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NAPA AUTO PARTS Camry Finishes 37th at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. – Michael Waltrip and the NAPA Racing team finished 37th in Saturday night’s Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Waltrip was involved in an accident triggered by Casey Mears on lap 355 and had to go to the garage at the request of NASCAR. Taking the victory after a green-white-checkered-flag finish was Clint Bowyer.
Virginia native Denny Hamlin led the 43-car field to the green flag. The opening laps saw Waltrip battle a tight-handling condition. But as the laps ticked away, the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry times picked up and by lap 40, crew chief Bobby Kennedy informed his driver that his times were equivalent to the leader Hamlin.
The first caution of the day for debris came out on lap 66 as Waltrip was running in 20th position. The pit crew went to work to make an air pressure adjustment and bolt on four fresh tires. The race resumed on lap 71 with Waltrip in 20th and Hamlin in the lead.
The NAPA Camry continued to push. Air pressure was adjusted under caution during stop on laps 129, 140 and 207. Waltrip comfortably raced in the top 25 with his highest position being 19th place during the first 200 laps of the race. However, by the halfway mark, Hamlin lapped up to 20th place so Waltrip was focused on racing his way back onto the lead lap.
The driver still was not satisfied with the way his NAPA Camry handled at the 220 lap mark when the fifth caution flag was thrown after Paul Menard and Brian Vickers had a problem on the backstretch. According to Waltrip, his car still would not turn. The pit crew went to work to make air pressure and track bar adjustments. Waltrip returned to the track in 29th position and Hamlin was the leader when the race went back to green on lap 227.
The race was red flagged when an 11-car accident occurred in Turn 3 on lap 231. The cars of Michael McDowell, Regan Smith, Kurt Busch, Patrick Carpentier, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, David Gilliland, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmie Johnson, J.J. Yeley and Carl Edwards were involved. After a 21-minute delay, the race resumed with Waltrip in 24th place. Kennedy instructed his driver to stay out versus pitting under caution. Another caution soon followed when Waltrip’s teammate McDowell was hit by A.J. Allmendinger, who had brake problems. As before, Kennedy opted to keep his driver out on the track since Waltrip was on the verge of racing his way back onto the lead lap.
Hamlin continued to dominate as the green flag waved on lap 267. The NAPA Camry was in 20th, but had to relinquish the track position just 66 laps later when Waltrip needed to pit for four fresh tires. Kennedy was very pleased with his driver’s performance since Waltrip was maintaining the track position against teams who had fresher tires over the course of the 60-lap run.
Trouble struck just 22 laps later for the NAPA Racing team. The car driven by Mears collided with Waltrip’s car on lap 355. The NAPA Camry was significantly faster than Mears and was on the verge of making the pass when the contact occurred. NASCAR questioned the post-accident contact by Waltrip and opted to park the NAPA team for the remainder of the race.
The closing laps of the Crown Royal 400 did not disappoint race fans. Hamlin, who set a record for leading the most laps (381) of a 400-lap event, relinquished his chance to win after a tire problem on lap 391. Then Dale Earnhardt Jr., who assumed the race lead, and Kyle Busch got together resulting is a spin by Earnhardt, Jr. That contact led the way for Clint Bowyer, who went on to claim the win after a green-white-checkered-flag finish.
Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne.
Michael Waltrip Racing teammates David Reutimann finished 22nd. Rookie Michael McDowell finished 40th after being caught up in two on-track accidents.
Next up is the Dodge Challenger 500 on Saturday, May 10th at Darlington Raceway. Broadcast coverage starts at 7 p.m. on FOX and MRN radio network.
Crown Royal 400 Unofficial Race Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/10/data/results_unofficial.html
Crown Royal 400 Lap-By-Lap:
http://www.nascar.com/2008/races/lapbylap/05/03/lap.by.lap.richmond/index.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Standings (Waltrip – 32nd):
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/data/standings_unofficial.html |
