July 16 , 2007

JOLIET , IL. – Michael Waltrip steered his NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry to a 30th-place finish at Chicagoland Speedway. The team battled a variety of handling conditions throughout the 267-lap event before Waltrip regained competitive form in the closing laps.

“My NAPA AUTO PARTS Camry started out competitive, but we lost the handle on it during the middle part of the race, and it cost us a ton of ground,” said Waltrip after starting the race in 28th position. “The crew worked incredibly hard, and by the end, we rebounded and got our Camry in competitive form. We battled Nemechek for position there at the end and went back and forth. I really wanted to top him, but he was just a little better than us when it mattered most.

“What we really need to do now is document everything we did today and work on what we need to do to get this car right. We know it has the potential to go fast because it got the job done for us in Michigan. I know we can get it better, so we’ll just need to keep moving forward and plugging away. We’ll get this NAPA Camry where it needs to be.”

Casey Mears led the 43-car field to the green flag and fans were treated to a run that saw the first round of pit stops at the 50-lap mark. When it was Waltrip’s turn to visit pit road in 30th place on lap 51, the crew went to work to make air-pressure and track-bar changes. Four fresh tires were also bolted on and fuel was added. Over the radio, Waltrip said he started out loose, but ended up too tight at the end of a run. When he went back out, he was in 29th place.

The first caution of the day flew on lap 60 shortly after the NAPA Camry went one lap down to leader Jimmie Johnson. Jeff Green broke loose and spun in turn 2 alongside Waltrip. The NAPA Camry went sideways and cut down a left-rear tire, which forced Waltrip to pit with the leaders to change the tire before it caused any damage. Upon exit, the driver had to drop back to 40th place for pitting too early. When the race resumed on lap 64, Kevin Harvick was the leader.

The next 150 laps saw the team struggle to get a handle on the NAPA Camry. A series of adjustments were made on laps 117, 158, 167 and 205. Waltrip tried everything he could to keep the car under control, but in the opening laps of a sequence, he said his car had a tendency to want to spin out. During this time, the NAPA Camry was in 35th place and Tony Stewart was taking a commanding lead.

Calling the shots from the NAPA pit box was Bobby Kennedy, director of competition for Michael Waltrip Racing. He put into motion a series of major adjustments when the caution flag flew on lap 224 after Jimmie Johnson crashed. Kennedy ordered a right-front shock change, the removal of a spring rubber and adjustments to the air pressure and track bar. The changes improved the handling of the car, and Waltrip recorded his fastest laps of the race.

The NAPA team’s final stop of the USG Sheetrock 400 was on lap 248 under caution. An air-pressure adjustment was made to help loosen up the car since it was tight in and off the corners. Waltrip believed the car was improving, but needed it to free up in order to challenge Joe Nemechek for 29th place.

The final green-flag run got underway on lap 256. Stewart went head to head with Matt Kenseth, while Waltrip and Nemechek went to battle. In the early stages, it appeared Waltrip could hold him off, but Nemechek’s car was slightly better, and he was able to pass the NAPA Camry in the closing laps.

Claiming his first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory of the season was Tony Stewart. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer.

A total of four Toyota teams participated in Sunday’s event. Besides Waltrip, his teammate David Reutimann was relegated to 43rd after losing an engine, while Jeremy Mayfield and Dave Blaney finished 26th and 40th, respectively.

Next week, the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series takes a break before returning to action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the running of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on July 29.

USG Sheetrock 400 Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/19/data/results_unofficial.html

Unofficial Driver Standings:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/data/standings_unofficial.html

Next Up:
The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 29
2006 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2006 Pole: Jeff Burton
Television: ESPN
Radio: IMS