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May 21, 2007
CONCORD, N.C. – Michael Waltrip and the NAPA Racing team finished 20th in Saturday night’s NEXTEL Open – the qualifier for NASCAR’s NEXTEL All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The driver of the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry was forced to start last, in 32nd place, after crashing his machine in qualifying. Regardless, Waltrip knew he could overcome the odds since he won the All-Star race from the last spot in 1996. Unfortunately, tonight would not go as planned and the team was forced to turn the event into a practice session due to an ill-handling back-up car. “Since we wrecked our primary car in qualifying, we had to gamble on the setup with this back-up car since it never turned a lap before tonight’s race,” said Waltrip, who has recorded one victory, three top-5 and five top-10 finishes in 14 All-Star events. “I felt yesterday’s primary car had a lot of potential for us and it was my fault for what happened. The guys put a setup under this car and it did not respond well. It was extremely loose.” The first 20-lap segment of the NEXTEL Open saw three caution flags on laps 2, 11 and 19. The first yellow was thrown on the first circuit as Juan Pablo Montoya hit David Gilliland in Turn 2. The accident triggered a chain reaction with seven cars involved. Waltrip got through with no issues and on lap 6, crew chief Buddy Sisco called his driver in with one lap to go for four fresh tires and a splash of fuel. Waltrip restarted in 27th place. Waltrip worked his way up to 18th when the caution was thrown on lap 11 after Mike Bliss broke loose and collected Boris Said. Waltrip came over the radio to let his team know he was doing all he could to hold on to a “very” loose race car. Heading into the final lap of the first segment, Jamie McMurray brushed into Jeff Green sending the No. 66 car through the grass on the frontstretch. The red flag was thrown allowing all the competitors, including Waltrip, the chance to make changes to their car without losing their track position. Sisco ordered major air pressure and spring rubber adjustments to the NAPA Toyota. The goal for the remainder of the night for the NAPA crew was to learn as much as they could to prepare for next week’s Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The second 20 laps were not as hectic, with no caution flags thrown during this segment. Waltrip managed to run in the 18th position until lap 31 when he felt a tire going down. The NAPA team had no choice but to bring their driver in for four fresh tires. The stop under green put the team two laps down and out of contention for a transfer spot into the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Waltrip had to settle for a 20th-place finish. Winning the NEXTEL Open was Martin Truex Jr. Earning the other two transfer spots were Johnny Sauter for finishing second and Kenny Wallace for the Fan Vote. As for the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge it was Kevin Harvick who took the victory and the $1 million payout. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Johnny Sauter, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. Next up for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teams will be the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Live coverage of event begins Sunday, May 27 at 5:00 p.m. EDT 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.
NEXTEL Open Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/103/data/results_unofficial.html
NEXTEL All-Star Challenge:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/105/data/results_unofficial.html
Next Up:
Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 27
2006 Winner: Kasey Kahne
2006 Pole Winner: Scott Riggs
Television: FOX at 5 p.m. EDT
Radio: PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio at 5 p.m. ET |
