August 21, 2007

BROOKLYN, Mich. – Michael Waltrip and the NAPA Racing team were looking to back up their 10th-place finish from earlier in the season at Michigan International Speedway, but their hopes were dashed when Waltrip lost control of his car on lap 92 during today’s 3M Performance 400. The driver did all he could not to damage his car, but the car of Joe Nemechek slammed into his NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry. The crew worked vigorously to make repairs and got Waltrip back in the race to claim 40th place.

“I just lost it,” said Waltrip. “As long as I slid and nobody hit me, I thought I'd be OK, but then I slid and Joe (Nemechek) did hit me as I was coming off the wall. I didn't know which way the wheels were pointing out there in so much fog, and we spun out there a little bit. I was trying to let everybody get by, and I think he was the last one to go by and he got me. I'm OK. We started out really loose. I thought I had a flat tire, and just when we got the handling back on track, this happened. It was not a good day for the NAPA team.”

Looking back on the rain-delayed race weekend, it was not a total wash. Friday saw Waltrip turn in his best Bud Pole qualifying effort of the season after recording the 11th-fastest lap. His time of 38.494 seconds (187.04 mph) was the fastest of all the go-or-go-home teams. Winning the Bud Pole was Jeff Gordon with a fast lap of 38.090 seconds (189.03 mph).

“I took a gamble in Turn 3,” said Waltrip after completing his two laps of qualifying. ”I came through Turns 1 and 2, and it was just a little tight. I was wide open, but it was just a little tight. Historically, I get tighter off this corner. When I got there, I said the heck with that and turned hard left -- and went dead to the bottom and it stuck. Sometimes, you have to go with your instincts. And, if I don't have any after 20-something years, I probably never will get them.

“We were able to pick up that speed because we didn't change anything. I had a lot of confidence in the car. We didn't do anything. They asked me what I wanted to do, and I told them; 'I love it.' I know what I got. So many times we’ve come to the track and we've had to scramble when we went to qualify, and it wasn't good. This time I had a car I could count on.”

On Saturday, the crew participated in two practice sessions. Waltrip recorded the 38th and 33rd fastest times. Overall, the driver wanted the car to be loosened up through the corners. Adjustments made during the team’s final run worked well, and Waltrip told the crew to make more changes in that direction in preparations for the 3M Performance 400.

Teams and fans were forced to ride out a major weather front that moved in on Saturday night. Rain fell for two days, causing NASCAR to postpone the running of the race until Tuesday. Pole sitter Jeff Gordon was finally able to lead the 43-car field to the green and yellow flag shortly after 10 a.m. However, NASCAR opted to throw the red flag after 10 laps since the spotters had trouble seeing Turns 3 and 4 due to fog. The race was finally underway shortly after 11 a.m.

The first caution flag flew just five laps in on lap 15 when Juan Pablo Montoya lost control of his car. Waltrip came over the radio to tell his team that the car was running really well, but he felt the NAPA Camry would eventually go to the tight side. However, shortly after the green flag waved on lap 18, the driver radioed in to say his car was loose through the exit of the turns. The car’s handling saw Waltrip drop from 11th to 22nd place, so he asked for a small air-pressure change when the competition yellow was thrown on lap 32.

The next green-flag sequence started on lap 35. Waltrip called over the radio just one lap later to say he had a flat tire. The driver quickly came onto pit road for new tires and a track-bar adjustment. The unscheduled service caused the team to lose one lap to leader Jeff Gordon. Despite the adjustments, the NAPA Camry was still extremely loose – so much so that the driver was concerned the car would spin out.

Since he was a lap down, Waltrip came to pit road with the leaders under green on lap 72 in 42nd place. Major air-pressure and track-bar adjustments were completed. This time, the changes affected the car in a very positive way. More adjustments were made on lap 91 under caution. As before, the changes were to Waltrip’s liking, and he was hoping to make up his two laps. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so when he was the cause of the fourth caution of the event on lap 95.

Despite the damage to the No. 55 machine, the NAPA team worked on the car behind the wall in hopes of finishing ahead of the # 08 car as well as the # 45 car. Accomplishing this would allow the team to earn enough points to stay ahead of the # 49 team (driver John Andretti) in owner points. The plan worked as Waltrip was able to finish the race in 40th place, while the # 45 finished 41st and the # 08 finished 43rd.

“I hate it for my guys. It was a bad day,” concluded the NAPA driver. “The car just did not handle the way we anticipated based on our adjustments made after Happy Hour. I never imagined it would be so loose. Normally, cars tend to go towards the tight side at Michigan. For whatever reason, ours was so loose. I just hate it for my guys. They worked so hard this weekend and did an incredible job to get me back out there. This could have been a good points day for us. Luckily, we did not shoot ourselves too much in the foot. We’ve got Bristol next week, and I am confident we’ll have another shot at it.”

Winning the 3M Performance 400 was Kurt Busch. Today’s victory was his second of the season. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Dave Blaney, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart.

A total of four Toyota teams participated in today’s race. In the MWR stable, rookie David Reutimann finished 23rd. Unfortunately MWR’s Dale Jarrett did not qualify for the 3M Performance 400.

Next week Waltrip and the NAPA AUTO PARTS crew go Saturday night racing at the half-mile bullring known as Bristol Motor Speedway. Waltrip is looking to rebound from earlier this season when he missed the Food City 500 by a mere .078 of a second.

3M Performance 400 Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/23/data/results_unofficial.html

Next Up:
Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 25 at 7 p.m.
2006 Winner: Matt Kenseth
2006 Pole: Kurt Busch
Television: ESPN at 7 p.m. ET
Radio: PRN