RICHMOND, Va. – NAPA Racing driver Michael Waltrip improved over half a second from practice to qualifying but the significant improvement in speed was not enough to secure a starting spot in the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Although the NAPA team arrived in Richmond with a strong baseline setup following a productive test at the track in April, Waltrip struggled with a severe push condition on the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota throughout much of Friday's practice session. However, Waltrip praised the crew's efforts to make the NAPA Toyota more competitive for qualifying. "We came so far," said the two-time Daytona 500 champion. "We made a great, great, great amount of improvement." Waltrip's best qualifying lap of 21.799.seconds (123.859 mph) was 38th fastest overall, but he was classified 46th as a result of NASCAR's top-35 rule. He was just .029 of a second behind Paul Menard, the final qualifier in the 43-car field. Jeff Gordon will start from the pole for Saturday night's race, followed by Carl Edwards, Scott Riggs, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin and Dave Blaney. Four Toyota teams qualified for the Crown Royal 400. In addition to Blaney in 10th, A.J. Allmendinger, Waltrip's teammate David Reutimann and Johnny Benson qualified 13th, 14th and 31st, respectively. Michael Waltrip Racing driver Dale Jarrett was classified 48th and did not make the field. Live coverage of the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway begins May 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET on FOX. If you can't catch the race on TV, it can be heard on your local MRN Radio affiliate and Sirius Satellite Radio starting at the same time. Remember to check your local listings as dates and times of the race may change. Crown Royal 400 Starting Lineup:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/10/data/lineup.html Practice 1 Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2007/10/data/practice1_speeds.html
Next Up:
Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway on May 12
2006 Winner: Greg Biffle
2006 Pole Winner: Kasey Kahne
Television: FOX at 7 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio at 7 p.m. ET |
