Long Pond, Pennsylvania (July 23, 2006) – While rookie Denny Hamlin completed a Pocono Sweep Sunday afternoon that blew away the field for an easy victory and catapulted the young driver back into championship contention, NASCAR’s veteran drivers experienced their fair share of difficulties on the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge finished in 40th position after untimely pit stops to correct a broken right rear shock put the team several laps down.

After qualifying 39th for his 42nd consecutive start at Pocono Raceway, Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 NAPA Dodge began picking off positions early in the race. However, on Lap 21 Waltrip radioed his crew, “I’m starting to push.” A caution on Lap 22 allowed the NAPA team to adjust air pressure on all four tires and lower the track bar four rounds. Waltrip would never have the chance to get a feel for the car as the No. 55 NAPA Dodge was spun into the wall on the restart. With minimal damage to the car, Waltrip was able to stay on the track.

On Lap 58, Waltrip was running in 38th position and radioed interim crew chief Buddy Sisco for an update, “The further I go the more we start pushing on the right front. The car feels good other than that. It’s got a good attitude.” Several laps later the No. 55 NAPA Dodge ran a lap time of 57.25 seconds, a time faster than the first sixteen cars ahead of Waltrip.

At the halfway mark of the event, Waltrip was in 36th position. “It’s a little tight. The car’s better, but it needs more attention in the direction we’ve been heading. The air pressure is better than when we started, but it’s still pushing in the right front,” Waltrip radioed. The NAPA AUTO PARTS team made a green-flag stop on Lap 124 to adjust the air pressure in all four tires.

A caution was issued for debris on Lap 150. Waltrip radioed, “It feels like it did at the start of the race. It’s pushing in the front.” Currently one lap down, Waltrip steered the NAPA Dodge onto pit road for more adjustments to the air pressure on all four tires.

“Something is broke,” Waltrip radioed as he drove the No. 55 NAPA Dodge onto pit road on Lap 164. Further inspection revealed a broken right rear shock. The repairs to the car placed Waltrip several laps down and led to a 40th place finish.

Rookie Denny Hamlin became the sixth driver to sweep the season at Pocono, doing it from the pole both times. Pretty impressive for a kid who had never seen the track before he showed up last month and used EA Sports video games to learn his way around it. Kurt Busch finished second and was followed by Jeff Gordon, Brian Vickers, Kevin Harvick and points leader Jimmie Johnson. Stewart, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top 10. Michael Waltrip remains 36th in NEXTEL Cup Championship points heading into the off weekend.

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will travel to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard on Sunday, August 6. Coverage for the event will begin at 2:00 pm EDT on NBC and IMS.