Waltrip Moves to 32nd in Owner Point Standings
SONOMA, Calif. – Despite having issues with fuel mileage, both the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry piloted by Michael Waltrip and the No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry driven by Michael McDowell, managed to pull off top-25 finishes in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway. Solid handling cars and pure perseverance helped both drivers move up in the coveted owner points standings. Waltrip finished in 25th place and moved to 32nd in points. McDowell jumped to 31st in points after scoring a 21st-place finish.
“It’s really disappointing to drive so hard, and run so hard, but not have enough gas to play the game,” said Waltrip after climbing out of his NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry. “We gave up all of our track position because we could not go far on gas. The cars that ran up front didn’t pit late, and that is why they had track position. We had a good enough car to get up there and compete, but instead, we were stuck in the back all day.
“I drove hard. We had a decent car that handled well. We were just bit by circumstances. It’s frustrating because we did the same thing two or three other times this year. I am really disappointed that we haven’t been able to improve that end of the deal.”
Looking back on the weekend, Waltrip qualified in 35th and McDowell earned 34th position on Friday. On Saturday, Waltrip’s team suffered a setback after the crew found a problem with the engine during final practice. NASCAR allowed the team to change the motor. The change relegated Waltrip to the rear of the field along with Michael Waltrip Racing’s David Reutimann who crashed in Happy Hour.
In the opening laps of the Toyota/Save Mart 350, Waltrip liked the feel of his NAPA Toyota and was optimistic that a top-20 finish was in the team’s grasps. At the 10-lap mark, he moved up to 38th spot, just behind his teammate and road-course expert, McDowell. All that was missing in the No. 55 NAPA Toyota’s handling was the need for more rear grip. The two NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyotas were able to run together until lap 18, when Brian Simo moved ahead of Waltrip to split the teammates. But just two laps later, Simo was blacked flag for leaking fluid.
Green-flag pit stops started to take place on lap 26. The stops allowed the NAPA cars to move up through the field. Then just four laps later, the first caution flag of the day flew for debris. Crew chief Bobby Kennedy used the caution period to bring the NAPA Toyota onto pit road for fuel and a four-tire change on lap 31. One pound of air pressure was also taken out of the rear tires to give the car more traction. McDowell was also on pit road to improve his NAPA Toyota’s forward bite. The pit crew made track bar and air pressure changes along with bolting on four fresh tires and adding fuel. Waltrip returned to the track in 32nd place and McDowell was in 33rd position. The leader was Greg Biffle.
The green flag waved on lap 33. Waltrip moved up one spot within two laps, and McDowell was once again right behind him in 32nd place. With the laps ticking away, Waltrip was quiet on the radio and focused on the task at hand. By lap 50, he was in 26th spot. McDowell was on his tail in 27th place.
More green-flag stops began to happen on lap 66. Waltrip’s team was prepared to stop on lap 69. However, that’s when the caution flag flew after Robby Gordon stalled on the track. Kennedy became concerned that the No. 55 was going to run out of fuel before the pits opened. Fortunately, Waltrip was one step ahead. He coasted his car around the track whenever possible, and it allowed him to successfully make it onto pit road on lap 70 for fresh tires and precious fuel. McDowell pitted as well for an air pressure change, four new tires and more fuel.
Unfortunately for Waltrip, he entered pit road in the wrong gear. NASCAR penalized the No. 55 for being too fast when entering the pits. The NAPA team used the penalty to top off for fuel on laps 72 and 73 since it was evident that the No. 55 was not getting the best fuel mileage in comparison to the frontrunners. When the race resumed on lap 74, Waltrip was running in 30th place, and McDowell was behind him in 31st. Kyle Busch was the new leader.
The race quickly slowed on lap 75 when Juan Pablo Montoya spun in Turn 11. Waltrip made his way to 28th place, while McDowell was in 32nd. The race was back to green on lap 77 with Kennedy encouraging his driver to stay smooth since he was turning in good lap times.
With 10 laps to go, Waltrip was running in 26th and McDowell was right behind him in 27th place. Unfortunately for MWR teammate David Reutimann, his day would be cut short on lap 101. His left-front tire was cut down sending him into the wall in Turn 9. Kennedy opted to keep his driver out on track in 25th position, as did McDowell’s team, while several cars behind them in track position pitted for fresh tires.
Things started to heat up when the race restarted on lap 104. Kevin Harvick drove aggressively into Turn 7 and spun out Tony Stewart. Jamie McMurray and road-course specialist Ron Fellows also got tangled in the mix. Waltrip was able to move up to 24th and McDowell was 25th.
Another chance to restart the race was quickly slowed on lap 108. Scott Pruitt was the culprit after he wrecked in Turn 2. The incident dropped lots of fluid on the track so the race was red flagged for the clean up. It also moved the race into extra laps to set up a green-white-checkered-flag finish.
Kyle Busch continued to dominate and led the field to the final green flag on lap 110. During the run, Waltrip was shuffled back due to cars on fresher tires. He had to settle for a 25th-place finish.
McDowell was able to capitalize on his road-course experience to move up and score a 21st-place finish. It was his best result of the season in 11 Sprint Cup starts. It also earned him top-rookie honors for the second time in the last three races. It was also his third top-rookie award of the season.
“We were able to get the car up to the top 25,” said McDowell, driver of the No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry. “We just needed better fuel mileage. We had to make an extra stop, and it cost us track position. We just weren’t able to get through the field. We did score points, and that obviously helps.”
Reutimann’s late-race incident led to a 40th-place finish. He leaves Infineon Raceway 28th in the driver points standings and 29th in owner points.
Winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 was driver Kyle Busch. It was his fifth victory of the season driving a Toyota. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were David Gilliland, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart.
The next stop on the Sprint Cup Series is the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Broadcast coverage of the 17th event of the season starts at 12:30 p.m. ET on TNT cable network and the Motor Racing Network.
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/16/data/results_unofficial.html
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Lap-By-Lap:
http://www.nascar.com/2008/races/lapbylap/06/21/lap.by.lap.infineon/index.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Standings (Waltrip – 30th):
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/data/standings_unofficial.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Owner Standings (Waltrip – 32nd): |
