Tums Fast Relief 500 - 10/25/09
Michael Waltrip struggled with a tight #55 Napa Camry throughout the day. He came home four laps down in 30th in the Tums Fast Relief 500, this afternoon's Sprint Cup race at Martinsville. David Reutimann's #00 Aaron's Dream Machine finished 17th, and Marcos Ambrose's #47 Little Debbies Toyota was 27th.
Mikey started 36th today. David had qualified 5th and Marcos 34th. Fans gave the call to start engines at 1:39pm ET.
"Be sure somebody holds his sign out when he drives by," crew chief Gene Nead said just after the call.
"Testing 1, 2, 3. Hello. Testing," Mikey was on the radio next.
"Got you loud and clear there."
"Sounds good."
"You got us up there, Ty?"
"Hey, bud, you got a copy?" spotter Ty Norris asked.
"Yeah, I got you," Mikey replied.
"You got me up there, Ty?"
"Yeah, Gene. Did you just call me?"
"Yeah, 10-4, I just wanted to make sure you heard me."
Ty advised Gene to cover his microphone with a rag due to issues last time. He referred to it as the Bobby Kennedy rag.
"Yeah, 10-4."
"You got a pit road speed for me, first and second gear?"
"First gear _____, second gear 4900.
"Art, go over there and tap on Tillman," it sounded like Gene said.
"Hey, Gene-o, the 00 was saying 46 max for them," Ty informed the crew chief. "You're still saying 49 max?"
"Yeah, 10-4. Pit stall right here, bud."
"All right, buddy, two more to go. Two more."
"Okay, we've got the 99 behind us and the 6 in front of us on pit road here. We've got ourselves a pretty good pit box. Let's have a good day."
"10-4. We'll get them. I don't really understand what's going on here. The 71 seems to be in the wrong lane, but if that's the lane he wants to be in, that's okay. Didn't I qualify 36th?"
"35th, bud."
"Oh."
Ty noted the first pit stop if the race went green. "A lot will happen between now and then, Gene-o, so tell us what you want us to do.
"All right, bud, pace car's off. Be ready. Ready? Green green green."
Ryan Newman led the field to the green flag at 1:48pm.
"Checking up outside outside. Still rolling, outside. Still outside, 09's still there. Still outside. Got the __ on your bumper. Still there. 84 down on the bottom with you. Still on your corner, still there. Going to be there. Still out there. 09 still there."
Mikey was 35th on lap 5. David was 5th, Marcos 31st.
"Still there. 71 still out there, still there. There you go, still there on your corner. Clear there. Clear half back, clear half. Still all clear, all clear. One back, two on the bottom."
The first caution was on lap 8 for a multi-car wreck. Marcos, Robby Gordon, and Matt Kenseth got into each other and spun. Mikey got a piece of it as he was just behind Gordon.
"Spin in front of you. You gotta get down. Come on up, come on up. Great job."
"Great job, bud."
"Ohhhh. I got hit on both ends, but I don't know what it meant."
Gene noted a little left rear damage.
"Yeah, it's real minimal, Michael, real minimal."
Mikey noted 190 water temperature in all that traffic.
Gene noted a little left side damage and asked Ty to look at the right.
"The right side looks the way it did when we started."
"Beautiful." Gene advised Mikey to clean off his tires and asked about the car.
Mikey said it could turn better. "It has really good forward bite. It's kind of hard to say, but it kind of feels like it usually does here. It just needs to turn better."
"10-4."
"Eight cars behind you stayed out, so pretty good cushion back to those who pitted," Ty noted.
"Some of the guys who pitted were in that crash, so," Gene added.
"All right, showing one to go, one to go."
"P31."
Mikey was 31st under yellow. David was 5th, and Marcos was last. Ryan Newman led the lap 13 restart.
"Still outside, everybody's rolling. Outside outside. Still outside, the 18's on your quarter, outside. Still outside, still there. Outside outside. Clear if you need it, clear up. Half back to the 7 and the 71. To your quarter now, outside. Clear up now, half back."
Mikey was 34th on lap 16. David was 5th, and Marcos was 40th.
"18's still there. 66 still outside. Still on your quarter, still there. Clear now, clear. Half back. Still one back. Inside inside inside. 18's right on your inside. Still there to your door."
Mikey was 33rd on lap 18.
"Still there. Coming inside, inside. Two of them inside. The 09's still there, still there. Clear there, all clear. No rub, man, no rub. One back."
On lap 20, Mikey was up to 32nd. He was back to 35th the next lap, when Jeff Gordon took the lead.
"Clear, clear two back. Still outside. Still there. Still there. On your quarter. Halfway to lap 45. Still there, still there. 34's still there. Still on your corner. Still there on your corner. Still there."
Mikey was 34th on lap 26 and 33rd on lap 28.
"Clear there, whatever you want. Clear there, whatever you want. Half back, half back to the 19. He just got tires. Outside now, outside. On your quarter, still on your quarter. Outside. Still outside, still there. Outside. Clear now, clear clear. Slow one on the bottom, slow one on the bottom. Clear low. Leader now. We're in good shape. 18 before the caution. The 17 inside, to your quarter. Still there, the 9. Still there. Good job, brother. Clear one back."
Mikey was 34th on lap 32. David was 4th, and Marcos was 36th.
"Still outside. Still there, still there. Clear one back to the 9 and the 16. How about that?"
Lap 35 saw Mikey move into 32nd. David was now 5th.
"20.90."
He was 31st on lap 37.
"Still clear one back. Still one back, one back."
Lap 43 saw Mikey lose the pace with a flat tire. He then spun and drew the second caution. TrackPass stopped broadcasting his radio momentarily.
"Bud, I know you're a lapper, but if you need to come now..."
"I know that, bud! I'm coming now."
"All right, 10-4."
"I mean, I spun out, but that helped us about two laps. I don't understand what the deal is. I certainly didn't mean to spin out. It just happened that way."
Gene told the crew to jack up the car and to work on the left front fender. "Get the fender brace off. Let's go, let's go."
"4900, 4900." Ty told Mikey to come back around.
"Get caught up, Michael, get cuaght up and we'll come in."
"Yeah, I got it. I got it. Everyone else might be confused, but I got it. Just remember, it's tight in the centre."
"10-4."
"4900, 4900."
"You put fuel in it yet?"
"No."
"Come on, right sides, right sides. Make sure we get this fender brace off."
"Make sure everything's okay. We don't need to go nowhere," Mikey added.
"Yeah, let's go ahead and put a can of gas in it."
"Middle of the back, middle of the back."
"Let's go, let's go. We're a lap down here."
"Yeah, he saved us two right there. That's cool. Plenty of time, bro." Ty warned that some cars would be waved around.
"We're the first car one lap down right now."
"10-4."
"Did they call that the competition?" Mikey asked.
"10-4. It's lap 48 right now."
"Yeah, we're the first car one lap down, Ty," Gene said.
"That 34 stayed out, and he's still on the lead lap, right, Gene?"
"Yeah, 10-4."
"It's one to go. They'll be doubling up here."
John Andretti and David Gilliland led under yellow, and Gilliland then went to the garage. Jeff Gordon led the lap 51 restart. Mikey was 38th, one lap down. David was 8th, and Marcos was 34th.
"34's still there. Now you're clear, you're clear. One back. Checking up in front of you. Keep coming. Everybody's moving. Kind of jamming up up there. Back it down, back it down. Everybody's running again. Inside. Inside, inside. Clear, clear one back, half back. Outside, outside. Inside. Clear two back."
On lap 55, Mikey was 37th. David was 7th, and Marcos was 28th. Brian Vickers had almost spun when cars checked up in front of Mikey, but Vickers held onto his #83.
"Still one back."
"It's tighter," Mikey reported on lap 58.
"10-4."
"Really, there was an adjustment we could have made that wouldn't have made it push."
Jimmie Johnson took the lead on lap 60.
"Back to clear. Two back. Still down there. Still there. Still there, still there. Clear low if you need it. Clear low if you need it. Still outside on your corner, still there. Now you're clear, clear."
"20.60. That's a good lap," Gene said.
"Clear half back to the 7, half back to the 7. Got a look inside inside inside. Still there on your quarter, still there. There on your quarter. Clear, clear now. Half back. Clear one back. Outside - the 7. Outside. A look on the bottom. Now you're clear. Clear low, clear low. Still out there. Still there. Still there. Still out there. Still on your corner. Still there. Outside barely. Clear now, clear. Inside inside. Clear down if you need it, clear down if you need it. 16 outside outside, on your quarter, outside. Still there. 48 three cars back. One car length back. Still outside outside. Still there, still there. Clear of him, clear. Two back to the 48. Still one back. Half back, half back. Looking low, looking low. Still there, right there. Inside inside. Clear two back to the 16."
On lap 84, Mikey went a second lap down. He was still 37th. David was 8th, Marcos 32nd.
"One back to the 39. Still half back. Looking low. Inside, inside."
Marcos lost the lead lap on lap 86.
"Clear there. Four back to the 5. One back to the 5, one back. Got a car off the pace in Turn 4. No caution. Caution's out, caution's out. Car's inside. Caution's out."
The third caution was on lap 89. Dale Earnhardt Jr had lost a tire.
"I think we ought to do the wavearound here," Ty said.
"I think so too," Mikey replied. "We've messed our car up a little bit. You took our car from a little tight to really tight. I don't know why we would pit."
"10-4."
Others pit under yellow.
"Water temperature's 190," Mikey reported.
"10-4," Gene acknowledged.
"If they all wave around, we might be the only car one lap down again," Ty said.
"Spotter, good call. We'll just take a chance here," Mikey replied. "Maybe get lucky and get two of them right back quick.
"How many laps did the 88 lose?"
"None yet."
"Did he spin to bring out the caution?" Mikey asked.
"Yes."
Ty said Earnhardt Jr had started to go around, but the leader hadn't passed him. "All right, you're going to wave around when you come back around, buddy. All right, what I'm seeing is we're the only ones a lap down right this minute."
"10-4. If we can just get lucky and get the caution," Gene replied.
Ty noted the #9 of Kasey Kahne was speeding on pit road and would therefore start in the rear. He noted Marcos had received the free pass.
Johnson led the lap 95 restart. Mikey was 37th, one lap down. David was 6th, and Marcos was 32nd.
"Still inside, inside. Still there inside, the 17's there. Inside. Still there inside. The 98's down there with him. Remember, he has tires. Still there. 98 inside. 47's there inside. He's got one with him. 16 still inside. Inside inside, tires 9. Inside. Inside, 88. Clear behind him, clear one back behind him to the 34."
"20.79," Gene read off lap times. "20.84.
"20.80.
"20.70.
"20.90."
"Got one over in the wall behind you. No caution, no caution. He came down on pit road now. Keep rolling. Not going to get a caution because of it."
Sterling Marlin went to pit road. His stop on lap 110 allowed Mikey to move into 36th.
"20.80.
"20.86.
"20.86.
"20.90.
"20.88. Leader's running 20.50."
Mikey said something that was hard to hear with the engine noise.
"Still out there. Still there. You're clear, clear clear."
"21 flat.
"20.95.
"20.94."
"All right, man. Four back, four back."
"20.93."
"Half back, half back. Inside inside."
Martin Truex Jr's #1 pit on lap 127 under green for a suspected loose wheel.
"Clear now behind him. Clear five back to the 39."
On lap 126, Mikey went a second lap down.
"Half back, 49. Inside, all by himself."
The fourth caution was on lap 129. Earnhardt Jr was in the wall.
"Car in the wall off of 2. Stay high. Caution's out."
"Well, I knew when I saw that 1 car hit pit road that someone was going to blow a tire. So we'll just have to regroup and try it later."
Gene called for half out on wedge and to work on track bar.
"The only thing I suggest - I don't know how many we can go - if we can run another 50 laps, we can go ahead and stay out."
Gene said they only had thirty laps at most, and Mikey was too slow to stay out again.
"Yeah, the adjustments y'all made slowed me down."
"Yeah, 10-4."
"My water temperature's 180. My oil temperature's 200."
"10-4. Pit second time by, bud."
Robby Gordon's #7 was pushed behind the wall.
"Stay out against the wall. They're pushing the 7 car, for some reason," Gene warned. He counted his driver to the box. "Go go go. All the way out."
"4900, all the way to the end."
"How is Reuti doing there, Ty?" Mikey asked.
"He's loose, and the last I checked, he was 8th. He's 13th or 15th right now. 12th right now."
"All right, we're on the same lap with Martin Truex and the 16 and the 34. But he's going to do the wavearound. We're the first car two laps down. There are three one lap down."
"All right, one to go when you come around here. Three cars one lap down and you and Junior two laps down," Ty said. The #16 and #34 had accepted the wavearound.
Johnson led the restart on lap 137. Mikey was 35th, two laps down. David was 12th, Marcos 29th.
"Still inside, the 47, still there. Still down there. Still there. Still down there. 82. Still there. 34's right there with him. Inside inside, at your door. Still up top. They're stacking up. Everybody's rolling."
Juan Pablo Montoya took the lead on lap 142.
"Inside, inside. The 9. Inside. 47 inside inside. Still there on your corner, still there. 16 inside inside. Stay up stay up. You're good, inside. 17's down there with him, inside. Inside inside. Clear down behind the 1 if you want it, clear down. One back to the 34."
"20.60."
"A run on the bottom. Inside inside. Clear there. Half back, 88. Checking up. Inside inside. Clear there."
"Tighter yet. I just can't make it. It's frickin' tighter. That's all you're doing," Mikey said on lap 150.
"10-4," Gee replied.
"Yeah, 10-4. 10-4 on the tight. Tight as balls."
The fifth caution was for debris on lap 158.
"Caution's out, caution's out, caution's out. Debris," Ty said. "It came off between you and the 34."
"He's fucking with the wrong one, Ty," Mikey replied.
"We're going to do the wavearound, Ty," said Gene.
"I doubt you will."
Gene then said they'd pit if the others didn't.
"Back off of him, Michael. I know he brake checked you there," Ty said, likely of John Andretti in the #34.
"Yeah, that's what he did," Mikey replied. "It's tight. Everything we done made it tighter."
Gene called for air in the right rear.
"Leaders didn't pit."
"We're going to pit, we're going to pit. Put tires on it."
"You're saying it's a quicky yellow?"
"No, next time."
"All right, we're going to pit this time. 4900. All right, 4900. Coming around."
"Yeah, Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Go go. Halfway halfway, all the way."
"Start slowing down here. Start slowing down here," Ty told his driver. "All right, the top eleven stayed out. A couple others stayed out. The 16 made his lap up. The 1 is still a lap down."
"All right, right now, it's showing us two laps down. I'm sorry. We're two laps down, obviously, but the 1 got one of his laps back, and there are two one lap down."
Montoya led the lap 164 restart. Mikey was 36th, two laps down. David was 11th, Marcos 23rd.
"All right, pace car's off. Ready? Green green green. Still inside inside. Inside inside. Inside inside. Still down there. There you go. Clear up, clear up."
Mikey was 35th on lap 165. David was 10th, Marcos 24th.
"Clear there, clear there. One back. Inside, 16. Inside inside. 16 still there. 34's one back. Inside inside, he's there. Inside. At your quarter. Still there at your quarter, still there."
On lap 170, Mikey was 36th again.
"Clear one back. Still one back. Still down there. Still there."
The sixth caution was on lap 177 when David Stremme and Sam Hornish Jr spun each other out. Truex Jr sustained some nose damage.
"Right in front of you, right in front of you. You have to stay all the way out. Inside. Caution's out, caution's out," Ty warned.
"Did that help you any there, bud?"
"Yeah, she's freed up. It just took some of the tightness away, whatever you did."
Gene said it was weird how they were freeing it up and nothing worked for a little bit.
"Yeah, I understand that. I didn't say you didn't do that. I just said it made it tighter. It was really tight. Tight tight tight. That was more driveable, so that was good."
"All right, we'll go in that direction then."
"I don't believe I'd do that. I'd just leave her be one time. I was in a glob."
"I'm with you. That's what we're going to do."
"I just ain't ready to say it needs more right now."
"Okay. Stay out guys.
"We're not gonna... we're gonna stay out."
Ty said he didn't know why they were doing that, and so the #55 team decided to pit. As Ty pointed out, they were only racing one other guy.
Gene counted Mikey to his box. He asked for temperatures.
Mikey gave them and said he needed to have asked already. The team then assessed who was on one lap down and on their lap.
"Michael, if that thing gets a little free up, turn your right rear blower on," Gene advised.
"10-4," Mikey replied.
"One to go, one to go."
Jeff Burton led the restart on lap 183. He had not pitted. Mikey was two laps down in 35th, David 27th, and Marcos 14th.
"Everybody's rolling. You're clear there, you're clear. Still there inside. Be ready. Inside inside. Inside inside. Okay, you're clear on the bottom if you want it. Coming inside to your door, inside inside."
Denny Hamlin was in the lead on lap 187. Mikey was 34th, David 27th, and Marcos 13th.
"Inside inside. Clear low if you need it. Clear low. Still there the 12. Still there. Still outside. 12 still outside. Still out there. Still there. Still out there on your quarter. Stillt here. All clear, all clear."
Mikey was 35th on lap 189.
"Half back, the 09. Inside, the 09. Inside. Inside, he's at your corner, at your door. Clear one back."
The seventh caution was on lap 195 when Hornish Jr spun again, this time pingponging off the #55.
"77 still out there. Spin behind you. Keep digging. Caution's out. Got a little bit of rub on the rightside door. Not bad."
Gene asked about the car.
"Tight, a little bit tight in the centre. Now that we've got it better in the centre, it's not quite as tight."
"10-4."
"It just doesn't have a lot of forward bite on the way off to help it turn better."
Gene said they'd leave it alone. "I still think we need to keep tires and fuel on this thing."
"All right," Ty said. "88 and 09 for the lucky dog, so these positions mean something this time."
Gene called for track bar adjustments and wedge out. "Only a half, Art."
"Did I squeeze him, or is he mad at me?" Mikey asked about Sam Hornish Jr.
Ty said Mikey hadn't done anything wrong.
"I just think I did, but I don't know."
"He's been like that all day. 4900, 4900. Yeah, he got loose, brother, he got loose."
Mikey went to pit road.
"That 09's hauling ass," Mikey said. "He can just gun it off the turn."
"Yeah, he just pitted. He either got two or none. I'm not sure."
"I watched him get four," Mikey said. "Maybe I watched the 88. They both got laps back. But I thought it was the 09 in front of us."
"Yeah, they took two," Ty said.
"10-4. I knew he changed something. I watched him. I don't remember what."
"All right, one to go. One to go."
"Make sure you have both B blowers on in the front," Gene said.
"Have been ever since the start. Turned the right rear off and on a few times, but everything else has been on."
"That 82's been trouble on the restart. Just be aware. Be ready. Ready. Get rolling. Green green green. Still down there, inside."
Hamlin led the lap 202 restart, but Kyle Busch then passed him. Mikey was two laps down in 35th. David was 17th, Marcos 25th.
"Still down there. Clear there if you need it, clear there if you need it. Still clear if you need it, one back if you need it."
Hamlin retook the lead on lap 206.
"Checking up in front of you. Still inside. 34 inside inside. Keep rolling, keep rolling. Still there inside. Keep rolling, everybody's fine. Still there inside. Inside inside. 34 still there. Clear now clear if you want it."
Kasey Kahne spun, drawing the eighth caution on lap 211. He had a left rear tire go flat, and he hit the wall driver's side first.
"Spin righ tin front of you. Stay all the way down, all the way down. All right, caution's out."
"That was't really good, whatever you did. It just pushed more." Mikey said he'd lost overall grip, mainly in the front.
"10-4."
Brian Vickers went to pit road.
"All right, leaders right now."
"Temperatures are good, 220, 250."
"10-4. You got your fan on?"
"Right at the moment."
"10-4."
"You coming, Gene?"
"Yeah, 10-4."
"You made the car worse, whatever you did."
"49," said Ty.
Gene counted Mikey to the box.
"All right, one to go when you get around here. The 88's going to be one down."
Hamlin led the restart on lap 216. Mikey was 35th, David 15th, Marcos 20th.
"All right, pace car's off. Ready? Rolling. Green green green. 43's still inside inside. Clear there if you want it. Back inside inside. Still there inside, the 43, inside. Still down there, still there."
Mikey was 33rd on lap 219. David was 16th, Marcos 19th.
"Still down there, 98, still there. Still down there. On your door. Clear clear. Clear one back to the 88. Inside. Back inside, inside. 98's right there inside. Still down there. Inside, 34. Still down there, 82, still there. Still there on your quarter, still there. Still there, 82, still there. 82's still there, right on your quarter. Still right on your quarter, still there. Clear there, clear half back, clear half back. Looking inside inside. 82's still there on your quarter. Inside inside, all the way at the bottom, inside. 34's still there. 88's down there with the 34. Inside inside, 88, inside. 98's down there with him. Inside at your door, inside. 43's right on his bumper. Inside, 43. 09 inside at your door."
"It's pushing so bad," Mikey reported on lap 235. He was now 34th.
"20.88.
"21.07."
"It's the worst it's pushed all day," Mikey reported.
"10-4."
"09's right there. Looking low, inside."
"21.16."
"Plowing."
Mikey was 35th on lap 245.
"All right, man, two back to the 11. Running inside, inside. The 48 half back."
The ninth caution was on lap 254. AJ Almendinger spun and hit the wall after losing a tire.
"Inside, 48, got the 42 right there with him. Car in the wall, car in the wall. Turn 2. Come through in the middle, come through on the bottom."
"I never had a car push this bad. It's like something's broke. It won't turn, no matter what I do," Mikey reported.
"10-4."
"I think that 11 is going to pit, Gene. He didn't pit this last time."
"It gets a little bit better as I go."
"We need to try. Shit, I don't know."
"We're so far behind, I think it might be worth trying to go for it. I don't know. A quick little caution here, and we'd be back to two. Then maybe we'd get lucky. I mean, I don't think it's gonna... unless we come up with a plan for some rubbers in and out and major, major change, we're going to have to, we'll do that. We won't have a chance to do this every time. Take a chance here and try to come up with a big adjustment for me. It won't turn, and it has nothing to do with the brakes. I'm off the brakes, and I'm coasting."
"10-4, I'll put some rubbers in."
"I'm totally off the brakes and coasting."
Gene said it's been different with every set of tires, so he didn't know.
Mikey didn't agree. "You made a couple adjustments that helped, but at this point, I'm tighter than I've been all day."
"Let's see if we get lucky here and this all works out. I think, if you put rubbers in the right rear, it will be better on exit."
"I would take anything on exit compared to what I have right now in the centre."
"10-4. I pushed the wrong button there. Me and Billy were talking."
"How many laps do we have? We should have plenty, right?" Ty asked.
"Yes, 70."
Almendinger's #44 was towed to the garage.
"All right, you'll be wavearound. What's the rundown, Gene?" Ty asked. "The 88's back on the lead lap. Anyone else two down? I'm sorry, I mean one or two down?"
"It'll be the 09 and the 9," Gene replied.
"All right, how many laps down is the 9, Gene? Just the 9?"
"9's the same as us, two laps down."
"All right. Be ready. Ready? Green green green."
Johnson led the lap 260 restart. Mikey was 32nd, two laps down. David was 16th, Marcos 30th.
"Everybody's rolling, everybody's rolling. Still inside. Inside inside."
"88's going to be diving inside. To your quarter, at your door. Clear one back, two back. Trying to look low. You're clear, clear clear. Inside 9, inside."
On lap 263, Mikey was 33rd and no longer in line for the free pass.
"20.90.
"20.80."
Mikey was 35th on lap 265.
"20.60.
"20.50.
"20.70.
"20.70.
"20.80.
"20.87."
The tenth caution was on lap 276 when Andretti and Marlin spun out together.
"34's sideways," Ty warned. "Stay on the top. He's on the bottom. Come on through."
"Finally, wow," Gene said. "All right, we're obviously going to put tires on it." Gene called for two rubbers in the right rear.
"All right, pit road was closed, so..."
"10-4. We might need to... make sure this isn't a quicky caution here."
"They haven't said anything about it."
Gene said they'd do right sides and rubber, then left sides.
Mikey said they had time to get all four. "Everybody's pitting."
"All right, 10-4. Keep an eye on the pace car for us, if we do pit here. Yeah, I think we'll be all right now. Yeah, we'll do four, guys. Have a good one. Just make sure you get those rubbers in, okay? Don't take any lugnuts off the left side in case we have to call it off, okay?"
"4900," Ty reminded.
"Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Go go go. You've got both rubbers in, right? Good job."
"4900. We're going to be racing the 09 for the lucky dog. He didn't get the lucky dog, because he spun out."
"What about the 34? Is he still on the lead lap?" Mikey asked.
"10-4. He's on the lead lap. We're going to be racing the 9 and the 09."
"We've got two down - the 9, the 09, and then us."
Johnson led the lap 281 restart. Mikey was 33rd, two laps down. David and Marcos were 22nd and 29th.
"Outside outside. Outside outside."
On lap 284, Mikey was 34th.
"Still down there. 34 still there. Still there still there. Still down there. Still there." Ty warned that two cars were beating on each other. "You're all clear, you're all clear. Clear low if you need it, if you need it. One back to the 77, one back. Inside inside inside. 77. Still there inside, 43. Still there. Clear clear. Still clear clear. Watch that 77. He's trying to look inside inside. Clear there, clear."
"20.55.
"20.70."
"The 34's right there. You're all clear, all clear. Outside, just looking. Clear clear clear. Right in front of you. No caution yet. Keep digging. No caution yet. No caution yet. No caution yet. Caution's out, caution's out."
The eleventh caution was on lap 302. Kahne had hit the wall. Marlin got the free pass and was now one lap down.
"It runs, it seems like, I mean all you're doing is turning it with the back. I mean, I can run a little better, but I mean, there's no way to, it doesn't turn. It just goes in there and skates, and I get in there and skate. It's not a good car. It's not a happy car. It's like it needs some spacers out of the left front."
Gene asked if the car hit the ground at all.
"I don't know, man. It ain't bothering it any. It pushes it right here. I know you can't see, but I tried to tell you. I let off the brakes, and I coast, and it won't turn."
"Did the bumpers help you any?"
Mikey said it still doesn't push but just slides and that it didn't hurt it. "I guess I was supposed to pit, but nobody said, so here I come."
Gene acknowledged and said he had told Mikey.
Mikey let him know he was just coming.
David stayed on track to pick up the lead.
"I know y'all are working hard in there, boys, Gene. Good job. Maybe whatever we did there will help it, but I know you're working hard."
"We ain't giving up, bud. We're going to keep working it."
Ty noted the #09 was the only one one lap down.
"And we're the only one two laps down. We have plenty of time to work on our car."
"195 to go."
"195 to go, 10-4. I hate that it's not running great, but we'll keep after it."
"Got about five cars who didn't pit right here, so maybe we'll get jammed up, so we'll see what happens."
"10-4. That would help a lot. 10-4," Mikey replied.
David led the lap 307 restart. Mikey was 33rd, two laps down. Marcos was 36th.
"Still there inside, still there. Watch this crawl, watch this crawl. Still there inside inside.. Keep digging keep digging. There they go. Stay down stay down stay down stay down. Clear clear. NO caution keep coming, no caution keep coming."
Martin Truex Jr had hopped the curb and got into Stremme. He spun around twice and kept going. The race remained under green.
"20.48.
"20.37.
"20.39.
"20.47."
"09's half back. Looking low, inside inside. 9's half back. Inside inside, the 9. Clear there, clear."
"20.49."
"Clear two back to the 77."
Johnson passed David to reclaim the lead on lap 322.
"Still out there, still there. Clear there, clear."
"20.60.
"20.58.
"20.59.
"20.70."
"Still out there. Still there. Still out there. Still on your quarter. Clear clear."
"20.75."
"Clear up, clear up. One back to the 6. Still out there, still there. Clear up behind him if you want it. Inside 6. Clear clear. Inside inside inside. One more, the 43. 1's right there on your corner. Inside. Leader now. Clear now behind the 1, two back. All right, half a straightaway back to the 48. Two back, two back. Will be looking low. Inside, he's there. Inside inside. Right on your quarter, inside."
On lap 348, Mikey went a third lap down.
"I think you've got the front the best it's been. We've just got the back so out of the track that it's hard to race it."
"Second place 11 right there in your mirror. Clear high. Inside inside, 11. Clear there, clear."
"21.03. Leader run a 91.
"20.97.
"21 flat.
"21 flat."
"Three back to the 42. Inside inside. Clear down behind him. Car in the wall over here. Stay down stay down stay down. Clear here. 5's half back. He's not going to make it, but keep going. You're half back. No caution yet. He's inside. Inside inside, the 5. Made it in there, so clear four back."
"20.98."
Hamlin took the lead on lap 364. The car that had scraped the wall was Earnhardt Jr's #88.
"20.84. That's a good lap."
"Clear low."
Mikey was 31st on lap 363. Marcos had lost the lead lap and was 30th. David was 12th.
"One and a half back to the 39. Looking low, looking low. He's there now, inside. Two back to the 88 who just pitted. Inside inside inside. Clear behind him, half a straightaway."
"21.18.
"21 flat."
"Half back, 29. One back, 29. Inside, it's going to be clear about three back behind him. Got a run on the bottom, 24, half back. At your quarter, inside. Clear two back to the 83. Clear low, clear low. Still outside. Still outside, still there. Clear up, clear. 83's half back, working the bottom. Inside inside. Down there with him still. Inside. Clear there, clear."
"21.17.
"21.09.
"21.06.
"21 flat.
"20.95.
"20.88.
"21 flat.
"21 flat.
"Still outside. One back to the 99. Still outside. Still on your quarter, still there. Clear up. The 99's going to have a run on the bottom. He's half back. Inside, he's going to be all by himself. Clear now. Clear two back to the 16."
"21.20.
"21.06. Good lap, bud.
"21 flat.
"20.92."
By lap 407, David had lost the lead lap. He was 17th and low on fuel. Marcos was 29th, Mikey 31st.
"21.05.
"20.97.
"All right, two back to the 07. Two back."
Gene said they'd pit in two more laps.
"Did you say ten or two?" Ty asked.
"Two."
"10-4. Inside, he's there. All right, do we need to pit now?"
Gene said they could go one more.
Ty warned Mikey about Tony Stewart having fresh tires, coming off pit road. "4900 when you get around here. 49."
"No speeding on pit road, bud. No speeding on pit road. Ten away. Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on the brakes."
With about 79 laps to go, Mikey made what would likely be his last stop. The stop was long.
"Tell me, tell me you didn't pull a rubber out under green," Mikey said.
"No, they had problems with the right rear," Gene replied.
"That's something. That's great."
"Go hard go hard." Ty cleared Mikey onto the track.
"Still there, still there. Clear clear. Got one car he's backing up pretty bad here. 20's pitting, 20's pitting. Clear low. Still out there. Still there still there still there. Clear. Still there still there. Clear clear. That 07's going to be coming in, coming in. The 18's going to be picking up speed. Clear low. Outside outside. You're good. Still there, outside. One back, 00. Still oe back one back."
Clint Bowyer was assessed a pass-through penalty and had to return to pit road.
"Clear low. Clear clear. Still out there. Still there. Still there. Still out there, still there. Still on your quarter. Still there. Clear up clear up clear up. Still clear there, still clear half back to the 1. Inside inside. He's there. He's still there, 19. 19 still there. Still out there, still there. Clear up clear up clear up."
With 64 laps to go, Hamlin made his final stop. Others continued making green flag stops.
"Inside inside. He's at your door. Inside. One back to the 26. 6 just came off pit road. Inside inside. All the way at your door, inside."
Hamlin maintained the lead after stops had cycled. Mikey was three laps down in 32nd. David was 19th, Marcos two laps down in 30th.
"Clear there, two back."
"20.60."
"He's there. Inside. He's there. Inside. Clear there, clear two back to the 11. The 11's inside."
Mikey went a fourth lap down, just before the twelfth caution came out on lap 444. Elliott Sadler had spun out John Andretti.
"Spin behind you, spin behind you. Caution's out, caution's out."
"It's been one of those days, boys. But it's because our car sucks." Mikey said he needed better forward bite. "You know, that bad pit stop cost us. And our car. And me. So we're losing all kinds of shit today. At least Reutimann didn't get lapped."
"Yeah, 10-4."
"This thing was terrible pushing. Now it's just pushing. We just need to do the same thing to the right front and get me some forward bite somehow."
Gene said they'd pit the second time by. "It's a half a rubber out of the right rear, all right?"
"All right, here we come. 4900," Ty said.
The #55 made a stop.
"One to go when we get here. 52, 53 to go when we get restarted.
"Where am I running, Tyrone?" Mikey asked.
"You mean what position? 32nd, I think."
"31st."
"A lap of my own, I imagine."
Gene confirmed.
Hamlin led the restart with 52 laps to go. Mikey was four laps down in 31st. David was 18th, Marcos two laps down in 30th.
"Still down there, 34. The 31 right on his bumper. It'll be clear there, clear. Inside, 31. Inside. Inside inside, inside. Still there, inside. 16 down there with him. Inside inside. Outside, still there. Still there outside. Still there on your quarter, still there on your quarter. Still there, still there. One back."
David sustained heavy nose damage when Jamie McMurray squeezed down Scott Speed. His right front was smoking with 40 to go.
"Still clear half back."
"20.70."
"Inside inside."
"20.60."
"Half back to that 9. Still clear half back to that 9. Outside outside outside. Clear there. Clear half back to the 44. Still clear one back. 25 laps to go, 25. Still down there. Still there inside. Clear clear."
"20.79.
"20.80."
"Still down there. Going to be clear clear. One back."
"20.70.
"20.90."
"Still half back 16."
The thirteenth caution came out for debris off Almendinger's car, with 17 laps to go.
"Caution's out, caution's out. Debris on the front straightaway."
"How was that?" Gene asked.
"It just, it won't turn. Those changes there didn't help it any. It didn't really do anything good."
"All right, 10-4."
Some drivers made stops.
"Let's put four tires on this thing," Gene said.
"4900."
"Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on the brakes. Wheels to the left a little bit. There you go. First gear. Go go go."
David had also made a stop.
"We might want to let Marcos go. He's actually racing. He's got two guys on his lap. We don't have anyone on ours," Gene suggested.
Hamlin led the restart with 12 to go. Mikey was 31st and four laps down. David was 19th, Marcos two laps down in 30th. Hamlin got out ahead of the other lead lap cars.
"Nothing behind you, man. 11 to go."
Mark Martin ran over Casey Mears, getting him up close to the wall. Ty then warned Mikey about the #98 of Paul Menard being against the wall.
"Watch that 88. Looks like he got a flat tire again. Clear clear. Seven to go, seven."
With six to go, the fourteenth caution came out for Scott Speed. His #82 had gotten into the corner hard, then turned around and rearended the wall.
"Oh, got a big crash in front of you. Back it down, back it down. Come through on the bottom. L*** it looks like he lost his brakes."
"L*** L***," Mikey said. He said the car kept digging. "Nothing really good to say about that except if we got digging."
"He passed four cars getting into the corner and turned around."
"If you can get in a lot deeper than them, you can get around them. But then you pay the price, like leaving your left rear spring on the track."
The field prepared for a green/white/checkered finish.
"Well, green white checkered," Ty said.
Hamlin led the field back to the stripe.
"All right, we'll let that 33 go around. There you go. Be ready. Ready? Ready? Green green green."
Mikey was 31st, four laps down. David was 17th, Marcos 27th. Andretti spun, but the race remained under green.
"Crash in front of you. Stay up, stay up. Caution's out, caution's out. Stay up."
Hamlin won.
"Thank you all for building me a car that could run all day. Good job with the car all day. Good job with the adjustments."
"Thanks for hanging in there all day, bud. Sorry we didn't make the car better."
Coming to the white flag, Edwards had hit the wall. The field bottled, and Menard got into Andretti. NASCAR didn't actually bring out the caution; the field shot by Andretti's sideways car along the frontstretch to the checkered flag.
Mikey finished four laps down in 30th. David finished 17th, and Marcos finished two laps down in 27th.
NASCAR's Sprint Cup series will be at Talladega Superspeedway for Halloween weekend. The Amp Energy 500 begins Sunday at 12:00pm ET on ABC. The Nationwide Series returns November 7th.
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© 2009 Kellyanne Lynch, in association with Cyber Speed Design. All rights reserved.
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