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March 17, 2007
ATLANTA – Driver Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 NAPA Toyota Camry battled a loose handling condition and a possible issue with the Toyota powerplant during qualifying for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. As a result of the problems, Waltrip posted a qualifying time of 29.560 seconds/187.551 mph, good for the 40th-fastest lap of the day but not quick enough to make Sunday’s race. Although Waltrip outperformed drivers Jamie McMurray, MWR teammate Dale Jarrett, David Ragan, Robby Gordon, Kyle Petty, Jeff Green and Ricky Rudd, due to NASCAR’s top-35 rule, the NAPA driver was one of eight sent home of the 51 teams trying to make the 43-car starting field. “We fought a loose condition, off-throttle, all day,” said Derrick Finley, project engineer for Michael Waltrip Racing. “We started loose in and loose everywhere, but we got the entry and the center better. We were just loose off for most of practice. For qualifying, we basically did what the No. 00 team (MWR teammate David Reutimann) did because they obviously had a really good car. They all did a really great job. But when we went to qualify, we don’t know exactly what happened. The car was just a little bit loose off still in qualifying, and there was some type of miss in the engine, and right now, that’s where it stands.” In Michael Waltrip Racing’s other cars, Reutimann turned in the 24th-fastest lap (29.225 seconds/189.701 mph), and Jarrett recorded the 44th-quickest lap (29.701 seconds/186.660 mph). Jarrett’s time was protected under the past champion’s provisional. Both cars will start in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at the 1.5-mile facility. Ryan Newman won the Bud Pole with a time of 28.707 seconds/193.124 mph to claim his seventh pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Rounding out the top-10 qualifiers were Elliott Sadler, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, David Stremme, Kyle Busch, Mike Bliss, and Scott Riggs. The fastest Toyota in qualifying was Reutimann. In addition to Reutimann, three Toyota drivers – Brian Vickers (31st), Dave Blaney (37th) and Dale Jarrett (43rd) – will start on Sunday. Live coverage of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway begins Sunday, March 18 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX. If you can’t catch the race on TV, it can be heard on your local PRN Radio affiliate and Sirius Satellite Radio starting at the same time. Remember to check your local listings as dates and times of the race may change. Kobalt Tools 500 Qualifying Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/4/data/lineup.html
Practice 1 Results
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/4/data/practice1_speeds.html
Next Up
Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25 2006
Winner: Kurt Busch
2006 Pole Winner: Tony Stewart
Television: FOX at 1:30 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio at 1:30 p.m. ET |
