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AVONDALE, Ariz. – Michael Waltrip and the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS team survived two red-flag periods and an ill-handling Toyota Camry to finish in 24th place in the Phoenix 500k at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). The race results saw all three MWR teams finish in the top-25. Reutimann crossed the finish line in 25th, while the team’s new addition, Marcos Ambrose scored his best Cup finish on an oval by posting an 18th-place finish. He also earned his team a starting spot in the season finale at Homestead, Fla., with the No. 47 team now in 35th position in the owner point’s standings.
“We had a frustrating day that turned out all right,” said Waltrip following the race. “The guys did a good job figuring out what was going on with the car. They made the right calls when it came time to make the adjustments and they all should be proud of what they accomplished today.”
American Gladiator, “Wolf” (Don Yates) paid a visit to the NAPA team prior to the start of the race while baseball legend Reggie Jackson sat on the NAPA pit box for the first 30 laps of the race as a guest of Speedway Children’s Charities.
Current point’s leader Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag, while Waltrip rolled his NAPA Toyota Camry off the grid in 25th. During the first 20 laps of Sunday’s race, Waltrip turned in steady lap times and reported that the car was a tiny bit free going into the corners. So when the first caution of the day was thrown for an incident involving Elliott Sadler and Sam Hornish Jr. on lap 21, the first of four accidents in Turn 3, crew chief Bobby Kennedy brought his driver in for two right side tires and fuel. He restarted the race in 20th place.
It was Brian Vickers who fell victim to Turn 3 on lap 32 causing the second caution. This time Kennedy elected to have his driver stay on the track since it had not been that many laps since they made their first stop. After the race went back to green on lap 36, it was just two laps later that rain began to fall from the desert sky. NASCAR threw the yellow flag for the third time on lap 38. Then on lap 43, it was raining hard enough for NASCAR to bring out the red flag.
Once the race went green again on lap 47 after a 24-minute delay, Waltrip told his team that the car was a handful. The longest green-flag run of the race came next, and as a result green flag pit stops started taking place on lap 98. Waltrip brought his Toyota in for service on lap 102. The crew went to work on a track bar adjustment, added fuel and changed four fresh tires to get their driver back on track in just 14 seconds.
Jimmie Johnson continued his dominance as the race remained under green-flag conditions until lap 142. Debris was the culprit. Kennedy called his driver onto pit road after Waltrip reported the front tires were vibrating and the front end was bouncing and skating. The crew bolted on four tires, made a right-front shock adjustment, and put the track bar down to help resolve the handling issues. As Waltrip entered the track for the restart on lap 149 in 38th position, there were only 20 cars on the lead lap. The No. 55 NAPA Toyota was one of 18 cars that were down a lap due to the green-flag stops that had taken place early in the event.
When the fifth caution of the race took place on lap 211, once again for debris, Waltrip was not happy with his NAPA Toyota. Air pressure adjustments were made while a round of wedge was taken out. Fuel was added. Once back on track, Waltrip said the car was getting better and that it had stopped vibrating and chattering. The only challenge now was that it was loose coming off of the corners. On lap 263, the caution came out and the team used the opportunity to take another round of wedge out and added fuel in what would be the final stop of the day. The race went back to green on lap 267 with Waltrip in 30th position.
On lap 275, the No. 42 car driven by Juan Pablo Montoya turned Casey Mears resulting in one wild ride for Scott Speed and David Gilliland. As the hard-hitting action swept through the field, Speed literally drove his No. 84 Toyota underneath the backend of the No. 38 car of Gilliland. This brought out the second red flag of the day. A total of nine cars were involved in the incident including MWR teammate Marcos Ambrose, who was running in the top 15. The red flag was out for 18 minutes allowing for cleanup. During that time, Kennedy and Waltrip discussed their race strategy. Both agreed that taking two tires on the first stop and making the right-front shock adjustment cost the team valuable track position. However, during the last run, the car was back in competitive form.
Waltrip elaborated, “I don’t know how we fixed it, but we did and that’s most important and I am proud of you guys. We just don’t have to go through this again.”
The field took the green again on lap 278, but it was not long before Turn 3 claimed another casualty as Reed Sorenson brought out the caution when he hit the wall in front of Waltrip. The NAPA Camry managed to stay out of trouble. As soon as the race went green on lap 289, it was slowed again four short circuits later for debris. Kennedy once again kept his driver on the track. Waltrip was now in 25th position.
As the final laps counted down, one more caution came out when Robby Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart collided in Turn 2. Waltrip did not pit during the caution. He ended up recording his fastest laps during the final circuits and managed to pass teammate David Reutimann to cross the line in the 24th spot.
Point’s leader Jimmie Johnson dominated the race. He led 217 laps en route to collecting his third-consecutive win at PIR. He stretched his lead for the year-end championship to 141 points over second place Carl Edwards. The remaining top-10 finishers were Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, and David Ragan.
The season finale, the Homestead 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway, takes place this Sunday. The race airs at 3 p.m. Eastern on ABC and MRN radio.
Phoenix 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Results:
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/35/data/results_unofficial.html
Phoenix 500k NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Lap-By-Lap:
http://www.nascar.com/2008/races/lapbylap/11/08/lap.by.lap.phoenix2/index.html
NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver Standings (Waltrip – 29th):
NASCAR Sprint Cup Owner Standings (Waltrip – 29th):
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