Pep Boys Auto 500 - 9/6/09
Michael Waltrip's #55 Napa Auto Parts Camry was not only loose but would not get into the turns. He finished two laps down in 32nd in the Pep Boys Auto 500, tonight's Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. His drivers David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose finished 4th and 23rd.
Mikey rolled off 19th. Marcos started 11th, David 28th. Martin Truex Jr was on the pole.
"You guys got a copy yet?" spotter Ty Norris came on the radio at 7:37pm ET.
"I got you, Ty. He's still buckling up."
"Everything clear?"
"I got you loud and clear."
"Thank you."
The command to start engines immediately followed.
"Ty, you got me?" crew chief Gene Nead said.
"Yes, sir, have a good copy."
The crew chief said he was standing near a light bank so the radio would be clear.
"So far, so good," Mikey said.
"Cool."
"You got me there, Michael?"
"I got ya. And I don't hear real well, so you need to focus on talking it up a little bit, so that would be cool. And Ty, if I can't hear nothing, you relay."
Ty agreed. He said the pit box was five boxes away from the normal turn-in, at the beginning of the quarter mile. "You're five away from that entrance."
"Okay. Got you. Ten or so in."
"More like 15," Gene said.
"Okay, got you."
"Gene, what's your target for pit road speed?" Ty asked.
"4200 and second gear there, Ty," Gene replied.
"What was that again?"
"4200 and second gear." He said it would be a fuzz over 42. "But Michael knows what he's got. If we say 42, he'll be all right. I'll count him in from five away Ty, and then you'll take over?"
"Yeah, the other things we do is remind him of the simple things like put on the brake and the big one for the tire change is to put it in first gear when they go around the car."
"10-4, I'll do that."
Mikey also asked for the brake and shift reminders. "I don't want to mess them up."
"10-4, we'll take care of that."
Mikey said Gene was staticky. "Ty, you sound perfect."
"Does that sound good?"
"Yeah, that sounds good."
The green flag waved at 7:49pm ET.
"Clear right there if you want it. Clear. Outside. Still outside. Clear there, all clear. Clear way up, whatever you need. Two back to the 29. Still outside at the top. Still outside. Clear one back. Still clear one back. Have a run, half back. Going to peak inside, inside. Still all the way down there, still there. Still down there. 29 down there with him. Outside outside, outside. Clear right there, clear one back. Inside, the 39's all the way to the bottom. Still right there on the corner, still right there to your bumper. Clear, clear one back. Great corner."
On lap 4, Truex Jr continued to lead as Mikey ran 18th. Marcos was 11th, David 28th.
"Looking low, inside. Clear."
"32.70," Gene read off the lap time.
On lap 5, Mikey was back to 21st.
"Clear. 39's right there on your bumper, inside. 71's still right there on your bumper, still there. Trying to come up the middle, inside. Three-wide. Back to two-wide. Got the 00, 26 on the bottom."
"Three-wide up the middle. Coming to the middle. Still three-wide right there. Back to two-wide, the 20 inside."
On lap 8, Mikey was 24th. David was 23rd, and Marcos was 10th. Mikey smacked the wall around one lap later.
"Got a little bit of right side scrape. Not too bad, guys."
"10-4," Gene replied.
"I'm extremely loose," Mikey reported.
"Okay, 10-4."
"Clear three back."
"Are you loose everywhere, Michael, or in the middle..." Gene asked.
"Everywhere," Mikey replied. He was 31st on lap 10.
"Clear clear."
"33.60."
On lap 12, Mikey was 30th.
"Wow, that was impressive. Clear seven back. Nice line right there," Ty praised.
"33.50."
"Big run behind you, the 7. Two back."
"33.80."
"Coming back. He's got a big run on the bottom here, the 7. The 98's down low. Clear ten back right there. Leader's at the line now."
On lap 16, Mikey was 32nd. David was 21st and Marcos 18th.
"34.19.
"33.90.
"33.85."
"Fifteen back, no pressure."
"It looks really good in the bottom in 3 and 4," Gene commented.
"Yeah, I know, I just..." Mikey got cut off.
After a pause, Gene said, "34.18."
"Still out there. Still up top. Going to be there off the corner. Still on your door, right there on your corner. Clear now, clear one back. Clear two back. Nice job. All clear. He's trying to look back inside. Still out there. Clear again, clear. Still clear. Clear two back. Half back, still clear. Still out there. Going to be coming back on the outside, coming back on the outside. Clear five back. Clear now, one back. Going to have a run. He's coming up top. He's there outside, outside. We'll get 'em. Clear by two now, clear. Got him this time. Got a run now, half back. Back outside, back outside."
On lap 26, Mikey was 31st by passing Sam Hornish Jr.
"Clear by two. By one. By half. Clear. There you go, nice job."
"Nice job there, Michael," Gene praised. "34.59."
"Still outside, the 26. Clear ten back, we're fine."
Mikey was 30th on lap 27, having passed Robby Gordon.
"Yellow car still outside, 17 still outside. Got him clear there, got him clear."
Mikey was up to 28th on lap 30. He had passed Jamie McMurray and Matt Kenseth.
"Clear two back behind him. Clear two back behind the 17."
"34.70."
"Got about a straightaway on the leader, bud. Got a straightaway and seven cars," Ty warned.
"34.45."
"47 still outside on your corner. Still there. Still there. Clear the 47. Clear three back. Nice job."
On lap 33, Mikey was 27th. Marcos was 28th, David 20th.
"34.50."
"Where's the leader running on the track?" Mikey asked on lap 36.
"He's running the top," Ty replied. "The 9 car is second, he's running the bottom. The 48 is 3rd, and he's running the middle. Large part of the top ten are running the top, bud."
Gene warned about a spin.
"Man, you've got to love Sam Hornish," Ty commented.
Lap 36 saw the first caution for Sam Hornish Jr's #77. Matt Kenseth got the free pass.
"Yeah, that's what I've said since we started the race, bud. While I'm under green, you should get a plan together, instead of waiting last minute. Tell me what you're thinking. I don't like any surprises."
Gene said they'd make a left rear adjustment.
Ty noted that Jimmie Johnson's car was loose - a fifteen on a scale from one to ten.
"Everybody's in the same boat. I've already made a plan there, Michael."
"I guess Jimmie Johnson can just drive better than me. Because he's up front, and I'm not."
Ty said big adjustments were coming up and that everyone needed them. "We got a good brake. We're good."
Gene noted that Mikey made up time running the low line. "Let's go half a round down on the track bar on the right side too."
"Who are we swinging around there, Gene?"
Mikey asked the team to find out who was a lap down ahead of time, instead of waiting last minute. Gene said the #07 was lapped.
"Well, we didn't have too many to beat, but we beat one," Mikey commented after the stop.
"Good stop, guys. Did we get all the adjustments?" Gene asked the crew.
"I don't imagine anyone would want to get waved around, Ty, but just keep your eyeball on it," Mikey requested.
Ty said nobody took it.
Gene asked Mikey if the car kept getting freer, and Mikey said it did and described it.
"Should be odd, inside lane behind that 44," Ty said.
"Just so you know there, Michael, when we got kind of going, our lap times weren't bad."
"Which part when I got going? I don't understand."
Gene said around lap 10 or 15.
"Yeah, that's when I went all to hell."
"That's when you got better than the rest of them."
"Just for your notes, the front end's good. It's not bad. I can turn through the centre better than then, without losing as much grip as others. I just can't run the top. I've got to stay down low."
"Okay, 10-4."
Kasey Kahne led the restart on lap 42. Mikey was 27th, David 19th, Marcos 28th.
"All right, bud, coming to the green. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green. Everybody's rolling. Outside still, outside. Still outside. Got a real slow one up top, going to make you three-wide here. Still outside. He got rolling. Still outside. Clear up behind the 29 if you need it."
Truex Jr reclaimed the lead one lap into the run. Mikey was 28th; Marcos had passed.
"Clear two back, clear two back. You're clear off the corner, two back."
Lap 44 saw Mikey reclaim 27th from Marcos.
"26 still outside, clear one back. Outside, the 47, right on your bumper. Now you're clear, whatever you need. All clear."
"33 flat."
"Still clear up, two back."
"33.09. Have we helped you any there, Michael?" Gene asked.
"Um, same," Mikey replied.
"47, half back," Ty warned.
"It actually seems a little looser in."
"Okay, 10-4, Thanks," Gene replied.
"He's going to have a run, looking inside. He's all by himself."
Lap 54 saw Mikey lose a spot to Marcos. He was now 28th, Marcos 27th, and David 17th.
"Shut your rear blowers off for a little while," Gene advised his driver. "33.90.
"34 flat. Copy the rear blowers?"
"Yeah."
"33.87."
"I wish you had told me that the first run. I mean, sh..." Mikey faded out.
By lap 59, Marcos was up to 26th. Mikey was 28th, and David was 18th.
"Still clear four back to the 82."
The second caution was again for Hornish Jr spinning through the grass, this time on lap 62.
"Spin behind you, spin behind you. Caution's out. Our man Sam Hornish again."
"I asked for communication," Mikey said. He said the blowers helped and they should have thought of that earlier. The adjustments didn't help. "If anything, it's looser in."
"10-4. We're going to put the air pressure back, actually."
Mikey told them not to change anything else. "Don't change it all, then you don't know what happened."
Gene talked about the adjustments.
"You went up on the left rear, and that's bad."
Gene agreed.
"Write that down, because that's bad."
"10-4, 10-4."
Mikey pit under yellow. Gene told his driver to turn the blowers off from the start.
"Nice recovery, guys. That's about three or four of them there," Ty said.
"Something's wrong. Something's wrong. You either have a lugnut off, or it's shaking its butt off."
"Let's get ready, guys," Gene said. He asked if the air pressure was the same, then talked about changing tires so they don't lose anything. "Make sure you have everything tight."
"Unless they didn't put nuts on it, it's tight. There's something wrong," Mikey said.
Gene guided Mikey into the box past the #07, and the team changed tires.
"We're going to be last. Why did you throw on the tires without even looking?"
Gene responded.
"Gene, they didn't look. They just did a pit stop. You know what I'm saying?" This, this isn't..."
"Michael, if there's a lugnut stuck in there, it's going to fall off when we change it."
Mikey said it was the same as at Bristol. He noted that, whatever it was, it was gone.
Gene confirmed it was the right front, twice.
Mikey told him he was just saying they had nothing to gain by being in a hurry. "That's all I was saying. My fault."
Gene said he didn't want to mess around, just put four tires on it. He told Mikey to line up in front of the #82.
"I'm just going to go wherever Max don't."
"Lucky dog should be behind us on the restart."
"No, lucky dog goes in front of whoever pit twice. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. 77's still outside."
The restart was on lap 66 with Kyle Busch leading. Mikey was 30th, David 18th, Marcos 31st.
"47 on the bottom. Clear all clear, whatever you need. Still out there. Clear the 13, clear. Outside. Still out there on your corner. Still there. Clear outside, clear outside. Clear one back to the 82 up top. Still clear, all clear. Two back. Still clear up two back, three back. On the bottom, the 82. Inside. Clear five back."
"You put your blowers on, right?" Gene asked.
"Yes," Mikey replied.
Mikey was 31st on lap 70. Scott Speed's #82 had passed. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson took the lead.
"33.60. What's it doing now?" Gene asked.
"Man, you've taken the front away from me. The only thing I had going for me was that I had the front. Now I don't have either," Mikey replied.
"Turn your front blowers on as well."
"I did." After a pause, he added, "You just screwed up the car."
"10-4."
"The front end's missing." After a pause, he said, "I hope you understand. 10-4's all right. Man, it's crazy."
Gene talked about putting air back in the left front.
"Okay, I don't want to discuss it, but that's what made it loose. It turned perfect when the race started, perfect when the race started, man!"
Ty warned about a car coming. "Clear two back. Clear two back. Still clear two back."
"Whatever you've done since the race started, you've screwed me," Mikey complained. "I mean, I can't even drive it now. I'm doing everything I can. This is as fast as it will go."
"All right, 10-4," Gene replied.
"You totally made the front end plow, and it's making me so loose, I can't hold on."
"34.14."
"Before I could aim it, and I could get the front under me. Now I slide. Whatever happened to it under that caution, man, I don't know. It's like a different car."
"34.30."
"It's like you put five pounds of air in the right front. It's just ridiculous."
The third caution was on lap 82. Carl Edwards's #99 was smoking, and he went to pit road. Clint Bowyer received the free pass.
"The 77's going to have a run. Looking low. Got one blowing up over here. No caution yet. Caution's out. All right, guys, go to work."
"Put it back to how we started! Wedge out, air pressure down. I let off the gas, and that hasn't happened until now!"
Gene said they were back to the same on air pressure. "We'll just put the wedge and the air pressure back."
The #99 went to the garage with a radiator issue.
"Middle of the back. Go go. Watch that 99 backing up. He just blew up," Ty warned as Mikey left pit road. "200. 42."
"Let me just reset what I felt, and you can see if you agree. The race started, I could haul ass through the middle. We pitted. I communicated very calmly that those adjustments didn't help. Then we pitted, and we made adjustments, and it went all to hell." Mikey asked if he were missing something.
Gene said nothing was wrong, just the off lugnut.
"Okay, that was just for my sake. I was just making sure my mind wasn't forgetting something. That's just how I remember it. When the lugnut was in there, it was shaking. 10-4. I got that. Then we took it out, and it wasn't shaking. I don't think like the man in the moon that the lugnut caused the problem. I'm just thinking.
"It went to where it had no right front on it. It would just go down there, and it would go straight."
Matt Kenseth made more stops on pit road.
"And when the front end's working,a nd it's loose, I just have to drive. But there's nothing I can do with that other thing. It just won't turn."
Gene said it was too tight, and they'd go from there.
Mikey conceded that maybe it did just get too tight and they could get going in another direction. When Gene asked if it were hitting the splitter, Mikey said no and that he'd be bitching about it if it were.
Kyle Busch led the lap 87 restart. Mikey was 29th, David 12th, and Marcos 27th.
"Outside, outside. Right on your bumper, right on your bumper. The 77. Outside, outside. Got one with him. Outside. 33's still outside on your door. Clear there, clear there if you need it. Clear there. 33's looking up top. Clear though, all clear. Clear one back, the 77. Right on your bumper, still there. 96. Clear up if you want it, clear up if you want it. Coming back outside, 96. Inside. Quick clear right there if you need it, half back, one back. Still all clear, bud. Half back. 19's still up there. Clear the 19. The 7's still up there. Quick clear right there, one back. Two back. Coming inside, the 77. Half back to the 33 on the bottom. Looking low, the 33. Got one with him, the 17. Still there on your quarter. Still inside, the 17. Clear low if you can get there, clear low."
On lap 92, Marcos was up to 23rd. Mikey was still 29th, and David was 13th.
"How are you there, bud?" Gene asked.
"A little better," Mikey replied.
"You're doing a hell of a job right there. Still on the bottom. Still on the bottom. Real slow one on the bottom, the 08. He's smoking. There might be some oil out there. Three-wide. Three-wide. Still three-wide. Still three-wide, now two-wide. Three-wide again. Still there inside, 33."
Mikey was 30th on lap 96. Clint Bowyer had passed. David was 15th, and Marcos was 25th.
"Clear up behind him. We'll get him. Still there. Clear behind him. Going to be clear behind him."
Lap 97 saw Truex Jr reclaim the lead.
"Do that same adjustment again," Mikey requested.
"Okay."
"Clear outside, outside. Clear up behind him."
"Sorry I went crazy. You did pretty good though," Mikey apologised.
"That's all right," Gene said.
Ty warned Mikey about the #96 of Erik Darnell. "Still on your fender. Still there. Clear up."
"Still a little tight getting in?"
"Yes, but I'm loose as crap getting off," Mikey replied.
"One and a half in the left rear and one in the right," Gene said.
"You still have a half lap on the leader," Ty noted.
The fourth caution was on lap 105 for Max Papis' #13, which had a left front flat and had hit the wall. Robby Gordon received the free pass.
"My car is terrible still, no doubt. It needs to be loosened up and it needs to be tightened up, both. I don't want to get too low on the right rear and listen to that shit, so maybe wedge out and track bar or take some wedge out and leave the track bar alone."
Gene said they'd take air out and would take out a round of wedge. The air pressure adjustment had helped the #00.
Ty warned about brake parts and asked if they wanted to stay out and lead a lap. Mikey said they needed to think about top 35 points.
"The 7 stayed out. I knew he would. Come on, come on," Ty said.
Mikey thought the #7 was a lap down. Gene told him, if he stayed out, he would lead a lap.
"M Dub, you probably know more than the rest of us, so you're fine. We're going to stay out another lap."
"I just... I know. I know I know I know."
"By the way, Ty, we definitely don't start behind the lucky dog next time, all right?" Gene asked.
Ty told Mikey to come around. "They still have a lot of cleaning up to do."
"One round out of the left rear, out of the left rear. I mean, we have plenty of time, so we'll check everything over, make sure everything's right. We led this lap, right?"
"Yup."
Mikey said they needed to think about the top 35. "We need to make sure we protect our car, so that's fine. We'll make our adjustments, and we'll get on it. The car was a lot better just then. It's just still too tight, wasn't letting me do what I wanted to do." He made the same adjustment suggestions.
Gene said they'd go with a round out as they already did the air pressure adjustment. Then he said one in the left rear, one and a half in the right rear.
Mikey said he liked that, then said one of his gauges was broken.
Ty and Gene guided the #55 to the box.
"Got all your adjustments?" Gene asked the crew. "Go go go. 4200."
"4200 to the line," Ty added.
"Got all your adjustments, guys?" Gene asked again.
"All right, buddy, you're going to be coming around to the green. The 88 also pitted twice, so we'll do whatever he doesn't do."
"The lucky dog car is supposed to still start behind us."
"We ought to have a meeting so that we're all on the same page."
"That's what NASCAR's paper says. I read it twice."
Ty called the restart on lap 109. Kyle Busch led, Mikey was 30th, David 19th, and Marcos 25th. Ty cleared Mikey behind Dale Earnhardt Jr's #88.
"Inside, still inside. Right on your corner, on the inside. Clear high right there."
Lap 110 saw Denny Hamlin take the lead. Mikey was 31st; Earnhardt Jr had passed.
"Still there on your corner. Still there. Clear outside. The 7's still there. Still clear, still clear. Back inside, the 7. Inside. One back to the 99, several laps down. Still out there."
On lap 112, Mikey was 32nd. Robby Gordon had gotten around him.
"Still out there, still there."
"I'm just so loose. I need a different adjustment, a different combo."
"Still clear if you need it, clear behind the 99. 99's inside, all by himself. Clear behind him."
"33.40."
"Slow one all the way to the bottom, all the way to the bottom. 33's off the pace on the bottom. Clear of him, clear two back."
Lap 117 saw Bowyer go to pit road with a loose wheel. Mikey was now 31st. David was 19th and Marcos 21st.
"33.90."
"Still outside. Still there. Clear five back. Still outside, still there. Still on your corner. Half back, half back. You're clear half back. Now he's coming inside."
Mikey said something was about two seconds too late.
"I was going to see if he had a run or not. I didn't want to jam you up if he got a run," Ty replied. Mikey had been talking about something Ty had said.
"I'm just, I'm just. I can't drive it. I can't even come close to touching the gas."
"Coming back, the 08. Terry's on the high side."
"It's just ridiculous."
"All the way inside. One back. Still right there, getting into the corner. Still there."
"Man, this is embarrassing."
"Three-wide. Two-wide. All clear."
"34.40."
"Back inside. All clear. Nice job, man."
On lap 128, Jimmie Johnson took the lead. Mikey was 30th, having passed Jeff Burton. David was 17th, and Marcos was 19th.
"34.30.
"34.20."
"Still there. Clear."
The fifth caution was on lap 131 for debris. Jeff Burton pit with a vibration. Elliott Sadler received the free pass.
"Caution's out, caution's out for debris. By the way, I know it was the 08. He was on pit road for a while."
Mikey said that would have been good to know. "It's really loose, it's really loose. And we need to be smarter than that didn't work, that didn't work."
Gene wanted everything back the way it was and a half pound out of the front tires.
"Take a pound."
"Take that half a round out of the right rear and put a round in the left rear. Half a pound across the fronts, Paul. Say that again, Michael."
He said take a pound out, but if half was good, it was okay.
Gene went with the full pound out. Ty warned Mikey to go around the #82, and the #55 went to pit road.
"Go go go. All the way out, all the way. Halfway."
Ty cleared Mikey of another car.
"Good job, guys." He said they needed to work on the front to turn and to keep the back in the track.
Meanwhile, Jeff Gordon was the first one off pit road.
"I know you won't give up. I appreciate you coming up with a plan and just going with it. I don't know what's going on. Real sensitive, obviously. I got the front back, but in doing so, it got the back on me."
Gene said that's what he'd said. They wanted to get the back in the race track and get the front end turning.
"10-4. That's a good idea. Have y'all been asking the 00 what's been fixing them up?"
"We're trying to keep abreast of that."
Mikey said everyone was the same junk and just as crappy as everyone else. He just needed a little jump.
"That's the problem. We were really good."
Jeff Gordon led the restart on lap 136. Mikey was 26th, David 17th, and Marcos 22nd. Hamlin immediately took the lead.
"All right, pace car's off. Be ready. Green. Green green green."
Mikey said something about his tires.
"Still inside. Clear there, clear two back. Half back. 98's going to look on the bottom. Inside. Still there inside. The 26 has a run on the bottom. Inside, inside. He's got two of them with him. It's going to be clear right there, clear two back."
"That's worse, that's the worst I've ever felt one," Mikey complained.
By lap 138, Mikey was 30th. One lap later, Jeff Gordon was back in the lead.
"You're clear up, two back to the 96. He has a run on you. Half back. Outside, outside. Clear up behind him, two back. One back, outside. The 99. Still up top, the 99. It'll be clear behind him, one back."
"I mean, really loose. One to ten, it's a twenty," Mikey complained.
"10-4."
"Still outside. Clear, clear two back. Still two back. Still clear two back. Clear half back, half back. Got a run. Clear behind the 26. Still up top. Still there, still there."
On lap 143, Mikey was 29th. He had passed McMurray. Within the next two laps, McMurray got back around him.
"33.80. Lap times are a lot better this run."
"I don't see how."
"Clear four back. Leader now. Still down there on your corner. Still down there, the 82."
"Good job, bud."
"Clear. M Dub, you rub the wall at all, these past few laps?" Ty asked.
"Negative."
"I haven't seen it. Clear there two back still."
"I haven't rubbed the wall. Why?"
On lap 149, Mikey was 29th, having passed Speed. David was 14th, and Marcos was 18th.
"Still outside, on the bottom. Still outside. Still outside on your corner. Still there, still there. Clear there two back. Clear there, clear there. All clear."
"Good job, buddy. When you get by the 26, you'll get some clean air," Gene praised.
Mikey was 28th on lap 152; he had passed AJ Almendinger. David was 11th, Marcos 20th.
"34 flat."
"82's up there, half back. Right there at your door, 82."
Lap 155 saw Speed get back around the #55. Mikey was now 29th.
"We're twenty-one laps on this run, and we're four-tenths faster than we were the last run," Gene noted.
"Clear now. You're still clear by one, still clear by one. He's got a big run up top. Back inside. Still clear up behind him, ten back. Leader now. 24."
"I'm about as loose as I've ever been in my entire life. 10-4," Mikey complained.
"10-4. Hang onto it until we can get a caution here."
"If I don't pit, I'm going to wreck. I need to pit soon. How long?"
"About twenty laps, bud."
By lap 169, Kevin Harvick was in the lead. Mikey was 29th, David 7th, and Marcos 22nd.
Mikey said something about lap times.
"34.80."
"I know it might just seem like I'm driving around, but..."
"It may just seem like we're skipping around," Gene replied.
"Well, for people who are working, you could give me lap times."
Ty told Mikey where cars were.
"34.78.
"35.03."
On lap 171, Mikey was 30th. Elliott Sadler had passed.
"34.87."
"29's five back, five back. 29's right there. Inside, inside."
"34.90."
On lap 174, Mikey lost the lead lap.
"Can I pit quick?" Mikey asked.
"Let's run about five more laps, bud," Gene replied.
"Seven back to the 83. Seven back. Still clear four back. The 83 is still working the high side, coming through pretty hard. He's out there, outside."
"34.75. We'll run us about four more laps."
"Yeah, yeah. Just tell me when to pit."
"34.95. Let's pit next time."
"Pitting this time, pitting this time. 44's four back. Fresh tires. Wave him back. Keep coming, keep coming. You're coming this time. 4200 at the cone, 4200."
"Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Put it in gear," Gene directed as Mikey stoped on lap 183. "Go go go. All the way out, bud."
"42, 4200 to the line. 42. All right, let's dig hard, let's dig hard. Below the yellow line until Turn 2. Clear right there, clear right there. All you want. All we can get here. All clear."
Others were making stops. Still there. Clear."
Mikey was 36th on lap 185 and two laps down.
"33 flat."
"Clear. Still there. Still there on your corner. Still there. Clear. Stay up, stay up, stay up. Clear right there. Clear all clear."
"33.13. How's the race car right there?" Gene asked.
"Bad."
"Clear there, whatever you need. Still there inside. You've got the 1 car, two back. Working fresh tires, he's half back, inside. He's all by himself."
"33.13. Tell me how the car is again."
"It still won't turn, and it's loose as shit. It backs in the corner, pushes in the centre."
David Ragan received a penalty for speeding on pit road.
"33.03. Good lap times right there."
"One looking on the bottom. Inside, inside. The 82. 7's looking low."
When Harvick pit, Brian Vickers took the lead on lap 190. Mikey was 27th, David 4th, and Marcos 26th.
"33.70.
"33.60."
By lap 193, Harvick was back in the lead. Mikey was 27th, David 5th, and Marcos 25th.
"19 looking low. Clear there, fifteen back. Three back, three back to the 11. Looking inside. He's all by himself."
Mikey was 28th by lap 195. David was 6th, Marcos 25th.
"33.90.
"33.70."
"Two back to the 83 and the 88. Still clear right now. 83's going to have a big run up top. Outside, outside. The 88 is going to be out there in Turn 1. Outside, outside. Clear up right there. Five back, 9 and 00. Looking outside, outside. Both of them outside. Clear behind the double not."
"Go David go. That's cool," Mikey said.
"He's like the fastest car on the track before the caution, I mean that last pit stop."
The sixth caution came out on lap 201 when Johnson spun.
"Caution's out, caution's out," Ty said.
Mikey said the car was so tight in the middle, he was loose off, but it probably would stay him more. "Still needs to turn in the middle and not be so frickin' loose off. Might try wavearound." He said the car was more manageable too.
Ty agreed with the wave-around.
"You've done a good job hanging onto it. The three time champion spun with how loose he was."
Mikey said Johnson still was going faster and had more skill.
Gene wanted to pit under yellow.
"But we ain't fixed it yet, Gene. But I would vote for a wavearound."
"I understand, but we ought to keep working on it, instead of giving up."
"Well we ain't giving up, but I'll go with whatever you think."
"We're going to get our ass kissed if we stay out."
Mikey said he didn't need to agree and that he'd do whatever Gene said. Gene insisted on pitting. He said to leave the back of the car alone.
The #55 pit with lapped traffic under yellow.
"Go go go. Halfway, bud, halfway. All the way."
"4200."
"I agree, Gene. Good call. We were already losing a second a lap to what we ran, so that's cool."
"I'm telling you, that would have been disasterous. The caution may have come out if it didn't happen in half a lap. Otherwise, we would have been screwed." He said they'd be mad if caution came out in half a lap.
"I ain't going to get mad. We just made our bed. Now we've got to get in that baby and lay."
"Make sure you have all your blowers on now, Michael."
"It's a notorious track for not being able to see, so I don't know why."
Gene said again to keep all the blowers on.
"I have been. The car drives better when they're all on, worse when they're all off. The best thing to do is to put them on and leave them on, I think."
"10-4."
"We're going to line up behind that 33," Ty said. He noted who were in line for the lucky dog, and Gene added some.
Hamlin led the lap 206 restart. Mikey was 28th and one lap down, David 10th, and Marcos 31st.
"Be ready. Pace car's off. Green green green. Still outside, still outside. Clear there, clear clear. Two back. Clear four back. Still clear, clear. Two back. Looking outside, outside and inside. Clear up behind the 1. Looking inside. 77's going to have a run on the bottom, half back. 16's inside on your bumper. Clear two back, two back."
"I'm just spinning my tires, man. I'm so fucking loose," Mikey complained.
Mikey was 31st by lap 211. David was 10th, and Marcos was 28th. Kasey Kahne had taken the lead on lap 208.
"Outside, 33. Clear the 33, all clear. Clear. Looking low, inside. Looking on the bottom. Got the 99 down there with him."
Mikey was 30th on lap 214.
"33 on the bottom. Clear four back."
"33.80."
"I am so loose," Mikey said.
"33.80."
Mikey was 31st on lap 217.
"You've just made it as bad as it's ever been, ever. It's like it's got four..." His radio faded out.
"34.08."
"It was better on those old tires."
"33.70."
"34.18.
"33.85.
"You may not like it, bud, but you're faster than everyone in front of you. 33.90.
"34 flat.
"34.20."
"Two back to that 21. Still outside still outside still outside. Clear three back behind you. Clear there, clear two back. Still clear, still clear."
"33.90."
"Still down there. Clear now, clear."
"Good job, bud," Gene praised. "34.14. You're faster than a whole bunch of guys in front of you."
"Inside, inside. All the way down there. 33."
"34.57."
"Right there on your bumper. 21 half back."
"34.40.
"34.30.
"33.60.
"33.60."
"21"s going to have a run. Looking low," Ty warned.
"34.60."
"Inside. 26 is all by himself. Leader is entering 3."
"35.30."
Lap 238 saw Mikey drop to 32nd when McMurray passed.
"34.90."
"Three back, four back to the 29. Inside, all by himself."
"34.70."
"Really bad," Mikey said.
"Yeah, 10-4. 34.80."
Mikey lost a second lap on lap 241. David was 15th, Marcos 27th.
"34.60.
"34.90.
"35 flat."
"Four back to the 42, the second fastest car on the track right now. Spin in Turn 4. Come through 4. Car's off the track, car's off the track."
"Sorry, y'all. I'm pretty good, I thought. The front end won't turn, and the back end is just screaming loose. It's so, so out of control."
"10-4. Sorry we haven't been able to fix it. We'll try one more time here." After Mikey suggested things, Gene said they'd go down a pound on the left sides.
Lap 247 saw the eighth caution. Kurt Busch had spun in Turn 4 and had hit Reed Sorenson.
"I mean, it feels like all the tires are flat. Hell, I don't know. Maybe we should put air in all four." Mikey said the car was "so frickin loose."
"10-4. The thing that I don't get is that it's so loose, but the front end won't turn either."
"I get it." Mikey said both ends were working against each other. "It's just bad. The front end won't turn, but I back into the turn." He said he busted his ass on exit. He said nobody knows how to fix it and that it's messed up.
Gene said something about the 00.
Mikey said he just wanted to work on his car and not hear about the #48 being loose and all that. He also asked for a tear-off.
"Man, I'm sorry. I never seen you on pit road."
"I know."
"First gear."
The #55 was in the box.
"Halfway, halfway."
"All the way up."
"Yeah, sorry about you coming in there. I didn't see you."
Brian Vickers stayed on pit road for an extended period of time with an issue, while Johnson was getting an axel changed in the garage.
Mikey said he would have done some major changes considering how bad the car was.
"We have the trackbar all the way down."
"Rubbers in, rubbers out. It's time, it's past time to work on it. I'm just going to keep getting lapped."
Gene reviewed the adjustments they'd made this time and last.
"10-4. I don't know."
"I mean, I'm with you, dude, but the problem is, the run before, you said it was manageable, so we took a half a pound out of both tires."
Mikey said he wasn't surprised that's all he did. "That's what I'm saying. You've got to do something. I mean, damn. Half a pound isn't enough for me when I'm out of control."
"Okay, 10-4."
He suggested moving rubbers around. "Make a swing at it for me so I can at leaast say you did something for me. It's just terrible."
"All right, is it one to go?" Gene asked.
Ty said it was.
Kasey Kahne led the restart with 73 laps to go. Mikey was two laps down in 29th, David 13th, and Marcos 27th.
"All right, pace car's off. Be ready. Green green green. Everybody's rolling, everybody's rolling. Still inside. Still clear. Inside, inside. A bunch of them. Three-wide, three-wide. Three-wide again, three-wide again. Half back to the 34."
"Ty, can you see what's happening to me?"
"I can, man. I can. Pretty disgusting. Clear three back."
"I mean, I can't even get it half gas."
On lap 255, Mikey was back to 33rd.
"I mean, I've been saying the same thing, and we're adjusting with a half pound of air, then I'm not expecting much help."
"We made more adjustments than a half pound of air. 33.66."
"Damn."
"33 flat."
"Still outside, still outside. 19's still outside. 6 cars back, 19 looking up top still. Clear up top if you want it. Clear up top."
Mikey was 32nd on lap 258.
"Clear to the middle. Clear low. Still outside. Clear the 26. Still outside. Clear up clear up, clear up by two."
"33.60."
Mikey was 30th on lap 262. David was 7th, Marcos 25th.
"Working the high side, the 6. He's still one back, two back. Got one looking inside, inside."
"33.50.
"33.70.
"33.70."
The ninth caution was with 57 laps to go when Joey Logano spun and hit the wall with a flat.
"33.80."
"Still there," Ty warned. "Spin in Turn 4, spin in Turn 4. Lot of smoke. Back it down. He's on the top side."
"All right, did that get any better at all?" Gene asked.
"No. No. For a long time," Mikey replied.
"10-4. I just wanted to know if it were any different. It's going to be a little bit of a long pit stop here."
"Good! As long as I don't bust my ass out here, every lap."
"I know, man. We're trying. All right, pit road's open this time for the leaders. Next time."
"I'm sorry, man. I just, I'm doing everything I can. I know how to drive this track. It's my favourite. Meanwhile, Paul Menard looks like he can drive, and I know better than that."
"10-4. We just missed it tonight. Is the 07 in front of us on the race track there?"
"Yes."
"We're going to have to come around him."
"All right, here we come. 4200."
"Stop him a little bit long. All the way. 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Go go go. Did you get all them adjustments? You got it? Good job, guys."
Mikey asked if they could consider a wavearound when there weren't many laps.
"We just gotta try to get our car better."
"We also gotta consider something to get us back in the game." Mikey said. "I don't know. It makes sense to me, but maybe it doesn't."
"So Gene, everyone can make it from here?" Ty asked.
"Everyone should be able to make it from here."
"Cool."
Gene reviewed adjustments, including packer and rubbers.
"Well there goes some wavearounds, so we'll see."
"10-4. That 48 is back there. He's been in the garage for 20 laps or something. He broke an axel. I'm sure if he wants to be fast and bust on up there, he will."
Kahne led the lap 274 restart. Mikey was 34th and two laps down, David 6th, and Marcos lapped in 20th.
"All right, be ready. Pace car's coming off. Ready? Green green green. Clear all clear, whatever you need. One back to the 14. Two back to the 14. Half back, 14 looking outside."
Coming to the stripe with 50 to go, Juan Pablo Montoya took the lead. He had been a frontrunner all night.
"32.40.
"32.70."
By lap 277, David was 4th. Meanwhile, Mikey picked up 33rd from McMurray.
"Clear the 26. Clear. 44's still down there, still there. Still down there, still inside. Still on your quarter, still there. Still on your quarter. Still there. Clear of him, all clear. Clear." He said the #99 was coming, working the bottom. "Still there, 33, right on your quarter."
On lap 281, Mikey was 32nd.
"Half back to the 26. He's got a run on the bottom."
Mikey reviewed the spring and packer adjustments. "And it's hitting the ground so hard, I can't see straight."
With 43 laps to go, David picked up 3rd from Hamlin.
"We did that in practice, and that's what it did," Mikey added.
"33.40."
On lap 285, Mikey was 33rd after McMurray had passed.
"33.50."
"It's like in practice, it drives a lot better with the right rear spring in it, if it's not hitting the ground."
"33.70."
"99's got a run on the bottom."
"33.80."
"Inside, inside. All by himself."
"34 flat."
"Looking inside, that 34. Still there. 48's right there with him. Clear the 34. Clear two back the 48 on the high side. Outside outside outside. Still got another one on the bottom. Try to ride it out, brother."
"So sick, man. Rubber in the right rear. Oh."
"35.01."
On lap 291, Mikey was 34th. John Andretti had passed. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch scraped the wall.
"34.15.
"34.29.
"34.40.
"34.50."
On lap 297, Harvick passed David, who was now 4th. Mikey was 34th, Marcos 20th.
"34.20."
"28 more to go. 28."
"34.50."
"Clear two back."
"34.50."
"20's inside, all the way at the bottom. Clear by one."
On lap 301, Mikey was 33rd. Four laps later, he picked up another spot.
"34.20."
With 21 laps to go, Harvick took the lead from Montoya.
"20 more to go when we get around here, bud," Ty said. "The leader's the 29, at the line now."
With 20 laps to go, Harvick was all over Mikey's rear fender. Mikey went a third lap down.
"Three back to the 29, three back. He's working the extreme bottom. Clear ten back behind him."
"34.70."
David Ragan wobbled and was completely sideways but saved the car.
"Five back to the 42. He's been working the extreme high side. Three back. Outside, outside. Clear behind him."
The tenth caution was with 16 laps to go when Bowyer spun through the grass.
"Spin in front of us here. Spin in front of us. Stay up, stay up."
"How long did it take before it started hitting the ground there?"
"A long time. Depending on where I run. Chances are, they're going to pit. Can we get lapped in ten to fifteen laps?"
"We should be okay."
"The 47 was running a lot better, and he didn't get lapped when he stayed out," Ty said.
"I don't know what we gain or lose, but we definitely pit when we come around. If there's a caution or something, that'll help us out."
"10-4. That's what we're going to do. Nothing to lose."
Mikey said he appreciated what Gene was doing. "We had a good yesterday and a bad today." He went on to say the car pushed worse and was tighter off. He said he didn't know why they pulled a packer. "We really needed to have bigger right rear springs and work around that."
"We thought we had the front end off the ground so we could pull a packer and get away with it."
"Yeah, we didn't. It was just really bad."
"Yeah, 10-4."
The leaders pit under yellow. Harvick came off in the lead, and David was 3rd.
"See, this is when the wavearound is confusing, because Marcos just got waved around again, and he's on two tires."
They talked about whether the caution helped Marcos, who had pit under green.
"How much do we go around here after this?" Gene asked. "All right, tally ho."
"All right, back it down a little bit. Back it down. There's the field. The 48 is dropping to the back."
Harvick led the restart with 11 laps to go. He spun his tires, causing the field to bottle. David lost spots from his 3rd place restart spot. Mikey was 29th, and Marcos was 25th.
"They're looking on the bottom. Inside, inside. Outside, 77. Inside, a couple of them."
On lap 316, Mikey was 32nd. David was 4th, and Marcos was 25th. Kahne had moved into the lead.
"Inside, two of them. One looking on the bottom, 44. One back to the 19 up top. Working the high side, 19's outside outside. Clear behind him. Clear there three back."
"7 to go," Gene said. "19 is not a spot, bud."
"19 is not a spot. Outside, outside. 34 right up there in front of him is. Still out there, still there. It's going to be clear there, clear clear. Two back. Looking low. Still down there. Still there. Clear clear."
"34.38."
"Three to go. Three."
"We've got it so hard on the splitter, it's ridiculous," Mikey said
"Outside, he's still out there. Coming outside, outside. Two back to the 99 with him. One more, man. One more. One back to the 1 car. Coming outside. He's racing that 19. Clear there."
"Michael, sorry we didn't get the thing any better all day."
"Yeah, we didn't do very good. Shit. Where'd I finish?"
"32nd?"
"Yeah, I finished 31st at Bristol and didn't run the last six or eight laps. That was more fun. This was frickin painful. It was hitting the road so hard at the end I couldn't run. Everything was as bad as shit. It was sad, and I hate it."
Meanwhile, David finished 4th, and Marcos one lap down in 23rd.
This Saturday night is the Sprint Cup's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Coverage begins at 7:00pm ET on ABC. The Nationwide Series runs the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 the day before. Coverage begins at 7:00pm on ESPN2.
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© 2009 Kellyanne Lynch, in association with Cyber Speed Design. All rights reserved.
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