Waltrip Remains 35th in Owner Points Standings
DOVER, Del. – Dover International Speedway lived up to its monster-mile reputation. The balance needed for Michael Waltrip’s NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry to be competitive proved to be tough to find. And after 400 laps were completed, Waltrip finished 28th in the Best Buy 400. The result enabled the team to remain in the top 35 heading into next weekend’s event at Pocono.
“Our race ended like it started,” said Waltrip who began the Best Buy 400 in 40th place. “The NAPA Camry would not turn. It would not turn despite all the changes we made. I now understand that this new car does not want to turn. We also have to work on getting the feel I need for the front of our car. The last time we were here, we finished 15th and I had no power steering so today’s performance was very disappointing.”
The opening laps of the Best Buy 400 saw a competition yellow scheduled for lap 30 moved up to lap 17 for a nine-car crash. The incident was triggered when Elliott Sadler was struck by David Gilliland. Waltrip came over the radio in what would turn into a red-flag period to say the NAPA car was a handful. It skated through the center and lacked right-front grip. When the race went back to caution-flag conditions, crew chief Bobby Kennedy implemented an air pressure and a two-tire change. The quick service allowed the NAPA Camry to restart the race in 18th place. The polesitter, Greg Biffle, remained in the lead.
During the next green-flag sequence Kennedy told his driver that his lap times were very competitive and at times the NAPA Camry was one of the fastest cars on the track. The race was once again slowed after the No. 34 car slowed in Turn 4. Waltrip radioed in to say his car would not turn. Another pit stop that included an air pressure adjustment was completed on lap 68. The race restarted on lap 72 with the NAPA Camry in 19th position. However, just three laps in, the NAPA Camry experienced a close call when contact was made with the No. 78 car. Waltrip was forced to relinquish his top-20 spot for a visit down pit road to have a front fender pulled out.
The race went back to green on lap 78. Waltrip’s first indication of handling problems occurred on lap 83 when he reported his car was so loose that driving it was an extreme challenge. The driver held on but lost valuable track position as well as two laps to the leader, Greg Biffle during this green-flag run. The team pitted under green on lap 152 for four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. But as bad luck would have it, the caution came out as the NAPA Camry was leaving its pit stall. The caution put the team down another lap.
Handling issues continued to challenge Waltrip for the remainder of the Best Buy 400. The team made valiant efforts to put the NAPA Camry back in competitive form during stops on laps 235 and 245. But it was not until the team’s final stop under green on lap 328 that Waltrip’s lap times were once again in very competitive form. The driver raced teammates Reutimann and Michael McDowell along with Kasey Kahne and Patrick Carpentier for position. The race concluded on lap 400 with Waltrip behind teammate Reutimann to finish 28th place.
Winning the 400-mile event was Kyle Busch. It was his fourth victory of the season for Toyota. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Dave Blaney and Jamie McMurray.
Michael Waltrip Racing’s David Reutimann finished just ahead of Waltrip in 27th place while rookie Michael McDowell scored 30th.
Next week the Sprint Cup Series visits Pocono Raceway for the Pocono 500 The race gets underway on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET on TNT television network and the Motor Racing Network.
Best Buy 400 Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/13/data/results_unofficial.html
Best Buy 400 Lap-By-Lap:
http://www.nascar.com/2008/races/lapbylap/05/31/lap.by.lap.dover/index.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Standings (Waltrip – 34th):
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/data/standings_unofficial.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Owner Standings (Waltrip – 35th): |
