Charlotte, North Carolina (May 20, 2006) – After a long, wild night, Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 NAPA Dodge team were one of 10 teams eliminated from the 22 nd running of the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. With half of the 20-car field forced to watch the remainder of the race from the NEXTEL Cup garage, repair bills began to inch closer to the coveted All-Star Challenge purse. By the time the smoke cleared early Sunday morning, Waltrip finished in 19 th position and Jimmie Johnson cruised to the checkers for his second NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge victory in the last four years.

Michael Waltrip’s All-Star Challenge victory in 1996 guaranteed the No. 55 NAPA Dodge entry into the event and a solid qualifying performance by Waltrip and his pit crew garnered a 14 th starting position for Waltrip in his 11 th consecutive All-Star race. In the early onset of the “non-points” race, the No. 55 NAPA Dodge appeared stubborn in the turns. “We need lots of adjustments. It’s just plowing in the turns,” Waltrip radioed to new crew chief Joe Shear. The caution flag waved on lap 13 as Mark Martin sent teammate Jamie McMurray into the wall. The NAPA team used the opportunity to take rubbers out of both rear springs. Waltrip restarted in 18 th position when the green flag dropped.

On lap 26, Waltrip radioed his crew, “The right front corner is just a mess.” Crew chief Joe Shear inspected the NAPA Dodge as it passed the start-finish line and replied, ”The right-front tire is rubbing against the fender.”

The second caution flag of the night waved on lap 31 as Kurt Busch blew an engine. “It’s just terrible. Do everything. We’ve got a few laps before the segment ends to see what it does. It’s totally plowing off. We need to work on the front shock and take some wedge out,” Waltrip radioed. NASCAR officials then red-flagged the race three laps later for rain and required drivers to return to pit road. The No. 55 NAPA team quickly went to work on the car, raising the track bar one inch and putting rubbers back into both rear springs. Nearly every car on pit road had its hood up.

Waltrip restarted in 17 th position on lap 37 and climbed one spot before Kyle Busch clinched the first segment. “It turned good. That’s the best it’s felt all night,” Waltrip radioed. The No. 55 NAPA Dodge entered pit road with the remainder of the field between segments. The NAPA team turned the compressor off on the right-front shock and pulled the right-front fender further away from the tire.

Waltrip was unaffected by the inversion on the segment two restart as the top 10 cars were inverted by the NEXTEL fan vote. However, heartbreak came calling in turn 4 on lap 44 of the 90-lap Nextel All-Star Challenge as Waltrip lost control of the No. 55 NAPA Dodge, and the spinning car hit hard into the wall to bring out the caution. Waltrip was taken to the infield care center as the No. 55 NAPA Dodge was towed into the garage. Disappointed, Waltrip commented, “We loosened my car up a lot and it just got away from me.”

Eight more cars would exit the race prematurely before Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet clinched his fourth win of the season. Kevin Harvick finished in second position nearly 1.6 seconds behind the leader. Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five finishers.