Brooklyn, Michigan (August 20, 2006) – After starting third and leading a race-high 87 laps, Matt Kenseth further solidified his rightful place among NASCAR’s contenders for the 2006 NEXTEL Cup Championship earning his third victory of the season at Michigan International Speedway in the GFS Marketplace 400. The win, the thirteenth of Kenseth’s career, cut points leader Jimmie Johnson’s lead to a mere 58 points. However, while headlines begin to focus solely towards the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, the progress of the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS team continues to cause the NASCAR garage to take notice.

The weekend saw a new paint scheme on the No. 55 NAPA Dodge as the Domino’s Pizza logo adorned the hood for a one-race promotion, and Michael Waltrip delivered the third best qualifying run of the season, a 22 nd starting position.

Little chatter was heard over the NAPA AUTO PARTS team’s radios as Waltrip tried to grasp a feel for his car, but by Lap 41 the NAPA Dodge had developed a push off the corners. A caution on the following lap allowed the NAPA team to address the problem with adjustments to air pressure and the track-bar. “It’s amazing! One guy shows up and I learn to drive again. Thanks for the assistance Tommy,” Waltrip radioed crew chief Tommy Baldwin, Jr. a few laps later.

At the halfway mark of the event, Waltrip was running in 21 st position exploring multiple grooves on the 2-mile oval. The move cost the team as Waltrip’s times steadily grew worse. “I’m sliding pretty badly out here. When I put on the gas I nearly spin out. I slide the tires until they stop and then the car decides to turn left,” Waltrip radioed regarding the car’s condition. Waltrip steered the No. 55 NAPA Dodge onto pit road a few laps later, but the adjustments only made the car’s handling worse. “We’ve consistently made it worse,” Waltrip radioed. Tommy Baldwin replied, “We’ve got all the changes made to where the car’s back to the set-up we started with plus a half turn up on the track-bar. See if it comes back to you.”

“It’s real loose exiting. It’s perfect into the corner and good in the center, but terrible coming out when I get on the gas. It’s just not working right. It takes too long for it to come around,” Waltrip radioed on Lap 152. More adjustments to the air pressure and track-bar of the No. 55 NAPA Dodge were made on Lap 160, but the car only seemed to get worse with each lap. “It’s worse now than it’s been all day. I’m sideways everywhere,” Waltrip radioed.

As the GFS Marketplace 400 drew to a close, Waltrip began posting times nearly four-tenths of a second faster than the ten cars ahead of the NAPA Dodge. With each remaining lap, Waltrip picked off position after position to post a 23 rd place finish at MIS. “I’m really proud of this NAPA team today. They worked extremely hard for me in the pits. I’ve said it before, but Tommy Badlwin, Jr. has been a huge asset to have atop the pit box. When you have a crew chief that is already thinking of ways to address a problem before it occurs, a driver can concentrate on the track and the other 42 drivers out there. I have the utmost confidence in his abilities to lead this NAPA AUTO PARTS team. I only wish we wouldn’t have run out of laps. We were on our way to what could have been our best finish of the season. I’m looking forward to next week’s race at Bristol and seeing what we can throw at these guys,” Waltrip commented after the race.

While some of the top-10 drivers were shuffled, nobody fell out. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. held onto 10 th place, 49 points ahead of Kahne, his closest pursuer. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, and Mark Martin rounded out the event’s top-five.

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will travel to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Sharpie 500 on Saturday, August 26. Coverage for the event will begin at 7:00 pm EDT on TNT and PRN.