. He wanted to go one up on the right rear and half on the right front."
"Whatever you did last time didn't help it, so don't be continuing in the same direction."
Bootie said the #43 would be in the box, and the team would be working on the car. He guided the #55 to the box. On the way out of the box, Bootie said, "Beat that 20, beat that 20."
"You got him. 4150," Ty added.
"Okay, Michael, if this doesn't help enough, we're going to go to the track bar next."
"All right, bud, one to go, one to go. All right, here come the lappers. Here they come."
Johnson led the lap 143 restart. Mikey was 20th, and David was 19th.
"All right, bud. Be ready. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Clear there. The 1 car is trying to get a run on the top side. Outside, outside. Still outside. The 83. Outside. Outside. It will be clear up behind him. Clear there, half back."
The eighth caution was on lap 145. Paul Menard had spun out, and he collected Kasey Kahne. David got a piece of it.
"One's turning sideways in the fence, the fence in front of you. All the way, all the way to the bottom. No caution yet. Caution's out," Ty warned.
"Okay, Michael, we're going to stay out," Bootie said. "Turn your radiator fan on if you need it here."
"220 if you need it."
"10-4."
"Crazy day at the races here. That guy just got loose, and then he got tight."
"He got real tight with the safer barrier there." Ty said Mikey might want to challenge that he's in front of the #00 as he was when the yellow flag came out, and the #00 was now in front of Mikey.
"Do you want to challenge it?" Bootie asked.
"Yeah."
Bootie pursued this. "I'll let you know when I hear something, Michael."
Ty said it was the #00, then the #55.
"10-4. Michael, did you see that 9 behind that 8? Did you happen to bear witness to that?"
Mikey said all he saw was a red car spinning in his mirror.
"Yeah, he was going to hit the 8 in the butt. I don't know how he turned right and made it stick that good, but it was pretty impressive."
"And he's beautiful."
Bootie laughed. "Yeah, he's cute."
"All right, bud," Ty addressed the driver. "One to go. One to go when you get here."
"10-4. Turn your radiator fan off," Bootie said.
Johnson led the lap 149 restart. Mikey was 18th, and David was 17th.
"Pace car's off. Be ready. Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Clear one back."
One lap into the run, Jeff Gordon took the lead from his teammate.
"Half back, half back. Inside - 20. The 96 is trying to go with him. Three-wide, three-wide. 96 all the way on the bottom. Still ther eon the bottom. Back to two-wide. Clear there, clear. Got one on the inside, all the way to your door. Still on your quarter, still there. Inside your door."
On lap 151, David picked up 16th. Mikey was still 19th.
"20's still there on your corner, still there. There you go. All clear, all clear."
"06."
"Clear two back. Still outside, still there. Clear up, clear clear."
"06."
"It's like we don't have enough air in our tires in the front, man," Mikey said on lap 156.
"10-4," Bootie replied.
"It's just tight as balls for a while, vibrating and tight."
"We're gonna adjust that."
"All the way down at the bottom, inside," Ty warned.
"I've got him. Leave me alone."
"10-4."
"35," Bootie read off lap times. "31."
David was 17th on lap 159; Mikey was still 19th.
"46."
Lap 161 saw Mikey lose a spot to Sam Hornish Jr. He was 20th.
"12."
Mikey spun out, drawing the 9th caution on lap 164. He went right into the pits, and Bootie immediately had him pit. Elliott Sadler wound up in the grass.
"A run inside," Ty said.
"Hold, hold hold."
"Guys, come on in here, come on in here. We'll get four on it. 5, 4, 3, 2."
"Work on the back," Mikey asked.
"We're going to have to get this. Are we clear on the left rear?"
"Where is the pace car, Ty?" Mikey asked.
Bootie told Mikey to get back on track.
"Why wouldn't you use all your time, man? I mean, it's clear you have to smack the deck lid down."
Bootie said he didn't want to knock the deck lid off the hinges.
"It's just got so incredibly tight, I screwed up."
The crew chief had the driver pit again. "Left rear's clear. Make sure you don't knock that into the left rear, all right." He said the deck lid wasn't going anywhere.
"Barribond it to the window? Am I seeing it that right?" Mikey asked.
Bootie told the crew just to get a metal screw. "Once you put your screw in, send him. Go ahead, go ahead, Michael."
Ty let his driver know he had time as the field was just now at the end of pit road. "Okay, hustle back around."
Bootie said they needed to get the left side down.
"All right, here we come, Bootie. Don't slide them if you can."
"10-4, I've got you, Michael. 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3."
The #55 was back in the box.
Bootie told the crew not to pull something. "The tire's fine now. I don't want to pull that and make a problem."
Ty tracked the pace car, and Bootie released him.
"Did you get my track bar or something?" Mikey asked.
Bootie said no, but the car would get freed up a little bit anyway with the rear end damage.
"Oh, I'm in trouble right there?"
Bootie said the wing was up a little bit. "That will free it up a little bit. I know that sounds ridiculous. All right, Michael. Be careful. Let's see what we've got there."
"How does it look?"
Bootie told him nothing was flapping.
Jeff Burton led the restart on lap 169. Mikey was one lap down in 31st. David was 19th.
"All right, Michael, they said don't do that again - you speeding when there was a truck out there," Ty relayed to his driver.
"I didn't know there was a truck. I was just catching up. I'm sorry."
"That's all right. Clear one back."
"Take your time, Michael. Feel it out," Bootie adviced.
Mikey was 30th on lap 170. David was 18th.
On lap 171, Denny Hamlin hit the wall and spun. He drew the tenth caution.
"Spin off of Turn 4. He's in the wall off Turn 4. He's coming down. Stay up stay up stay up."
Bootie told Mikey to come back around, and they'd get him patched up.
"I couldn't tell. We've got our car so far off, it was jumping up and down on that last set. I couldn't really see where it was going, and that time it didn't do that. Felt just about the same, a little too tight."
Bootie told the crew just to work on fixing the car.
Mikey said he didn't know what to do, because Bootie was telling him to pit when pit road wasn't even open yet, and he needed to come in second time around.
Bootie addressed a crew member that he was afraid of something falling off and that he wasn't "worried about that."
"Put four tires on me too. And if you don't have time, just tell me you don't have time. I'd like to get my lap back."
Bootie said they were fixing the fuel filler. "No tires." He said they needed to get everything right first by fixing the fuel filler.
"Turn 2. One to go when you get here. Middle of the back," Ty observed.
"Guys, we're going to try to get fuel in it when we get a chance. Don't worry about the barribond. How about it? How you all looking? All right, 4150, 4150. Go ahead."
"All right, 4150. The back of the field is just now entering Turn 3. We just need to make sure we don't speed too bad.
"Easy right there."
"I promise, I don't know what happened to this car, but even going slow, it jumps around."
"Go on around if you want. Pull up," Ty directed.
Jeff Burton led the restart with 110 laps to go. Mikey was 32nd, and David was 17th.
"Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Got one outside. Still outside. Still outside, 14. Outside, three-wide. Still outside on your quarter. Still outside, the 88. Clear there. Clear two back."
Mikey was 30th one lap into the run.
"Inside, that 88. Inside. Inside. Inside, the 29. Clear half back. Outside. Three-wide, three-wide. Inside, two more. Clear right there, three back."
David was 16th on lap 179. Mikey continued in 30th. One lap later, David was 17th.
"Clear behind the 7."
"You're doing fine. Just keep it under you," Bootie encouraged his driver.
David was 16th on lap 181.
"Inside, the 11. All by himself."
"Michael, when you get a shot, just tell me what your car is doing so we can prepare for it," Bootie requested with 100 to go.
"I believe my butt bumper's broken, because it's just terrible."
"10-4."
"Just, even under caution, it just started jumping around and vibrating 100 laps ago."
"10-4."
"I mean, it pulls the whole wheel out of my hand almost. As far as the chassis, it's just too loose to bounce through those bumps."
"Okay, 10-4. Get with Snowman and talk about the left front. Come here, Snowman."
"I'll just have to run low and bounce around."
"Leader now," Ty warned. "1 car up there's got a brakes issue."
David was 14th on lap 190.
"2 trying to make a run inside, inside. Back to clear."
David was 13th one lap later.
"Still outside. Clear high. Still clear."
"Lap times are plenty fast, Michael," Bootie said. "Just keep it under you. You're doing a good job."
Mikey picked up 29th on lap 196 when Martin Truex Jr's #1 pit. The driver was smelling gear oil.
"Leader now. Two back to the 64, who got around the 2. Inside. Clear. Slow one on the bottom, slow one on the bottom. Clear. All right, you're two back to that 25 - fresh tires, just came off pit road. Looking inside, inside. Clear there."
Mikey was 30th on lap 202; Todd Bodine had passed him.
"Just keep digging, Michael. We're going to try to wait for a caution, because it's going to take us a while to fuel. Just keep it under you. Your lap times are fine," Bootie said.
Cars were beginning to make stops. Mikey was 29th on lap 203.
"Leader ran a 31.30 that lap, you ran a 31.52. So you're within two-tenths. That's fast."
David was 12th as stops continued.
"Leader now.
"About four cars back is that 31 - leader. Still one back. Outside. Clear there. Two back to the 2."
With 73 laps to go, Mikey went a second lap down.
"48's two back. Inside. Clear there, one back. Three back to the 96. Inside. 24 is three back. Inside. Two back."
"I'd say about ten or fifteen laps before we pit, Michael," Bootie told his driver.
"Two back to the 42. Fresh tires. Fresher tires. Clear behind him."
Jeff Gordon missed pit road with 65 laps to go when many cars made stops at once.
"Some of these leaders are pealing off. We pitted a few laps after them. Looking inside. Inside."
The eleventh caution was on lap 222. Jeff Gordon had lost a tire. Mikey was 28th and David 7th.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Good job, Michael. You made good time with the car. What can we do for you?"
Mikey said he had to run low, because he lost aero. "I can run okay on the bottom, because something made it so tight that it made up for the aero, I suppose. That's what's I'm feeling."
Bootie called for fuel and four tires, then said they'd put the side plate on.
"All right, lead lap cars only.
"There's a truck on the bottom there. Will be coming this time. 4150."
"10-4. 4150. Michael, if you would, just stay in your box. I'll let you know when to go. We're going to try to get you a little more downforce with that air. Ty, as usual, just keep me abreast of the pace car, please."
"10-4. All right, here we come. 4150."
"Yup, I see you. All right. 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Stay right here."
The #55 was in the pit box.
"Off of Turn 2, Turn 2," Ty warned.
"10-4," Bootie replied.
"Middle of the back."
"Okay, go ahead, Michael. Go ahead. 4150, and we are going to top off when it's one to go, Ty."
"10-4. It will be a couple laps, Bootie. We got a couple trucks up there blowing off the track in 1 and 2."
"10-4."
"It's not one to go yet, not one to go."
"Was that, when I spun out, did tires go flat, or could I have had equalised tires all in that mess?" Mikey asked.
"The problem was, they were all flat when you came in," Bootie replied. "It could have been, Michael. It was hard to tell, because they were all flat."
"I just don't understand it," Mikey said. "At California, it just got a little tighter. We understood that."
"10-4. Well, we'll do what you and I talked about, do a thorough post race."
"Come on down. One to go, one to go when you get down here," Ty directed.
"10-4. Michael, 4150.
"Gotcha. 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. He's in. Good job. Okay, go ahead. All the way, all the way."
The #55 was on pit road for a splash of gas and went right back on track.
"All right, Michael, we can make it to the end right there," Bootie said.
Burton led the restart with 59 laps to go. Burton's #31 restarted behind a number of end of the lead lap cars. David was 5th, and Mikey was 31st and two laps down.
"All right, bud. Be ready. Pace car's off. It will be a crazy restart. Get a couple spots. Green green green. Still clear all clear. Sideways. They're rolling now, everyone's rolling now. Inside. Outside, outside. Three-wide, outside. All the way to the top - the 24. 7 car's one back, and that will be the last one."
With 56 to go, Kyle Busch took the lead. Mikey was 30th. David was 6th one lap later.
"Back to the 14, looking inside. Clear behind him."
Mikey was 29th with 54 to go. David was back to 5th.
"Clear clear."
Mikey was 30th one lap later.
"Still outside, still there. Clear there, clear. Clear, clear."
Bootie noted they had the #14, then the #34 in front of him for the free pass. Mikey was 29th on lap 235, having passed Elliott Sadler. Meanwhile, David was up to 4th.
"10-4, Michael, I'll give you some lap times," Bootie said after a long pause. What Mikey said somehow was not picked up by TrackPass. "25.
"35.
"41.
"46.
"52."
"Doing fine," Ty said. "Leader now."
"43."
"40 to go, 40."
"40.
"27."
"Still down there."
"22."
"Clear."
"49.
"35."
"Do we need to conserve any, or do we just keep rolling?" Ty asked.
Bootie said, by his calculations, they had an extra lap of fuel. "If the 18 eventually catches us, Ty, then we'll back it up then. But we're good."
"36."
"All clear. One back to the 2."
"29.
"23.
"18.
"21."
"Doing fine. Leader now."
Debris brought out the twelfth caution on lap 259.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Debris," Ty said.
"It's just wrecked, I guess. It just bounces. I know the bouncing doesn't have anything to do with the wreck. I just have a really messed up front end. I have to run low," Mikey said. "It just hits the bumps and goes nuts. But as far as the balance, it's probably as good as it gets. It's neutral, and I'm hugging the bottom."
Booty said he wanted a little gas and four tires.
"All right, second car by."
Bootie noted 39, 34, 14, and 19 were on their lap.
"It's just, um, we missed a good opportunity there. I just hate it that I wrecked. I don't know what happened. We just got some issues."
"10-4, man, but we're in this together all the way." Bootie said they had a good day, because they had speed.
"Yeah, 10-4. Y'all too."
Bootie told Arte to just "plug it in" with the fuel. He led his driver to the box. "Get underway, Arte. Okay, Arte, that's good. That's fine. All the way all the way all the way. 4150."
"4150, 4150," Ty repeated. "All right, when you come around, it's going to be one to go. All right, 23 to go when you get here. The 33, 21, 24 are no tires. The 18, double not, 99 two tires."
"Okay, Michael, the 39 is the only one in front of you on your lap. then the 34, 14, and 19."
Clint Bowyer, who was the only driver who did not pit, led the field to the restart with 22 laps to go. Mikey was 27th and two laps down, and David was 5th.
"22 to go, 22 to go. Pace car's off. Be ready. Green green green. Still outside. Car still outside. Stay on the bottom, stay on the bottom. All the way to the bottom. Outside. Still outside. Clear there. Clear whatever you need. Inside. Clear clear. Clear two back. Clear there, one back to the 16. Closing fast. Looking low. Clear there half back, 48 on the bottom. Another one looking low, inside. 88."
The #77 hit the wall but continued with no caution with 19 to go.
"Clear there. One back to the 07. Slow on the bottom, real slow one on the bottom. Got going again. Inside. Clear. Clear up, clear up. Clear."
With 17 to go, Kyle Busch took the lead. One lap later, David picked up 4th, having passed Jeff Gordon.
The yellow flag waved for the thirteenth time with 16 to go when Paul Menard hit the wall hard.
"Right in front of you, right in front of you. Stay down. Caution's out," Ty said.
"Okay, Michael, we have a set of stickers."
Mikey said the #34 seemed ready to pass him. "I'm just doing all I can do. That's all I can tell you."
Bootie asked about the balance. "It's just bouncing the shit?"
Mikey said it was wrecked. "I can't get in the corner, well on the way off."
The crew chief called for them to stay out. "We probably will have eight more cautions in this deal, so we'll have tires when we're ready."
Some drivers chose to make stops.
"Doing good, Michael. You just hang in there, and you might get your 100. Either way."
"I know, Bootie. I just need to be tougher mentally. I knew I was bouncy," Mikey said he should have known to slow down before they could work on it. "I swore I wasn't going to make any mistakes this year." He said the car put him in the position, but he had overdrove it.
"You're being way too hard on yourself. As I said, we're all in this together." He told Mikey to do what he was going to do, especially with the #34 behind him with no damage. "Ty, the same thing. 39, 14, then 34, 19 behind us."
Ty commented on the long caution. "Just dumped a ton of speedy dry. Careful, there's a truck on the apron. I don't know if you can see it through all this stuff.
"It's crazy. Reutimann's sitting there in 4th with two tires. The guys in front of him don't have any, and we can't get a restart.
"They're giving you one to go, one to go. Single file restart. Sit tight. The lead lappers around you are going to be... I don't know. 88."
Bootie confirmed the 88 and listed others.
"All right, 34... not going to go, not going to go."
"The dude on the sweeper truck is going to play chicken," Bootie said. "It's going to be 7 to go, Michael. 7."
"All right, should be coming around to the green, if they can get this truck off the front straightaway. There's going to be a big ol' dust cloud past the start line. That's where it is."
Kyle Busch led the restart with 7 laps to go. Mikey was 27th and two laps down. David was 4th.
"Okay, bud, outside only. Ready? Green green green," Ty said. "Everybody's rolling. Clear one back. Still clear, clear."
The yellow flag waved again with six laps to go. Jimmie Johnson had wrecked, as had Sam Hornish Jr.
"Slow all the way to the top. Caution's out. Car in the wall. Stay up, stay up."
"Okay, Michael, we're going to stay out definitely," Bootie said.
"All right, you're going to be one to go. You're going to be coming back to the green. Three to go."
Kyle Busch led the restart with 3 to go. Mikey was 27th and two laps down while David was 4th.
"Okay, bud, coming to the green. Be ready. Green green green. 42's half back looking low, inside. Clear there, clear."
One lap into the run, Carl Edwards passed David and moved him back to 5th.
"Two to go, two."
Edwards lost his engine with one lap to go.
"Two back to the 82, two back. Got a slow one on the bottom. Half back. Inside, 82, inside. Clear there, clear. Coming to the checkered, coming to the checkered. 82. That's it, that's it."
Kyle Busch won at his home track while David crossed the stripe in 4th, with his best Cup career finish. Mikey finished two laps down in 27th.
"Good job, Michael," Bootie said. "That's 27th. It could have been a lot worse for us. Way to hang in there."
"Roger that, roger that," Mikey replied. "We'll get them next time, I guess."
"Well hell yeah. We'll get them at Atlanta." Bootie said they'd work on it for next week.
The Sprint Cup Series' Kobalt Tools 500 airs on FOX next Sunday at 1:30pm ET. The Nationwide Series is off until near the end of March.
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© 2009 Kellyanne Lynch, in association with Cyber Speed Design. All rights reserved.
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