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CONCORD, N.C. – The No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS team rebounded from a wreck on lap 206 during Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to finish in 24th place. Driver Michael Waltrip had one of the fastest cars when the race began, and despite the damage from the accident, his team made adjustments to return Waltrip’s Camry to competitive form. The team’s finish kept Waltrip 29th in driver points and 31st in the owner standings. It also equated to his 11th top-25 finish of 2008.
“What a crazy night,” said Waltrip, who started the Bank of America in 31st place after all on track activity, including qualifying, was cancelled due to rain on Thursday. “I don’t know how you take a crashed car and take a bump stop out to make the car better, but we did. My car on the last run was fast. Bobby Kennedy (crew chief) kept telling me my lap times were equal to Burton’s and I was amazed. We were catching Sam Hornish Jr. and Regan Smith for position, and we would have gotten them if I had two more laps. We just ran out of time.
“I am so proud of my NAPA crew. They gave me a really good car. We just lost the handling during the middle of the race. I’m not sure who put the fluid down on the track that caused us to wreck, but my guys rallied and we were able to salvage a decent finish. I told my guys, despite our adversity, I never give up. They didn’t either.
“I really want Bobby and the guys to go over our NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry with a fine tooth comb because we made a wrecked car run well. I know we learned something tonight so we really need to capitalize on it.”
Points leader Jimmie Johnson led the 43-car field to the green flag. Waltrip’s NAPA Toyota wasted no time moving up through the field. By lap 25, he was 25th and running lap times equal to Johnson. The first caution was thrown on lap 44 after Joe Nemechek hit the wall in Turn 4. Waltrip’s car pitted for four tires and fuel. No adjustments were made. The pit crew completed the service in 14 seconds to return to the track in 19th position.
Waltrip returned to the pits after AJ Allmendinger, driving the No. 00 Toyota for MWR, crashed hard in Turn 3. Waltrip did not like the set of tires put on during the first stop. The NAPA Camry was too tight, so after the service he returned to the track in 24th and Johnson remained in the lead.
The NAPA Camry had a close call on lap 63. While diving low on the frontstretch to pass Mike Skinner and Kenny Schrader, Waltrip caught part of the infield grass. It caused him to make contact with Skinner as Schrader was crowding Skinner’s line. Waltrip was able to continue on, but Schrader and Skinner needed repairs to bring out the third caution of the event. When the race went back to green on lap 71, Waltrip was 17th and Johnson was still in the top spot.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. caught the wall on lap 103 to bring out the next caution. Waltrip remained on track to take the lead and gain five valuable bonus points. He then came down pit road for an air pressure change to the right front tire as well as a half-spring rubber addition in the right front as the NAPA Camry remained extremely tight through the corners. The pit crew was penalized for improperly rolling a tire so Waltrip had to start at the tail end of the longest line in 26th place. The race restarted on lap 108 with Tony Stewart in the lead.
The addition of the spring rubber led to major handling problems for the NAPA Toyota during the middle portion of the Bank of America 500. Despite the challenge, Waltrip was still able to climb back into the top 25 and on lap 200, he was in 23rd place. Unfortunately, five laps later, Waltrip was wrecked coming out of Turn 4 when fluid was put down on the track by another car believed to be driven by Jimmie Johnson. Waltrip had no warning as his car snapped loose causing him to slide through the frontstretch grass. The cars of Bobby Labonte and Casey Mears were also involved. The NAPA car’s toe-in was knocked off alignment, so the pit crew went to work to fix it on laps 206, 207, 208 and 210.
When the race returned to green on lap 212, Waltrip was in 29th place, one lap down, and racing David Gilliland, Regan Smith, Sam Hornish Jr., and Juan Pablo Montoya for position. Waltrip managed his wrecked car, telling Kennedy, “I’ll live with it.” Waltrip refused to give up and his team followed suit as one of the key pit stops for the NAPA team came on lap 267 when the crew pulled some packer out of the left front bump stop. Waltrip returned to the track and within 30 laps, the NAPA Camry was back in competitive form to once again run laps times as fast as the new leader, Jeff Burton. Waltrip’s fast car gained two positions and was closing in quickly on Regan Smith and Sam Hornish Jr. but ran out of time as Burton crossed the finish line first. The NAPA Toyota took the checkered flag in 24th place.
Burton’s victory was his second of the season. It also enabled him to move up to second in the Championship standings. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and David Ragan.
Waltrip’s teammate David Reutimann ran most of the race in the top 10 before suffering a brake problem. He was relegated to a 32nd-place finish. As for AJ Allmendinger, driving the double 00 in a one-race deal, he tried to make a pass by going three-wide but ended up wrecking on lap 53. He finished 43rd.
Entering the sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship, the top-12 in the Sprint Cup Chase standings are Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin.
This week, the final short-track event of the season takes place on Sunday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Broadcast coverage starts at 1 p.m. Eastern on ABC and the Motor Racing Nework.
Bank of America 500 Race Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/31/data/results_unofficial.html
Bank of America 500 Lap-By-Lap:
http://www.nascar.com/2008/races/lapbylap/10/11/charlotte/index.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Standings (Waltrip – 29th):
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/data/standings_unofficial.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Owner Standings (Waltrip 31st):
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