Live: Sylvania 300 Practice - 9/18/09
Michael Waltrip ranked 30th in practice today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in preparation for the Sprint Cup's Sylvania 300 on Sunday. He turned his best lap in his #55 Napa Auto Parts Camry in 29.207 seconds at 130.407 MPH and was 0.458 seconds behind session leader Juan Pablo Montoya. David Reutimann ranked 17th (131.465 28.972 -0.223), and Marcos Ambrose ranked 23rd (131.180 29.035 -0.286).
The #55 team performed a radio check at 11:53am ET.
"Just double check that killswitch for me," requested a crew member.
"It works," Mikey replied.
"10-4. Come on out."
"Got me all right there, Michael?" crew chief Gene Nead asked.
"I do."
"Track temp is 78," a crew member noted.
"You got us up there, Ty?" Gene asked.
After Gene and spotter Ty Norris confirmed that they could hear one another, Ty said, "Cool. Four more minutes."
Cars took to the track for first practice at 12:00pm.
"Race trim, right, Gene?" Ty asked.
"Race trim," Gene replied.
Ty said it would take time to get up to speed. Gene said it would take five or six laps. Meanwhile, the #55 was still sitting on pit road, waiting for cars on track to pit as only so many could run practice at a time.
"All right, this thing doesn't brake like a Ferrari," it sounded like Mikey said. "Okay, they're going to let us go, Ty?
Ty cleared Mikey onto the track at 12:03pm. "Three back. That 47's all by himself. Ten back behind him."
"30.32," Gene read off lap times. "29.98.
"29.86.
"29.83.
"29.97.
"29.95."
"It's... I can't load up the front tires," Mikey complained. He said he misses if he tries to roll off the centre and commented that he did not have enough front grip.
"10-4," Gene replied.
"It chatters if you try to do what you need to do. It chatters the front tires like it won't stick," Mikey continued. "It's fine on entry. It does just what I said." He said, if he went slow, the car would do what he wanted. "The front end just needs to stick better."
Gene called for a right rear spring adjustment, then wedge, the one they'd started with. "I'd say, time wise, we need a tenth and a half."
"Well, feel-wise, we need more than that," Mikey replied. He said he needed more pressure on the front tires. He said it turned great until he tried to load up the front. Then it will skate the front end, if he tries to go to it.
Gene told his driver they'd try the adjustment, but he thought it was the wrong direction.
Mikey said he didn't know why Gene is going in this direction but that he'd try it. He said they should listen to him. "I want to fly."
The #55 was back on track immediately at 12:12pm.
"30.22," Gene read off the lap time.
"Close one back, one back - 6 car," Ty warned.
"29.90."
Mikey wanted to leave the adjustment. He said it didn't hurt, but it didn't help either.
Gene asked if it helped getting in.
"It won't turn in the center, so that question isn't relevant." Mikey said he couldn't tell.
"On scales. Michael, you need to get out."
Mikey said the car was close. They just needed to fix what he said, and if they needed more information if he weren't explaining it well enough, they should ask more questions.
"No, what you said was perfect."
The #55 team put it on scales and changed the tires. They took on no fuel, instead putting weight on the deck. They talked about taking half a round of bite all the way round and one-eighthy cambre out of the right front. Gene talked about something across front, then said to take some out of right front. He told the crew to take fuel off the deck lid once they were finished.
"Coming to you, Ty," a crew member said at 12:27pm.
Ty warned Mikey about cars on track that were making a qualifying run, then cleared him. He let his driver know when Greg Biffle's #16 was passing.
"Now it doesn't have enough forward bite," Mikey commented. He also said something about the front wheel.
"30 flat," Gene read off the lap time.
"Now I can turn the wheel like I need to, and the back end's out of whack," Mikey complained. He said he can't go to the gas at all now or that he'd spin out.
The #55 went on scales.
"That was kind of a bummer there, but that's life," Mikey said.
Gene said at least they knew the direction they wanted to go in and that he wanted to make the front end turn. A crew member noted that they were going to qualifying trim.
"Yeah, let's hustle," Gene said.
Gene wanted a quarter in the shim in the right front camber. Then a crew member suggested one-fourth, and Gene went with it. They also made a right rear spring change.
After the team had finished the work, Gene requested, "Paul, see if the driver is in there."
"He is. I'll go get him," Paul replied.
"All right, straight back. Cut it," a crew member guided. "Oh good right there. Coming to you, Ty. Qualifying trim."
"10-4," Ty replied, and he said what cars were coming.
"And then me after that?" Mikey asked.
Ty said they did have room and cleared him on track at 12:57pm.
"29.90," Gene read off. "29.42. Water temperatures?"
"240," Mikey replied.
"29.35." Gene said they needed to fire it off better.
"No, you need to learn how to tighten it up a little bit," Mikey tated. "I'll fire it off if you tighten it up. It's loose."
Gene asked if it were everywhere.
Mikey said he had a problem with the centre and with getting off the turns. "Didn't turn great. Then it was not enough forward bite mainly." He said he was loose as soon as he got into the gas.
Gene said everything will tighten it up in the middle a bit.
"Yeah, I need more than that," Mikey replied. He asked for right shock adjustments.
Mikey was back in at 1:02pm. Gene said there was something wrong with the right front, and he asked his driver if he put on the brake when he came in. He called for a two degree shim adjustment in the right rear pinion. Mikey said they might consider working on air too.
"Pull the shims out of the right, put those in," Gene said. "Paul, just the right."
"You hear him on that, Paul?" a crew emember asked.
Gene told Paul he didn't want to run something, but I didn't catch what he said.
"Hey, Gene, you know what they had in Italy that was really cool?" Mikey asked.
"What's that, bud?"
"Traction control." Mikey said it was really cool.
"It used to help some people over here before too."
"It's not legal over here, so nobody uses it. No one ever has."
The #55 was back on track at 1:11pm. Ty told Mikey that there were five or six cars at the line, so he'd have to wait. "One in Turn 4, the 9." Ty cleared him behind Kasey Kahne's #9 at 1:12pm.
"29.23," Gene read off lap times. "29.26. Water temp?"
"240. It just seemed like maybe that air might have got passed," Mikey said. He noted that the right front started to chatter, which is why he didn't speed up. He thought air would help.
"I don't know. We'll see," Gene replied. He suggested another adjustment. He asked if it just chattered the second lap.
"Yeah, mainly. I'd say that's a fair observation."
"Did it cut good?"
Mikey said it did, but he didn't push it, because he didn't want to get loose. He thought there was a little too much right front air.
Gene called for a tick of wedge in to tighten up the car in the centre and half a round in all four corners. He said they could use the other tires.
Mikey agreed that he wanted new ones and that he didn't care if they had a second set for happy hour tomorrow. "What does it take to be a top ten?" he asked.
"We need three tenths to get to the top ten, bud," Gene replied.
"Eight minutes, eight minutes," Ty noted.
"Coming to you, Ty," said a crew member.
Mikey was back at out 1:21pm, in line on pit road. Ty said the guys who were jumping on them were scuffing tires. Mikey was cleared on track at 1:23pm.
"29.25 and a 29.20," Gene said after the run.
"I don't have a good balance, Gene," Mikey complained. He said he was skating the nose in the centre of the turn and guarding it from loose off. "I can't get it to turn and want to take the gas."
"All right, I think we can fix you up," Gene assured his driver. He said they'd put the car on scales and would get ready for qualifying.
"That was about 245 at the line," Mikey said. "I'm struggling with the same thing I said the first lap on the track." Mikey noted the car had improved, but they'd never fixed how the right front got in. He said they've just improved and have thrown on tires.
Practice ended at 1:30pm. Stay tuned for qualifying coverage tomorrow on mikeypower.com.
|
© 2009 Kellyanne Lynch, in association with Cyber Speed Design. All rights reserved.
|
