NASCAR Banking 500 - 10/17/09
The #55 Napa team suffered a pit road penalty early in the NASCAR Banking 500, tonight's Sprint Cup race at Lowes Motor Speedway. Michael Waltrip took advantage of the wavearound a couple times, gaining back one lost lap. He finished three laps down in 32nd. David Reutimann came home 15th, despite being ill. He'd had Dave Blaney on stand-by, but Blaney never raced David's #00 Aaron's Dream Machine. Marcos Ambrose finished one lap down in 22nd.
Mikey started 33rd tonight. Marcos rolled off 13th, David 21st.
"Gene, you got a pretty clear copy tonight?" spotter Ty Norris came on the #55 frequency at 7:32pm ET. After a two minute pause, he added, "Anybody got a copy?"
"Loud and clear, Ty," a crew member replied.
"I was starting to get worried there. Thanks."
Brian France, Teresa Earnhardt, Richard Petty, and Junior Johnson gave the call to start engines just after that.
"Got a copy?" a crew member said.
"Hey, uh, Ty, do you have your ears on up there?" crew chief Gene Nead.
"All right, M-Dub, do you have a copy?" Ty asked.
"Clear," Mikey replied.
"Michael, do you hear me, bud?"
"Yeah, I hear you both outstandingly."
"Okay," Gene said. "Ty, can you say something to Al? He can't hear us in the 47 pit."
Ty said he would. After a pause, he said, "All right, sounds like Al and the Aussie are all set."
"10-4."
Ty noted mist. "It's a heavy mist. It's not raining per say. It's coming from the west. We'll just keep an eye on it here."
"10-4. We're on it." Gene then addressed his driver. "Michael, our pit stall is at turn 3 of the quarter mile."
"Okay," Mikey replied.
"All right, they're going to let you go single file for a couple laps. They're going to have you run the high side, clear off any mist that might be on the track," Ty stated.
"Loud and clear, bud," Gene said after a pause. "We're going to do 4200 and second gear there, Ty."
"All right, we're going to run around the top here a couple laps, and then we'll get double file. Remind me then 4200."
"Is anyone holding the sign out there?"
"All right, bud. Ready to double up there."
"See your sign there, bud?" Gene asked.
"Yeah, roger," Mikey responded.
"All right, two to go when you come around here," Ty noted. Commentators noted that he was in the cold and wind.
"All right, Michael, It's going to be 4200 and second gear there," Gene said.
Mikey echoed this.
"Let's have a good night here."
"Yeah, roger. Keep it clean all night. 500 miles. That's about the same strategy as last week." Mikey commented on how it had worked well for them.
Gene acknowledged.
"Y'all did a great job last week. Hopefully we have it right there. I appreciate all the work. Everyone did well. Let's get us a good finish."
"All right, one to go when you come around here. One to go," Ty said. "You guys in the pits, stay stretched, stay warm."
"I know you can see this, but the 83 is behind us and the 88 is in front of us on pit road here. So it's snug," Gene said.
Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag at 7:49pm.
"All right, buddy. Be ready. You're going to be coming to the green this time. 334 laps. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green. Everybody's rolling. Clear whatever you need, clear whatever you need. Still one back."
Mark Martin led the first lap.
"Outside on your corner, outside on your corner. 29. Still outside, outside. Now outside, the 31. 88's on your corner, inside. Hold your line. Inside and out inside and out. Both sides. Still on the bottom. Clear there, clear there. Half back, half back. Two back, they're two by two. 19 looking outside, outside. All by himself. Clear behind you. Spin off of 2, spin off of 2. Watch, he's on the bottom, coming off of 2. Caution's out."
The first caution was on lap 4 for Sam Hornish Jr's spin. Mikey was 36th, Marcos 12th, and David 20th.
"I just, I don't know what the deal is. The car handles good. I'm happy with it right now, but I still get beat. Like that 19. I don't know how the hell he did that. I matted it, and he drove right on by me. So far, everything we've done is good. I've got a real good front end under me in the centre of the turns. I'm a little free off. I have to be a little tenative off the exit."
Gene said that's what it looked like.
"Yeah, I've got it wide open. I just, I don't know. I feel like it's hung out maybe. It's definitely not pushing. I was wide open, and I just saw him coming."
Gene said it might just be a momentum thing. "It might just be him being faster."
"Do you want to pit or not?"
"No, not at all."
"I never did notice my temperatures doing what the other boys say they're doing. 220, 230."
"10-4. Do you have your fan on?"
"Yes."
Gene suggested using the fan on the right rear if he got loose.
"All right, buddy. One to go, one to go," Ty said. "Looks like you'll be on the inside, behind the 43. All those guys who pitted got fuel, no tires."
Martin chose the outside line as he led the lap 7 restart. Mikey was 35th.
"All right, be ready. Pace car's coming off. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Still outside, the 98. Clear one back, clear one back. Either side."
Johnson shot into the lead for lap 8.
"Clear two back 08. Still clear two back."
"32 flat."
Lap 10 saw Hornish Jr spin his car again, drawing the second caution. Mikey was 36th. Marcos and David were 14th and 18th.
"Keep rolling, keep rolling. Spin behind you. Keep rolling. No caution yet. Still there on the outside. All right, caution's out, caution's out. He'll be going, but there'll be a little smoke."
"That looks a whole lot better on top there, bud," Gene commented. "Let's get ready here, guys. We might get two tires."
"I'd just as soon get gas, because it's pretty good right now," Mikey replied.
Gene went with that call.
Ty said to talk to the other guys to see if they were pitting.
"All right. Be quiet there for a minute, Ty. We'll just do fuel only, guys."
"Ten away."
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Go, go go. All the way, all the way out, bud."
"42, 42."
"Paul, make sure the next set," it sounded like Gene said.
Meanwhile, Hornish Jr's #77 was still on pit road for repairs.
"All right, you're going to be on one to go, one to go."
"Okay, bud, like I said, you get a little free, turn that right rear blower on. You get a little tight, turn on that left front blower," Gene advised.
Johnson led the restart on lap 14. Mikey was 33rd.
"All right, bud, you'll be coming back around to the green. You've got the 19 in your mirror, the 44 to your inside. Pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Still outside on your corner, 44 still outside. Still outside, still on the high side. 08 still on your quarter. Still on your quarter, got the 88 up there with him. 88's still out there. The 08's gone, but the 88's still out there. Clear there, clear there. Clear one back. Clear two back. 88's working the high side. Clear two back. Still out there, still there. Clear to half back to the 88."
Gene gave times.
"No times right now. No times right now, brother. We're in a bit of traffic. Still there. Great corner, one back. Clear one back, clear one back. He's got a big run on the bottom. Inside, inside. Clear the 29, half back to the 19. Inside on your corner, the 29. Still down there at your door, still there. He's going to take a look outside. Clear high, clear high. Still down there. Clear. Nice job! Two back. Three back."
On lap 20, Mikey was 32nd, having passed Paul Menard. Marcos was 15th, David 17th.
"One back to the 19 with a run. Clear half back to the 43, top side. Inside inside, he's there. Inside. Inside inside. Clear half back, 19."
Lap 23 saw David pass Marcos. They were 18th and 19th. Mikey was now 35th.
"Inside to your door, the 19. Still there inside. The 98's looking. Clear there, half back. Still clear up, still clear up. One back. Inside on you there. On your door. Inside. Still there. Both of you two back to the 88. Clear there half back, 88 and 21. Looking low. Inside inside."
Mikey was 36th on lap 26. David and Marcos were 16th and 18th.
"Inside inside. 88. Inside. At your quarter. Still there at your quarter. Cleared him, cleared him. Big run on the bottom. Clear there one back."
On lap 30, Mikey was 37th. Dale Earnhardt Jr had passed.
"On the bottom, 21 inside. Got him clear by half. All the way to your door. There by himself. Clear two back."
Mikey was 38th on lap 31; Bill Elliott in the #21 had passed.
"What's happening with our car now, bud?" Gene asked.
"It's backing into the turn a little bit and plowing off now," Mikey replied. "Backing in is the worst thing at the moment."
"10-4."
"When I run low, it backs in, and it's a little free off."
"10-4."
"When I try to run high, it just loses the front."
The third caution was on lap 35.
"This 99 has been backing up pretty quick. He's on the bottom," Ty warned. "Still down there. Still there. Clear there, clear. Caution's out for rain, cautin's out for rain."
"All right, we're going to have to pit here. We'll work on the loose here. It was about a tenth quicker on the bottom."
"I definitely can't stand any right front air. I'm bordering on chattering the front tires when I try to roll the centre." Mikey said no right front air and a minor adjustment.
Gene called for a half a round of wedge out.
"Want to stay out for five points, just for safety?" Mikey asked.
Gene went with this. Ty said he'd let him know if he were the only one there."
"Paul, just take a tick out of the right front if we have time."
"We'll have to stay out another lap. It's raining pretty good now. We'll stay out for a little while and see what they do. You know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah, 10-4. It'll be half a round down on the track bar and a quarter of a round of wedge out." Gene said they'd stay out for a little while.
"Yeah, we've got a great sponsor in Napa. We can't get them a win tonight, but we'll get them some TV time," Mikey also mentioned his special paint scheme. "They've been so good to us that it almost makes me cry, but not quite."
"Well, right now would be a bad time to cry, because your shield would fog up."
"Yeah, I wasn't going to cry. I'm just happy. I'm smiling."
"They want to stagger the cars, so you do whatever you want to do," Ty said. "If it started pouring right now, and they make it wait until tomorrow, you'll be leading for a long time."
"Yeah, it would be the longest I've led in a while. I used to lead a lot. I've led more than most of these people have. You know. Probably. I've won more Daytona 500s than most of them have."
"10-4," Gene said. He told his driver they'd lead later.
"I like what you're thinking." Mikey said he thought he had something for them, but the car was having problems no matter where he ran. If he kept up the momentum, it had too much load.
"If we're pretty decent right there, we'll ride around and figure this out, because I'd like to go down a little bit on right front air."
"Yeah, I don't think that's a bad thing." Mikey said the car was better when he slowed down and got the load out of the front. "So use that information. I think it's about done raining."
"Yeah, be ready, be ready. They're talking about one to go. Let's pit this time so we don't get hung up. Let's pull a sixteenth out of the right front."
"They're not going to give one to go right now."
Gene still wanted to pit. He said he wanted the orange one on the bump stop. Mikey gave up the lead to pit under yellow, and Terry Labonte took the top spot.
"Just one car coming to your outside here," Ty warned after the #55 left pit road. "There you go. All right, one to go, one to go. 25 got busted for being too fast exitting pit road. He'll be dropping back and joining you back there." Ty said the 88 and 21 would be back there too."
"Marcus didn't have his best stop of the year."
"Who's that?"
"47."
"No, he dropped off a few spots. Pace car's off."
Matt Kenseth led the restart on lap 43; however, Johnson immediately took the top spot. Mikey was 38th, David 15th, Marcos 19th.
"Ready? Green green green. 99's still on your quarter. Inside, still there. Inside. 99's still there on your quarter. Clear there one back, one back. 21. 21's going to be there. Sitll out there on your corner, still there. Clear there, one back, two back."
Mikey was 35th on lap 44. Kenseth was back in the lead.
"Clear one back to the 08 and 25. Clear there. 25's right on your bumper, on the bottom. He's inside, all by himself."
On lap 46, Mikey was 37th. David and Marcos were 16th and 21st.
"All right, clear three back. 21's still outside. Still there, still there. Still out there, still outside. Clear two back."
Mikey was 38th on lap 49. His teammates were 15th and 21st.
"Still out there. Still there. Still there. Still one back 08. Looking outside outside. Back to clear. Still clear about two back. Six back, no pressure. Still out there, still on your quarter, still on your quarter. Still there. Might get us a break. Five back."
"30.50," Gene read off the lap time.
Lap 52 saw Johnson move back into the lead.
"30.65, guys. 70's and 80's in front, 70's and 80's behind.
"30.80.
"30.80.
"30.90.
"30.80. There's a couple guys running right against the fence in 3 and 4, bud. You'll have to go about half a groove higher than that.
"30.65. Good lap.
"30.90."
"Really starting to lose the right front, kind of like it did at Dover," Mikey reported on lap 67.
"Make sure you have the right front blower on, bud," Gene replied.
"I've got the right front blower on. 10-4."
"Clear out the back, whatever you need," Ty said.
Lap 71 saw Denny Hamlin take the lead.
"30.86. Good lap," Gene praised.
"Still down there. Clear, clear. Two back."
On lap 73, Mikey picked up 37th from Bobby Labonte.
"The 11's the leader. He's at the line... now."
"31 flat."
"Just really stiff front end, Gene," Mikey reported on lap 76.
"10-4, bud. 30.97.
"31 flat."
"All right, you're going to be three back to the 77. He's going to have fresher tires. He came out of the garage a little while ago," Ty noted. Hornish Jr's #77 was 25 laps down.
"Right front."
"Inside, the 77, all by himself. Way up there is where the 11's running. He's four cars behind you."
"31 flat. The leader run a 31.15.
"30.70.
"30.90."
"Still out there. Still there. Clear, clear clear. There you go. Clear one back. Keep doing what you're doing. You're getting away from him a little bit."
"30.70. Leader ran a 30.80."
"Still out there. Still there, still there. On your quarter. Still there. Clear clear, clear clear. One back. two back. All right, buddy, work that high line. It's working well for you."
"30.90.
"30.80. Leader run a 30.90."
On lap 87, Mikey was 36th, having passed David Gilliland.
"30.75, same as the leader."
"Clear."
Meanwhile, Matt Kenseth pit. Others were on pit road.
"Nice job. Still five back, six back to the 11. Still down there. Still there."
"Pit this time if you can."
Gene and Ty guided Mikey to his box.
"Great job getting on, man," Ty praised.
"Why didn't you wait a lap?" Mikey asked. "Why didn't you fucking wait a lap?" He said other things that got cut off, and he was yelling.
"Get your tires, guy. Get your tire."
"Get that tire!" Gene yelled.
"42, 42."
"All you've got to do is..." Mikey kept fading out.
"Come around, come around," Ty said. "Clear there. 47 looking outside outside. Clear there. Michael, come back around for the pass through, come back around for the pass through. 4200."
"What for?" Mikey asked.
"Don't slide your tires, don't slide your tires. All the way through."
"What was that for?" Gene asked.
"For your tire, Gene."
"That's just great. Great job, y'all. Great job. Great call," Mikey said.
"4200 at the cone. All right, hustle on out," Ty said. "You've got three coming to your outside there. You've got the 83 and the 14 I think it is. Clear."
Matt Kenseth led lap 97. Mikey was two laps down in 40th due to the glitch on pit road. David was 10th, Marcos 22nd.
"30.17.
"30.12.
"30.30.
"30.40.
"30.50."
"Clear two back to the 31 and closing. Outside outside. Still out there, still out there. Clear behind him, three back. Inside inside, inside. Clear behind him, fifteen back. Leader the 11, just came off Turn 2. All clear, bud."
"31 flat.
"30.60."
"Still there."
"30.60.
"31.05."
"Leader now."
"I need some tape on the front," Mikey said.
"10-4."
"Got a spin off of 4. Caution's out, caution's out," Ty said.
The fourth
"We need to do the wave around this time."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's going to put a dent in it."
"Yeah, that will get us one lap down."
"Listen, he was fucking sitting there. All you needed to do was wave me off."
"I thought he was gone." Gene said whoever had been in Mikey's box had had a long stop.
"I said I don't want to fucking hear it anymore."
"10-4. Let's do the wavearound here."
Mikey said the car was plowing. "We didn't start with enough tape, among other things."
"10-4."
"And I don't appreciate you arguing about something you're wrong about. Just admit it. Own up to it. But I don't want to talk about it anymore. Forget it. I'm sorry."
Ty said hopefully the one lap down guys were doing the wavearound so Mikey would be in line for the free pass.
Gene said he'd look to see what other people were doing. "I think we need to do the wavearound, but I'm afraid of losing a lap and a half if we pit."
"Just do the wavearound. You got us in such a hole, we don't have a chance."
Gene agreed.
"Hey, Ty?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah, man," Ty replied.
"How's David?"
"He's doing pretty good. He drove up to 8th or 9th, and Shawn says he's okay. He's like 14th now or 15th. He took four. Some of those guys took two, so we're fine. We should be waving around here."
"How'd Marcos do?"
"All right, there will be a wreck here in the next twenty laps or so. All right, back of the field is in two."
Jeff Gordon took on two tires and led the restart on lap 125. Mikey was one lap down in 40th after taking the wavearound. David was 15th, Marcos 21st.
"All right, pace car's off. Ready? Ready? Green green green. Checking up in front of you, checking up in front of you. Keep coming, keep coming. Everybody's rolling. still outside. Clear there, clear. Car up against the wall. No caution yet. Keep coming. He's up against the wall. You'll see him. Clear clear."
Dale Earnhardt Jr had scuffed the wall and went to the pits.
"Keep rolling, no caution. 88's going to pit road. You've got one right on your outside, outside. Clear there. 77's been working the high side. Outside outside."
On lap 127, Mikey was 39th due to Earnhardt Jr's misfortune. David was 18th, Marcos 20th.
"Still out there. Still there. Clear clear. Slow one on the bottom, the 83. Clear clear."
Brian Vickers' #83 went to pit road; he'd made contact with someone on the restart. Mikey was 38th on lap 132; David and Marcos were 17th and 18th. Juan Pablo Montoya had bumped Clint Bowyer on the restart too.
"Still down there. Still there. 83's right there, half back. Inside inside. Half back. Leader's at the line now. Inside, all by himself."
"Got ten more laps there," Gene said.
"Clear four back. Still clear on the bottom. Still outside, the 42. All clear, all clear."
"Four more, bud."
"Clear the 83, clear."
On lap 143, Mikey was 37th.
"Three more."
"How many?" Ty asked.
"Three," Gene replied. "You need to pit next time."
"Pitting this time. 4200.
"4200, 4200. Ten away."
"Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Stop. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Get that..." Gene faded out. "Go go go. 4200."
"4200."
Mikey had made his stop on lap 148.
"All right, bud, hustle all you can," Ty said. "A couple of guys coming outside. One more outside, five back. Two of them. Clear behind the 1, clear behind the 1. Eight back."
"How'd it work out, Ty?" Mikey asked.
"We lost a lap and a half. We're down three. Leader's off of 2," Ty replied.
On lap 151, Mikey was three laps down in 40th. David was 17th, Marcos 20th.
"The 82's slow on the bottom, coming off of pit road. Clear. Clear up. 98's slow on the bottom, coming off pit road. Clear there. Watch the 82 right there, right on your bumper, 82 and 98. Inside, inside. He's there. 98's down there with him, down there with him. Inside. Clear. Clear there, one back. On the bottom. To your bumper. Inside, he's on your corner."
Mikey was 39th by lap 158.
"Clear, clear, inside. That 42's wrecked up there on the high side. Clear."
"Y'all didn't get no tape on this thing," Mikey complained.
"It fell off. They put it on, and it fell off," Gene replied.
"That's what I said."
Ty said, if they got a caution, they'd get the wavearound and would be two laps down and would be okay.
"10-4, spotter. Good job up there. I just didn't see any sense in doing what that 42 is doing."
"Yeah, 10-4."
"30.80," Gene said.
Montoya spun out, drawing the fifth caution on lap 164. He had asked to pit well before this, because his car was so loose, and he'd been weaving all over the place.
"Spin off of 4, spin off of 4. 42 just spun out. Caution's out."
"Well, we can get a wavearound again, if you want," Mikey said.
"We've got nothing to lose."
"The restarts will get them eventually, Gene-o."
Gene responded.
"Yeah, y'all gave me something decent here to work with here." He said there was good downforce in the nose. "We ought to take a chance. We made our bed, we might as well lie in it a little while. We might as well get this free pass or lucky wavearound or whatever. Over, 10-4."
Gene agreed. "Adjustment wise, we were pretty good there?"
"On the start, it was free. That's why I wasn't in any hurry," Mikey said. He told his crew chief he'd hit the splitter, which made him free and slow. "Once that goes away, it's pretty good. I caught that 08 and drove 31.8, but it was plowing. Then coming off 2, I hit that piece of windshield tearoff. It started to haul ass, like it was someone else's car." Mikey said it then fell off and was in the same shape as before.
Gene said Mikey he hauled ass on the high line in 3 and 4.
"Yeah, I know. I realise that, but it's just not magic." He said the car had to be ready to go up there. "With the way it's hitting the ground and then pushing, it just takes a while. You can't just go up there and say, 'Okay, I'll haul ass.'"
Gene said he knew, he was just relaying messages. "Timewise, when you go up there, it's pretty good."
"All right, wavearound when you get to the start/finish. It's the same crowd as last time." Ty said it was worth the risk.
"Yeah, 10-4. We're doing all we can do. 10-4. I agree with you. It's part of it. We got to try to get back, and this is the one way to do it. Opportunity doesn't come around every time, but hopefully, we'll see if we can make anything come of it," Mikey replied.
"All right, ease it on down there, ease it on down there. They're just now in Turn 1 and 2."
"What did the 88 do, Ty?"
"Broke his transmission. Gordon was leading, and he kind of did one of those crawls to the green flag, and they started jamming on up there. I don't know if he missed a shift, but it was his missed shift that started it all." Ty said it had caused a mess, but it wasn't enough to draw a caution.
"Roger. It was a hell of a day at sea, sir. What's wrong with this 99?"
Ty said the 99 hadn't said, but Carl Edwards was horrible.
"I know. I passed him."
Hamlin led the lap 170 restart. Mikey was two laps down in 38th, David 15th, Marcos 24th.
"Everybody's rolling. Still outside. 77's still outside. You're clear there, one back to the 83. Still clear, still clear. 88 one back. Inside inside. Got one against the wall on the back straightaway. No caution. Half back to the 88. 88 outside outside. Clear behind him. 12 car got into the wall pretty good. See if you can see a tire rub there. Still there on your quarter, still there on your quarter. 77. Clear now."
On lap 174, Jeff Gordon led. Mikey was 37th. David was 13th, Marcos 23rd.
"Outside, outside. Still out there, still there, still there. 99 still there on your corner, still there. Still out there on your corner, still there to your door. Still there, two back."
"30.50."
"83's right there on your bumper, looking on the bottom. He's there. Inside, inside. still there. Clear two back. One back."
"30.90."
"Still down there. Still there. All clear."
"30.70. Twenty more laps until we have to pit."
"If the 12 and the 82 keep doing what they're doing, we'll be pitting sooner than that. No caution. Keep rolling here. No caution."
"There's a big piece off four. Looks like a radiator," Mikey said.
Gene said something about a bag. "It's a little harder than a bag, obviously.
"30.60."
"There you go. Still there. Clear."
"30.65."
The sixth caution was on lap 189 for Montoya's sheet metal on the track.
"30.80."
"Caution's out, caution's out. Caution's out for debris."
"Thank goodness," Gene said. "All right, let's do four tires."
"How about taking your time and getting the tape on it this time?" Mikey suggested.
"10-4. We have a plan in place to do that. Obviously, we'll be pitting a second time by. Whatever we do, let's make sure we get that thing taped up pretty good here. Okay, we don't need any adjustments, correct?"
Mikey said he didn't know what the tape would do, so they should just go with that. "It's a little loose, but I'll just hang out in the back and wait for it to come in."
"All right, 10-4."
"You think we should go for the double wavearound?"
"No. We're going to run out of fuel, bud."
"Ty, correct me if I'm wrong. I'm just saying. We're not going to do this. But if we stay out and wait for these guys to wreck in five laps and they don't and we have to pit, we'll be in the same place we are now."
"No, you'd lose two. You'd lose two. Right now, you're one down." He said they could go for a lucky dog.
"We're two down there, Ty. We're two down."
"All right, 10-4. It's your call, Gene."
"Let's pit. Four tires, guys."
When Mikey pit, Gene told the crew to make sure the tape was on the car.
"All right, one to go when we come around. One to go."
Hamlin's hood went up on pit road with a dropped valve.
"All right, coming around to the green."
Mikey said something about the pace car.
"All right, not going to come. Got some scoring issues."
"What's wrong with this 11?"
"Just started having some motor problems right now." Ty asked how they were two down.
"I don't understand how we weren't three down to start with, with the wave around and the pass through."
Gene responded.
Mikey said he wished he understood Gene's logic, but he'd drive around like he did get it.
Mikey was 37th, two laps down. David was 12th, Marcos 18th. Kenseth led the lap 196 restart.
"All right, be ready. Pace car's coming off. Ready? Ready? Green green green. Still outside outside. Still outside outside, the 42. Clear up off the corner, clear up. 42's got a run. Looking outside outside, by himself. One back to the 88. Outside, 88, outside. Outside outside. 08's jumping up there, outside. Still going to be outside on your corner. Outside on your quarter, on your door. Still out there, still there."
By lap 198, Mikey was 38th. David was 11th, and Marcos was 20th.
"Clear up there. Clear up. Two back. All clear. Still there. Clear clear. Still out there. Still there. Still out there. Still there. Still there. Still there. 71's trying to get up there with him. Still out there. 08's on your corner. Clear up, clear up. Still outside, still there. Going to be there off the corner. Still there. Still out there, still there. Going to be there off the corner. Still there. Still there. Still there. Clear now, clear."
"30.30."
"Clear there. Clear clear."
Mikey was 36th on lap 205.
"30.30."
On lap 207, Mikey was 35th, having passed Brian Vickers. Kenseth continued to lead.
"30.45."
"Still out there. Still on your corner. Clear there. Clear one back. Clear, clear. Still down there. Still there. Still there. Clear. Still out there. Still there. Still there. Clear, clear there. Trying to come back outside. Trying to come back outside. He's out there. Half back."
"How's your water temp, bud?" Gene asked on lap 218.
"220," Mikey replied.
"10-4.
"30.60.
"30.70.
"30.80."
"Looking on the inside, all the way on the bottom. Clear half back."
"30.70.
"30.80."
On lap 224, Kasey Kahne took the lead.
"30.80."
Montoya pit on lap 229. He had taken the wavearound and now needed to make a stop for fuel.
"Still there. Clear clear."
On lap 231, Mikey was 34th due to Montoya's stop.
"30.60. Good lap, bud.
"30.70."
"The leader's the 9 car. At the line now.
"Still there. Clear."
"30.60."
"Still there, still there on your corner. Still there on the inside. Clear."
David pit on lap 237. He was now one lap down in 30th.
"Still there. Still there. Still there. Clear up, clear up."
"Four more laps, bud. We've got to pit in four more laps," Gene said.
Meanwhile, other cars were making stops.
"People are going to start peeling off here. I'll let you know if anybody ____."
"Three more laps," Gene said.
"Still there. Clear."
"Next time, bud. Pit next time."
Mikey pit on lap 246.
"All right, 4200 at the line, 4200," Ty said. "4200 at the line, 4200."
"Five away. 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on the brakes," Gene guided Mikey to the #55 box. "Go go go. Halfway halfway halfway. Half... all the way."
"4200. All the way up. 4200," Ty added. "All right, let's go hard, go hard. Still clear right there. Still clear back to the 83. Five back. He's closing. Three back, two back, one back. Outside. Still outside, still out there. Slow one on the bottom. There you go. You're all clear right there."
Kahne had pit, giving the lead to Kurt Busch. When Busch stopped, Kahne was back in the lead.
"Clear right there. Clear up."
Mikey was 35th and two laps down on lap 251. David was 11th, Marcos 23rd.
"30.40.
"30.30."
"All clear, all clear."
"30.50. The leader's the next car behind you. 30.40."
On lap 257, Mikey was 34th. David was 13th, Marcos 23rd.
"Three back to the 9. Three back. Got a big run on the bottom. Inside."
Mikey went a third lap down on lap 258.
"Clear three back. Inside, inside. Trying to go three-wide, three-wide. Got one all the way to the bottom. 71. 71 inside. 96 inside, inside. Back on your corner, inside. Still there at your door. Still there at your door, inside. 17 second place. Three back to him. One back to the 17. Inside. ___ behind. Inside. Got a look. You're clear, half back to the 48. Inside, inside. Clear there."
"30.80.
"30.80."
"Still out there. Still there. Clear up. Clear clear."
"30.90."
"Lap times every lap in the middle of the backstretch so I know what lap you're talking about," Mikey requested on lap 276.
"Okay," Gene replied. "30.60.
"31 flat.
"31 flat.
"30.80."
"All clear."
"30.90.
"30.65."
"Still there. Clear."
"30.80."
On lap 284, Mikey was up to 33rd. David was 13th, Marcos 24th.
"30.89.
"30.80."
Lap 289 saw Mikey move into 32nd.
"Clear."
"30.85."
"Still two back to the 33. Inside, inside. Fourth place car."
The seventh caution was on lap 291. Max Papis' engine had blown.
"30.80."
"Caution's out, caution's out. Backstretch. Debris," Ty stated.
"All right, we're going to have to pit here. We were nine laps away from pitting anyway. There are a couple guys on our lap we can beat."
"Okay. I'm doing all I can. Maybe it's the car. Maybe it's the driver. Definitely not what we needed on pit road tonight," Mikey said. "But can I tell y'all one thing? I've had fun out there. I like going fast. I'm Ricky Bobby. I like going fast, I like going fast. Just a bad night. The car needs a little bit more tape. I would do that. I would put more tape on it."
Leaders pit under yellow.
"Nobody said anything about the tape. I guess I can guess you heard me. I can guess a lot."
Gene said he'd heard it.
"I'm sorry to bother y'all."
Gene laughed. He said they were just talking about the wavearound.
"Do you want to try it?"
Gene said no, they'd pit. "All right, help me out on pit road. I can't hardly see it."
"All right. Ten away, ten away."
"Five away. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on your brakes. First gear. Go go go. All the way out, bud. All the way out. All right, we are racing that 26, by the way."
"Got some wavearound there. A bunch of them," Mikey commented.
"Yeah, Reut's one of them. He was on pit road when the caution came out. Now he's getting waved around." Ty noted other people who had the wavearound too.
Johnson led the restart on lap 296; he had just beat out Kasey Kahne by very little coming off pit road. Mikey was three laps down in 32nd, David was 18th, and Marcos was 24th.
"Clear two back. Inside. Still there, 02. 00 with him."
"30.50."
The eighth caution was with 35 laps to go. Gilliland had spun and had hit the wall.
"Run on the bottom. Clear clear. Spin in front of you. Stay down. Caution's out, caution's out."
"There goes the wavearound," Mikey said.
"Yeah, 10-4," Gene replied.
"Aw, man, you gotta just go for it, but you can't give away every lap you lose on pit road and then... hell, I mean. Nevermind. Just nevermind. I'll just... nevermind."
"Yeah, we kind of messed up there."
"Yeah, 10-4. That's right. Glad we agree this time. It's just ugh."
"Car started off a little bit too loose that time."
"All right, one to go when you come around. One to go when you come around. The 5 will be coming to your outside. The lucky dog," Ty observed.
"Get some heat in them tires there, bud," Gene advised his driver.
"All right. Several lead lap guys need to go around here."
Cars were lined up four-wide for some reason, but they got sorted out.
Johnson led the restart with 32 laps to go. Mikey was three laps down in 32nd. David was 18th, and Marcos was lapped in 23rd.
"All right, I guess they got it all sorted out. Pace car's off. Be ready. Ready? Green green green. All clear up. All clear up the side. Got one blowing up behind you. No caution yet. You're still clear. Caution's out, caution's out. Got some oil down the front straightaway."
The ninth caution was with 30 laps to go. Edwards had lost his engine.
"Oil's right in the middle groove, bud," Gene informed his driver.
"10-4. I'm going 40 MPH, so I might be all right there," Mikey mumbled. "Who was that?"
"The 99."
"That's nice. It put him out of his misery."
"Quicky yellow. I'm assuming you're staying out. Right, Gene?" Ty asked.
"10-4. Let's keep some heat in them tires. We're racing the 26 and the 96 there, bud."
"Why didn't he just turn into the pits, Ty?" Mikey asked.
"He did. He turned at the end of pit road there. He did a big U-turn, and he about nosed into the pace car, coming onto pit road."
"I don't know about this caster, Gene, except I'm glad I've been working out."
"10-4. I feel like our car has been competitive all night. I don't think it's terrible."
Mikey said it's been more forgiving. He wanted to give up more at Martinsville as he said it was more like a road course. "See if we like it. Maybe we can learn something that can help these other guys too along the way. Hopefully, we'll do something so they can learn something. I really like working with you guys. You're fun. Thanks for the effort."
"Yeah, 10-4, you too." He said they'd just had a bad night, noted the issue in the pits, and said they were taking their lumps.
Mikey talked about caster helping and learning from it.
Gene said the car was cutting good all night.
"Yeah. It feels like it needs... on that little go, it was loose, but that will go away, and it will get tight. But yeah, I agree with everything you said. I wish I had a bigger sway bar and less rear spring, but I don't know what it would do."
Gene said they could try it at Texas and told Mikey to put heat in the tires.
Johnson led the restart with 26 laps to go. Mikey was 32nd, David 17th, Marcos 22nd.
"All right, pace car's off. Be ready for anything here. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Still inside, 26. Still down there, still there. Still there still there. Still there, inside. Still there still there. Clear there two back to the 98, 83."
On lap 309, Mikey was 31st. He had passed Jamie McMurray's #26.
"Outside outside, 83. One back to the 98. Outside outside outside. Outside 98. Inside, inside and out. Still down there on the inside. 22 up top with you. Inside on your corner."
The tenth caution was with 22 laps to go when Greg Biffle spun.
"Spin right in front of you. You see the 16. He's up to the top. He's up to the middle. Inside."
"Good job, guys," Gene said.
"The oil temperature went up, and it won't run," Mikey reported.
"10-4. Make sure your fan's on."
"The fans' on, man. I know how to do that." Mikey said the oil temperatures were up, and he couldn't run a lick.
"Is it a quicky? Nobody said a fucking word."
Ty said he'd tried, but everyone was talking.
Mikey said he needed a tear-off too. "I got shit all over my windshield."
Gene called for four tires and a tear-off.
"All right, coming around to pit road. Quicky yellow. 4200 this time."
"It wasn't as loose as it wouldn't run. It wouldn't run at all. Oil temperature's 300, I guess. No, 280." Mikey said it had run fine and must have got something on the grill.
"All right, we're coming this time. 4200, 4200."
Gene told the crew to clean the grill. If nothing were on the grill, he said to pull tape. He told the crew to remove tape. "The grill was clumped up with grass there."
"It was hot before that."
"10-4. That's why I had them pull the tape off."
"Something must have happened to it, because it won't go down. Water's on 260 now. It wasn't the tape that did it. Something happened to it." Mikey said they didn't put tape on it the last stop.
"No, we didn't get tape on it."
"Well, there's a shock."
"One to go. You want to lay off, bud?" Ty asked.
"That's up to him," Gene replied. "We're racing that 96, Ty."
"10-4. All right, bud, be ready. Coming to the green. Nope. They, uh, not going to go, not going to go."
Johnson led the restart with 17 laps to go. Mikey was three laps down in 32nd, David was 17th, and Marcos was lapped in 22nd.
"All right, coming to the green again. Coming to the green. 17 to go when you take the green here. You ready? Green green green. 71 still outside. Still outside. Still outside."
Jeff Gordon ran side-by-side with Johnson and took the lead.
"Still half back. Coming outside outside, 98. Outside 83, outside. You'll be clear off the corner, clear. Half back to the 42."
With 13 to go, Johnson got a run and led again.
"Inside inside inside. Inside, a couple of them. Inside. Inside inside. 42's still outside, to your bumper. Clear there. Clear there. Half back, one back. 26. 26 is coming to the outside outside. Both sides both side, inside and out. Clear low. Still outside on your corner, 26. 7's got a big run up top. Still there, three wide, bottom of three. Two-wide, still outside. Three-wide right there, three-wide still. Three-wide. Back to two, got the 26 outside. Still outside, still outside. 26 up there with him. Clear there, half back. Clear there, half back. You're clear there, clear one back, 43. Clear. Clear clear. Still clear. Clear, all clear. All clear."
"30.30. 8 to go.
"30.30."
"What?" Mikey asked.
"6 to go, 6.
"30.40."
"Still out there. Still there. Clear clear."
"30.50.
"4 to go. 4."
"Now the water temperature's cooled off," Mikey reported.
"10-4," Gene replied.
"Two more, two more," Ty said. "All right, that's the checkers right here. That's it."
"I think we, I don't think our fans work very well," Mikey said. "I agree with them on that. Now it's running 190."
"10-4. That grill is pretty fucked up, I think," Gene replied.
Johnson had won the race. Mikey finished three laps down in 32nd, David 15th, and Marcos one lap down in 22nd.
Next week, the Sprint Cup series will be at Martinsville Speedway. Coverage of the Tums Fast Relief 500 begins Sunday at 1:00pm ET on ABC. The Nationwide Series will compete at Memphis the day before; coverage of the Kroger On Track For The Cure 250 begins at 3:00pm on ESPN2.
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© 2009 Kellyanne Lynch, in association with Cyber Speed Design. All rights reserved.
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