CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (October 14, 2006) – After qualifying in a respectable 23rd-place for the Bank of America 500, the only night race in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup Championship, it seemed Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS team had continued their streak of good fortune. Waltrip was returning to the series’ second race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway after the best performance of his 2006 season, a 14th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway. However, a miscue entering pit road caused Waltrip to loose control of the car and any chance of another top-15 finish.

Fans expecting a thrilling, action-packed event would not wait long for the event’s first major collision as the caution flag waved on Lap One following a crash involving 14 cars, including Chase contender Denny Hamlin. Waltrip narrowly escaped Hamlin’s car as it spun out of control up the racetrack. “That’s the best my car has been all weekend,” Waltrip radioed. “It could be awful in five laps, but for now it feels pretty good.” Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin Jr. called Waltrip into the pits for a splash of fuel and to clean grass from the screen of the NAPA Dodge. Waltrip restarted in 32nd position.

Several laps later, Baldwin radioed his wheelman, “How’s the car feel?” Waltrip had climbed four positions into 28th-place. “I can’t put my finger on what’s wrong,” he radioed. “At the bottom it’s a little loose, and if I try a higher line it gets tight.” A caution of Lap 16 allowed the NAPA AUTO PARTS team to correct the car’s handling. Baldwin made the call for four fresh tires, fuel, one (round) down on the track bar and a minor inner liner adjustment.

The NAPA Dodge was in 31st position on Lap 53. “Tell the guys in the shop next week, they did a great job on the engine. It’s really purring,” Waltrip radioed. “I’ve developed a bad vibration in the left front though.” Two laps later, Waltrip steered the car onto pit road under green with a flat left-front tire. After a two-tire stop, Waltrip returned to the field, and on Lap 76 he had dropped to 35th-place.

“You’ve been quiet out there. How’s the car?” Baldwin radioed. “It’s the best it’s been,” Waltrip radioed. “I just can’t seem to make any ground up on these guys.” On Lap 104, disaster befell the NAPA AUTO PARTS team as the car ran out of gas on the backstretch of the 1.5-mile oval. As Waltrip committed to entering the pits exiting turn four, he lost control of the No. 55 NAPA Dodge, sending him crashing into the wall and skidding through the grass on the infield. Unharmed, Waltrip drove the damaged car into the NEXTEL Cup garage.

Upon further inspection, the car’s lower A-frame had sheered during the wreck and damaged the header. Baldwin and the NAPA crew would be unable to repair the vehicle and return to the 334-lap event. “I thought we had a decent chance out here tonight. The NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge was running pretty good, but I just got a little loose down there on the apron and lost control,” Waltrip commented on the wreck.

Chase contender Kasey Kahne did everything right Saturday night, leading a race-high 134 laps en route to his sixth win of the year and a season sweep at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson, who has now won five of the last eight races at the track, finished second. Jeff Burton overcame a pit-road miscue to finish third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Bobby Labonte.

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will travel to Martinsville Speedway this weekend for the Subway 500 on Sunday, October 22, 2006. Coverage will begin at 12:30 pm EDT on NBC and MRN.