Amp Energy 500 - 11/1/09
Michael Waltrip led a lap today and finished 7th in the wreck filled Amp Energy 500, today's Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose finished 26th and 34th respectivel and were both involved in late race wrecks.
Because qualifying was rained out, the field was set according to owner point standings. Mikey rolled off 33rd, David 16th, and Marcos 17th.
"1, 2, 3. Hello? Can you hear me okay?" Mikey was the first on his radio at 1:07pm.
"10-4," spotter Ty Norris replied. "I have a good copy. How 'bout you?"
"Yeah, I got you."
"Got a copy?" a crew member asked.
"You got me there, Michael?" crew chief Gene Nead asked.
"Loud and clear."
"Okay, bud, we 've got the 29 behind us on pit road and the 18 in front of us."
"Okay."
The call the start engines came one minute later.
Marcos came on the #55 radio, but I didn't catch what he said.
"Hey, Marcos, you having a good day?" Mikey asked.
Marcos didn't respond.
"About five away right there, bud," Gene noted the #55's spot on pit road. "Let's have us a good day, man."
"Okay, bud, do you still
"I do."
"10-4. What are we looking for, Gene?"
Gene came out in static.
"Okay, bud, you talked at the same time. 4700 and second?"
Gene said it was and that he'd been talking to an official. "You hear me on the backstretch?"
"Not really," Mikey replied.
"You hear us on the 47?"
"Michael, 47," Ty added.
"Yeah, 47," Mikey responded.
Gene reminded Mikey to turn on his fan if his temperatures went up to cool them down.
"I don't have any idea what he said."
"I don't either. Actually, it sounded like he was mumbling into a pillow." Ty said he sounded low and to speak up.
"10-4. What I said was, if we get in the draft a little bit, and the thing heats up, turn on one of the fans and cool down."
"Roger," Mikey replied. "He fixed his radio. That's pretty good."
"Sharpie. Make sure they know to clean the grill everything. Okay," Gene spoke to the crew.
"All right, buddy, one to go, one to go," Ty stated.
"Michael, let's have us a good day, bud. We had a good talk with our guys, and we'll do our best in here, and we'll have us a good day."
"Roger," Mikey replied. "Good job getting ready, guys. Good job preparing the car. We had a good practice, so let's get on it here. Hopefully, we'll be there at the end."
"10-4. Ty, keep on top of it out there."
"Yes sir," Ty replied.
"Make sure you pump your brakes up a little bit, because we did pump them back after qualifying."
"10-4," Mikey yawned.
"Come on, buddy. Be ready. You'll be coming to the green this time," Ty said.
Jimmie Johnson led the field to the green flag at 1:22pm ET.
"All right, pace car's off. All right, be ready. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling, two by two. Still two by two. Two by two, got one all the way at the top, the 26. All the way at the top, backing up. Still right there on your bumper, still outside."
Mark Martin led the first lap. Mikey was 37th, David 12th, Marcos 21st.
"Still outside, two by two. Around that 70 if you want it, two back. One back. Inside, the 71's going to have a run on the bottom. You're clear there. It will be four wide off this corner, still got one all the way at the top. Clear up there. Nice job."
"I tried to run the fastest lap in recent history right there," it sounded like Mikey said.
"10-4, bud," Gene replied.
"Clear two back behind you. Middle still rolling, middle still rolling. Still both sides, still both sides. Slow one off this corner. Both sides, both sides."
Kurt Busch led lap 3. Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne dropped two seconds behind everyone else. Mikey was 22nd, David 3rd, and Marcos 13th.
"Car's outside. Still all the way at the top, still outside. Nice job. Got one looking on the inside, all the way on the bottom. Clear about seven or eight behind you. Clear seven behind you."
The first caution was on lap 5. Paul Menard cut a tire and collected Joe Nemechek.
"That high line is backing up a little bit. Caution's out, caution's out, caution's out. Got a couple cars in the wall behind you. Caution's out."
"How could that be?" Mikey asked.
"98 and I don't know. 87 maybe?"
"What's your water temp there, bud?" Gene asked.
"190, 190. It's circumstances, Ty, it's fine," Mikey said. "What did I run that first lap?"
Gene told him.
"Oh, I thought it was faster than that. Make sure y'all do the math, and if it gets us in the window, then let's get gas. It could go green. I don't know what happened to these two."
"Lap 4 was our window." Gene said they'd come in and would clean the grill too.
Ty warned them that, if everyone came, they might just get fuel.
Gene said they were going with what they'd planned.
"I know what you mean, Ty. We'll figure it out," Mikey replied.
"Pit road's open. Where's the 29 here? Where's the 29 on the race track? Okay, we're going to have to come around the 29."
"He's like 5th," Ty said. "29 didn't come. We're coming though, we're coming."
"Pull a tear-off," Mikey requested.
Gene said he would and called the #55 into the box. "Halfway... all the way... halfway... all the way, all the way."
"Did one of them blow a tire, Ty, or did they just get together?" Mikey asked.
"That's what I'm trying to find out." Ty said he thought he'd heard someone say they got a flat.
"There were flats yesterday, so I don't know." Mikey told Ty to keep him informed.
"98 said he cut a tire. Who knows when it happened, but he said he cut a tire and went straight to the wall." Ty said ten or twelve people dropped back as a means of defensive driving, so it was crazy.
"Well, we kind of knew that already."
Ty told Mikey there was one to go. "Should be behind the 09 on the bottom, p25."
Mikey said he didn't know how it was one to go when there were so many safety trucks on the track and they'd just pulled the #98 off the wall.
"10-4. There are just as many trucks out there as there are cars."
Kurt Busch led the lap 9 restart. Mikey was 25th, David 4th, Marcos 13th.
"All the trucks come off. Pace car's off. Be ready. Green green green. Everybody's rolling, two by two. Clear there, all clear. One back to the 39. Still clear one back to the 39. Now he's going to have a run on the bottom. 18 coming outside. Got one on the outside, the 18 coming all by himself. Clear behind him if you want it, still two back to the 39. Everyone's kind of chilling there. Clear two back."
Carl Edwards led lap 10.
"Half back, the 44, working the high side all by himself. It will be clear two back right there, clear two back. Still outside. Outside outside. You're still clear there, still clear if you need it."
David led lap 11, after Greg Biffle had given him a push. Mikey was 29th, Marcos 12th.
"We're in good shape." Ty warned about cars behind Mikey who were getting antsy. "You're clear. The 36 and the 19 with a pusher. 19's got a pusher, the 82. Inside. They're not coming with you, not coming with you. Clear two back anyway. Nice job."
Carl Edwards had led lap 12, but David took back the lead one lap later. Mikey was 29th, Marcos 11th.
"You're all clear, bud. No one's getting away. Nice job. Clear three back. Clear there, all clear."
On lap 15, Mikey was 27th. Marcos was 24th, and David continued to lead.
"It's just you and the 19, bud, and then it's four or five back to the next group," Ty told his driver.
"The 19's fast," Mikey observed.
"47 still all the way at the top there. All clear there, whatever you need. All clear. Still down there, still down there. Still down there on the bottom, still down there on the bottom. Still got one on the bottom, you're still clear high if you need it."
Mikey was 26th on lap 17, having passed Marcos. David continued to lead.
"Still clear on the bottom if you want it, still clear on the bottom if you want it. You're going to be three wide. Still outside on your door, the 1. Going to be three-wide here, three-wide. Still got the 14 right there in your mirror, clear whatever you need."
On lap 18, Mikey was 25th. Jeff Gordon passed David for the lead one lap later. Marcos passed Mikey on the same lap.
"You're still clear one back. You're all clear, bud, all clear. Still down there on the bottom, two by two. Still clear on the high side, got one on the bottom. Four wide for a second. Still four wide, still four wide, back to three."
Mikey was 23rd on lap 21. David was 10th, Marcos 16th.
"Still three-wide, still three-wide. That middle lane's covered. Middle lane's covered. Still two by two. Three-wide there, three-wide. Three-wide three-wide. You're back to two-wide, but it's the high and the middle lane that's covered. Still two by two, everybody has help."
On lap 23, Casey Mears took the lead. Mikey was 9th, Marcos 6th, David 21st.
"Still got you covered on that middle line there. Three-wide, three-wide. The 2 car lost all its help, so the big line is on the bottom now. 2 car's in the middle still. You're three-wide right there, three-wide. Right there on your bumper. It's going to be three-wide still. Got a big push coming from the 9. You're going to be clear now, clear clear. You're still clear. You saw that inside line. They took a run at it, and they're dropping back now. The 9 and the 1 and the 42 behind you."
Mikey was 10th on lap 24. Marcos was 5th, and David was 23rd. Much of the field ran single-file.
"Single file, about six or seven deep behind you."
Mikey was 7th on lap 26. Marcos was 5th and David 15th. Dave Blaney had gone to the garage, and Nemechek and Menard were officially out.
"Water and oil?" Gene asked.
"200, 190," Mikey replied.
"Getting a little antsy at the back of the line, M-Dub. Everyone else is just chilling," Ty said on lap 31, as the entire field now ran single-file.
"190, 190," Mikey gave temperatures again.
"10-4, bud," Gene replied.
Ty asked Gene when he thought other cars who hadn't come in yet hadn't pit. He said they'd pit around lap 35.
"If we have enough, stick around," Mikey suggested.
"10-4. We're going to hang out," Gene replied.
"All right, got the 13 all by himself on the bottom right off of 3. Shouldn't be an issue."
Max Papis lost the lead lap on lap 36. Meanwhile, a windshield tear-off flew off Mikey's car on its own.
"All right, you're all clear," Ty said. A couple laps later, he added, "You're going to complete lap 40 when you come around here. Complete lap 40. I'll let you know if cars start coming in. Should be a lap or two."
Green flag pit stops began on lap 41 with Martin Truex Jr, Juan Pablo Montoya, Joey Logano, and Brian Vickers. Ty warned Mikey about them.
"Still all clear, all clear," said the spotter.
One lap later, Casey Mears, Marcos, and Kevin Harvick pit. Marcos took on four tires.
"You're three back, three back. The 07 and 29 are coming this time," Ty warned. "The 9 up top with you, the 9's up top with you. All the help's up top, all the help's up top. Still down there, still down there. Got the 19 coming, the 19 coming. Inside, inside. 00's up top with you."
More cars came to pit road.
"You're all clear, whatever you need. You're all clear. Still all clear all clear."
Dale Earnhardt Jr led lap 43. Mikey was 4th, David 8th, Marcos 34th.
Ty warned Mikey about the #19, but David helped Mikey get by him. The #19 returned to the outside of the #55. "Still outside. Got a lot of them up top. Just you and the 00 and the 11 on the bottom. Still outside outside."
Elliott Sadler's #19 led lap 45. Mikey was 5th.
"A bunch of a ton of guys are speeding off pit road. I'll let you know. Got a slow one on the bottom. Still up top, the 17. Still up top, clear down low if you need it. Still outside outside. Still outside outside. Outside outside, two by two. Still going to be three-wide right there, three-wide. The 17's up top. This is lap 46. How many more, Gene?"
"Five more, bud, five more."
"10-4. Just want to make sure he's in position. Outside outside."
Mikey was 6th and David 8th on lap 47. Marcos was 24th, and Sadler continued to lead. Cars continued to make stops.
"Still outside outside. Three-wide right there, three-wide. Back to two-wide, two-wide. Just the 16 up top."
AJ Allmendinger spun going to the pits on lap 49. Clint Bowyer spun him. Ryan Newman now led. Mikey was 4th, David 19th.
"Got the 12 coming outside. Half back to the 48. You're clear. Real slow one all the way at the top, all the way at the top. Clear of him. You're clear to the high side if you want it, clear to the high side if you want it."
Tony Stewart led lap 50.
"Still down there. That 14 up ther is the leader. Three-wide. Inside inside. Stay up stay up. We can't make it this time. We can't make it this time. Next time. Got one spinning. Caution's out, caution's out. All right, I think you're the leader. You're the leader. Slow down, and we'll catch this pace car."
"Make sure we know when pit road's open here. We gotta make sure we stick with 4700 here, bud. They're catching a lot of people."
"I know. I know."
Ty told Mikey to come around and pit up the pace car on the front straightaway.
The second caution was on lap 51 for Kurt Busch, who had spun. Mikey was in the lead, Marcos 25th, and David lapped in 30th. Joey Logano received the free pass.
"We were going to pit with the 31 there. We were all going to pit at the same time, and all of a sudden, they pitted." Gene called for four tires and told the crew to clean the grill. "All right, pit road's open, guys. Pit road's open. Four tires, clean the grill, full of fuel. 4700, second gear. Let's pit this time, bud."
"4700. We're doing four tires, right?" Ty asked.
"10-4. Four tires, bud."
Mikey went to pit road and came off 6th. Kyle Busch was first off. Stewart spent a long time on pit road.
"47," Ty reminded his driver.
"Ty, that 00 is the fastest car I've ever seen," Mikey stated.
Ty said the 00 was getting a wavearound, because they got hung up on the left rear and went a lap down.
"Well, we got hung up on the right rear, so that's part of it."
"All those guys who peeled off, Michael, the 14 and them, they were already committed to pit road, and they were busted for pitting too soon, so they have to restart at the back. The 19's the leader. We're p12, I believe. We'll be outside behind the 24. Okay. Make that 11th. On the inside behind the 24."
Sadler was in the lead, Mikey was 11th, Marcos 19th, and David 30th. Racing resumed on lap 56.
"Going to be ready? Ready? Green green. Everybody's rolling, still two by two. Still two by two. The 78 and 9 in your mirror. Still two by two, two by two. Three-wide right there, three-wide. Back to two-wide, but they're in the middle, they're in the middle. Push coming, push coming. The 78. Still two by two, middle's covered."
On lap 58, Mikey was 9th.
"Still outside outside. Three-wide. Middle lane's got a lot of help."
Lap 59 saw Denny Hamlin take the lead.
"I don't even have a lane anymore," Mikey commented.
"Still three-wide. Still three-wide. One more out there, outside. Middle lane. Clear behind the 2. The 2 has a little left side damage. But you're clear behind the 2."
"How was tire wear?" Mikey asked.
"Tires were perfect. They looked great," Gene replied.
"Clear high side, clear high side," Ty said.
Sadler was back in the lead on lap 60. Mikey was 27th, Marcos 12th, David 17th.
"You're all clear, two back. Clear there, clear there."
Dale Earnhardt Jr led lap 61. Mikey was 24th.
"One's dropping back through the middle. Be careful there. Inside and out, inside and out. Still inside and out. Clear high if you want it, clear high if you want it. Still two wide, but they're in the middle. Everybody's two by two, two by two."
On lap 62, Denny Hamlin pushed Kevin Harvick into the lead, then dropped him and was picked up by Jeff Gordon.
"Inside inside. You're good in the middle. Clear high now, clear high. Got one all the way in the bottom. There you go."
Earnhardt Jr pushed Harvick into the lead during lap 63. Mikey was 23rd, Marcos 17th, David 12th.
"Three-wide right there, three-wide. Still three-wide, three-wide. Still three-wide, three-wide. Not a whole lot of help from the bottom. Clear there one back, one back. All right, here they go to the top side again. The 83 is going to give you a good push here. You're clear the 24."
"This set of tires is vibrating really bad, especially in traffic," Mikey complained.
"10-4," Gene replied.
Harvick continued to lead on lap 66. Mikey was 22nd, Marcos 6th, David 8th.
"The 31 pealed off. You see what's in front of you. Clear one back."
Mikey was 17th on lap 67.
"There's that 9 dropping back on the bottom there," Ty warned when Kasey Kahne shot out of line. "The 19's down there. He's going to have some help coming. He owes you a steak dinner for that one. Still down there on the bottom. Clear clear."
"I'm trying not to eat meat," Mikey said.
"Okay, 10-4."
Mikey said something about chicken.
Ty laughed. "10-4."
"220, 200. Been that way for a while."
"Okay, 10-4," Gene replied.
"Windshield's kind of a mess, and it's shaking really bad."
"10-4, man, there are some other people complaining about the vibration thing."
"10-4. That makes me feel all kinds of better."
Cars were back to riding single-file.
"Ty, are you awake, or did you die?" Mikey asked after a long pause on the radio as cars continued to ride around in one line.
Ty said he was just watching everyone drive around single-file and told his driver not much was going on.
"I was just making sure you're awake."
"What's your water temp, bud?" Gene asked.
"200."
"All right, I'll keep checking in on you," Ty promised.
"All right. Tell me if the 83 is trying to get on the outside of me."
"10-4. Tony and those guys are seeing if they can make some hay. They're jumping to the high side, and they're getting eaten up by the bottom. Got the 83 on your bumper and then it's five back to the two of them and then fifteen back to the rest of them."
"It's going to be best not to pit with this pack. I'm so far back that by the time they get slowed down, we'll have lost them."
Gene said they'd pit with the 48 and 14.
"I don't want to pit with this pack in front of us."
"10-4. They'll be short of us."
"10-4. It would cost me too much time. How many laps?"
"We're going to pit on lap 98, lap 98. We can make it on a few more stops if we do this right."
Ty told Gene to make sure to let him know if they'd get two, but Mikey pushed for four.
Allmendinger went to pit road smoking.
Ty let his driver know the #47 and #14 were moving around in the back. "83 going to the bottom to catch that bottom line. You can see him. You're clear of him right now. Still clear two back. They've got a big push on the bottom. ONe back to the 83. Right there on your bumper, right there on your bumper. Good push coming, good push coming. You've got a bunch of people with him. The outside, trying to work back to the 09. Outside outside. You're clear if you want it, all clear if you want it. Still outside. Watch that 7. There you go, there you go. That should have probably helped your windshield. Still outside outside. You're all clear all clear."
More cars were now moving around. Earnhardt Jr took the lead on lap 89. Mikey was 13th.
"That 19 is going to be pitting on lap 92, Ty," Gene said.
"We're in traffic, man. Still inside inside. Still inside on your bumper, still inside. Three wide three wide. No one came with us. Still there still there. Three wide. Stilll three wide about four or five back. There you go, still there. Clear three back."
On lap 91, Truex Jr pit, and Juan Pablo Montoya took the lead. Mikey was 8th.
"31 down there by himself. The 07 and 20 on your bumper, the 07 and 20. You're good to the middle good to the middle good to the high side. Clear to the high side. Real slow one on the bottom. It's that 36, a lapped car. Stay low til you get to him. Clear there clear there. Trying to check inside inside inside. Still there both of you. Two by two."
Other cars were making stops.
"Still there inside, still there inside. Got you covered inside."
On lap 94, Mark Martin took the lead. Mikey was 8th.
"Still there inside, just the 09, inside. Got the 17 and 31 with you, 17 and 31 with you. Got some slow ones coming off pit road. Both sides both sides, three wide. 82's still down there. In the middle. 82's still down there. You're clear low, clear low."
"Five more times around, bud, and then we'll pit."
"09's coming to you, 82. 82's on the bottom, clear one back. 82's got a run with the 83 pushing him. Both sides both sides. 00 is still outside outside, 47 still there. Clear low, clear low. You still gone one outside. ONe dropping down the middle, 96 coming back to you. Clear low. You're good. Two by two now, two by two. That 99 is going to be all by himself, that yellow car on the bottom. There you go. Still there. Clear low, clear low."
On lap 95, Mikey was 13th.
"83's slow on the bottom. Still good in the middle. Clear low clear low. Got him outside. Still two by two. Clear high side behind the 1 if you want it. Clear two back. Clear two back."
David went to pit road on lap 97. Mikey was 9th, Marcos 10th.
"You've got him inside. 99's got the 24 with him. How many more, Gene? Two more or one more?"
"Two more."
"10-4, 10-4. We'll work you down over here after this lap. Some of those guys are coming in. Stay up. You're going to be in good shape here."
"We're coming next time, bud."
"10-4. Three-wide. Back to two-wide. It will be 47 when you get here. 71 still there, 71 still there. Slow one on the high side. Inside. Clear low. Clear low clear low clear low clear low."
"You're going to have to come around the 29, bud. No sliding your tires."
"47 when you get here. 4700, 4700."
"Coming around the 29. Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, put on the brakes."
Mikey pit on lap 99 with a large group. Marcos was now the leader.
"Go go go. All the way out," Gene directed.
"47, 47. 47 all the way to the cone, bud. All the way to the cone. All right, go hard go hard go hard. Stay below that yellow line until we get to turn 2," Ty directed. Meanwhile, Marcos went to pit road.
"As bad as our pit stops are, I should have just lived with the vibration. I don't know how we can... well, yeah I do. Nevermind," Mikey said.
"One outside, clear there," Ty warned.
"I just want y'all to see the whole field ahead of me. Just look in awe at how that can possibly happen."
Stops had cycled, and Denny Hamlin led lap 101. Mikey was 30th, Marcos 29th, and David 31st.
"Hey, Ty, tell Marcos he has some damage on his left rear. He'll probably go faster if he just lets me get by when I get there," Mikey told his spotter.
"10-4." After a pause, Ty said, "He thinks he'll lose you. He thinks he can't push you with that big thing hanging out. Talking about some debris. Maybe we'll get a save here."
"Lap times, Gene," Mikey requested.
"10-4, bud."
"Let me know if you see a fender brace anywhere through this tri-oval."
"Negative. Tell me what else you want me to look for."
"53.12. Leader's running 49.57."
The third caution was for debris in Turns 3 and 4 on lap 106.
"Caution's out, caution's out," Ty said.
"All right, how's that set of tires?" Gene asked.
"It's fine."
"All right. Fixed your vibration? We're going to leave this thing on, get some fuel." Gene said the stop had killed them.
"Yeah, it did kill us. It was the second one today. We really, we really practice hard. Good to see all the effort."
"We're just going to do the best we can, bud. We're going to be fine." He said they'd make up their lost spots.
"Yeah, it's a shame you can't even maintain on pit road, man. It's just a shame. But you know, I probably, next year it will probably be better, I guess."
"All right, pit road will be open," Ty said.
"Yeah, we are going to pit. Fuel only. We've got to be careful. The 29 may be pitting."
Ty said they had to talk to them.
Gene's response came with static.
David and Marcos both had damage repaired on their cars under caution. David had damage to the nose, Marcos to the left rear portion of his side quarter panel.
"All right, coming around to one to go there, bud," Gene noted.
"One to go this time, one to go," Ty added.
Denny Hamlin led the field. Mikey was 21st, Marcos 33rd, and David 34th. Racing resumed on lap 109.
"All right, bud. Coming to the green. Coming to the green this time. Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling, still outside, two by two. Trying to shoot up the middle, the 29. Up the middle up the middle. Three-wide. He doesn't have anybody with him. Clear up behind him if you want it."
Robby Gordon took the lead for lap 110.
"Still outside. Three-wide, three-wide. Got a group coming up behind them, shooting up the middle. Still three wide, three wide, outside."
Mikey said something about the splitter shaking.
"Could be," Gene replied.
"Got one all the way at the top, all the way at the top. Clear up behind him if you want it. Clear two back."
"Yeah, it's shaking bad. Get some binoculars and see if you can see anything on it," Mikey requested.
"Yeah, we're on it," Gene replied.
"Clear four back," Ty continued.
Mikey was 25th on lap 111. David was 28th, Marcos 31st.
"Clear four back to the 48, 43."
"Splitter looks good, bud."
Jeff Burton took the lead on lap 112. Mikey was 31st, David 20th, Marcos 29th.
"You're clear there, all clear."
Mikey was 30th on lap 114. Jeff Gordon now led. David and Marcos were 16th and 29th.
"Still outside on your quarter. Still outside. Clear two back to the 47, working the high side."
On lap 115, Mikey was 29th, David 24th, and Marcos 30th. Robby Gordon now led.
"Still outside, white car. Still there. Clear three back to the 47."
Joey Logano led lap 116. Mikey was 29th, David 26th, Marcos 30th.
"Still all clear. One back to the 34. Looking outside outside."
Earnhardt Jr led lap 117. Mikey was 28th, David 26th, Marcos 30th.
"You're clear."
"Water temps?"
"200, 200."
"Still outside on your quarter. Still there. 33 shooting up the middle."
Mikey was 29th on lap 118. David and Marcos were 21st and 30th. One lap later, the #55 was 30th.
"99's up there with the 47," Ty warned. "You're all clear. 68 to go."
Denny Hamlin led lap 120.
"Got a car about dead on pit road, the 96." Ty was talking about Erik Darnell. "I'm not sure he's going to make it. Keep going. You've got them lined up behind you. You've got the 34 and the 48 behind you."
"There's got to be something wrong with the splitter. I can feel that draft, and it shakes so hard that I can hardly see."
"10-4," Gene replied.
Kyle Busch led lap 122. Mikey was 32nd, David 20th, and Marcos 25th.
"Got him outside, man. Outside."
Ryan Newman led lap 124. Mikey was 32nd, David 22nd, and Marcos 23rd. One lap later, Mikey was 35th. Busch was back in the lead on the next circuit.
"Still out there. 13 stuck down there with that 48."
Lap 127 saw Jeff Burton lead. Jeff Gordon took the top spot one lap later. Mikey was 35th, David 15th, and Marcos 18th.
"Still down there. That 48's still tucked in behind you. Clear there half back, clear there. Stay the same, man?"
"It's shaking really bad," Mikey replied.
"10-4, man," Gene acknowledged.
"Still outside outside. Still outside the 39. Stillt here. You're all clear all clear. Those two were leading five six laps ago. You're doing all right. Clear the 19. Two three wide. Three wide right there. Two wide. 9's still in the middle there, 9's in the middle."
Mikey was 30th on lap 130.
"Clear two back to the 19 and 39 together. Clear all clear."
On lap 131, the #55 was 28th. Marcos was 14th, David 23rd.
"All clear three back. Still clear, all clear.
David Stremme led lap 132.
"Yeah, I don't think I have any tear-offs left," Mikey said. "If I don't, we're going to have to figure out how to clean it. It's getting really bad."
Gene said they had none left.
"Still outside all the way at the top, all the way at the top. 82. 44's jumped in there with him. Clear up behind the 44, if you want the high side. Closing up. Now the 19's coming, the 19's coming. Outside."
On lap 134, Mikey was 27th. David was 12th, Marcos 20th.
"Both sides both sides. 83's still there, outside. Outside outside. 48 outside. 83's with him. 39's down there with you, two by two."
Mikey was 30th on lap 135. He was 32nd one lap later. David was 11th, Marcos 18th.
"You've got one more outside, outside."
The fourth caution was on lap 138 for Denny Hamlin. His #11 had lost its engine. Kurt Busch received the free pass. Mikey was 33rd, David 12th, and Marcos 18th.
"Somebody's blowing up on the bottom. Stay up stay up. Blowing up on the bottom. He's on the apron now. Caution's out, caution's out."
Gene called for four tires and told the crew to really look at the splitter.
"All right, I'll let you know what I see when we get onto pit road there, Gene. I'm down at the end of pit road," Bobby Kennedy said.
Mikey said it had just started.
Gene suggested brake rotors.
"Well, in the history of the world, brake rotors don't feel like this. I guess y'all know more than me, but it ain't that."
"All right, same deal here. We're going to have to come around the 29."
"All right, pit road's closed. Pit road's closed," Ty said.
"We just, every damn tearoff I had is torn off. I can't see either."
"We're going to get your windshield taken care of, and make sure the splitter's right," Gene said. "Pit road's open this time." He told a crew member to make sure he cleaned the grill and another to work on the windshield.
"Pit road's closed. The 11 is stuck on the end of pit road," Ty warned.
Gene reiterated that pit road was closed.
Ty warned Mikey about a truck along the low lane.
"Four tires there, guys. Four tires. Make sure everything's tight."
Ty reminded Gene to get with the #29 team to make sure he knew what they were doing.
"They're taking four. We're on it. All right, here we come. 4700, 4700. Five away. 4, 3, 2, 1. Wheels straight, wheels straight. Check the splitter, guys. Go over the splitter. Make sure everything's tight. Clean the grill. __ the damn thing. All right, let's roll. Splitter's good, correct?"
"10-4," someone replied.
"Everything look good?" Mikey asked.
"You've got a truck on the apron off Turn 2. Come up on the track if you can."
"Yeah, everything's good," Gene said.
"Okay. Gas."
"We need to top off if we can here, bud. We need to top off."
"It's one to go when we come around here."
"We need to top off. Windshield is good. Don't worry about the windshield. Just make sure this thing is full of fuel, full of fuel. You got me on that, Art? Full of fuel, brother. Okay, the 34 is going to be leaving about the same time. All right? There you go. Stop. Wheels straight. Let's roll, let's roll."
"Good job," Mikey praised his team. "Good job, y'all. Good job. We'll get after them here with about ten or twelve to go. I'm not going to do anything until then. I'm just going to lay back, because I need to save some gas. We need to save some gas, right?"
Gene told his driver to keep the draft. "We really need to save some gas, but we're a little bit short now?"
"You hear that sound there? That's silence. That's me coasting down the backstretch here."
"Not going this time. Not going. Go get another can. Top it off," Ty said.
Gene told Mikey to pit again to top off.
"There's no sense in being so close here. Just give him plenty of room here."
"10-4. Ten away. Five. 4, 2, 1. Wheels straight. Let's roll, let's roll. Halfway, buddy, halfway. Okay, all the way."
"18's lost all his tearoffs his well. It looks like Junior Johnson over there, cleaning his windshield," Ty observed.
"All right, save me just a little bit of fuel, bud," Gene requested.
"Okay," Mikey replied.
Brad Keselowski led the restart with 45 laps to go. Mikey was 34th, David 10th, Marcos 14th.
"Pace car's off," Ty said. "Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Clear all clear. One back to the 2 car."
Jeff Gordon led with 44 laps to go. David got incredibly loose that lap but held onto his #00.
"Three wide, inside. One more white car on the bottom, inside. You're clear clear. The 96 behind you has been off the pace most of the day."
With 43 to go, Kevin Harvick was out front. Mikey hung out in 35th.
"All clear," said Ty.
Truex Jr led lap 147. Marcos was 9th, David 26th. Kasey Kahne led one lap later.
"40 more, 40."
Lap 149 saw Elliott Sadler take the lead.
"Still there, inside."
"How's the vibration, bud?" Gene asked.
"It's got it," Mikey replied.
Montoya led lap 150. Marcos was 5th, and David was 20th. Cars out front ran three-wide, and Mikey hung out in the back with Jimmie Johnson.
"83's working the outside there. They're three and four wide out there. I'm keeping an eye on it. I know you've got yourself there."
"Yeah, don't worry about me," Mikey replied.
Gene told Mikey not to push it with the fuel.
"Hey, you just pit. I'll worry about gas. I mean, damn, give me a little credit."
"10-4, bud."
Jeff Burton took the lead on lap 152. Marcos was 6th, David 22nd. Mikey continued riding 35th in the back.
"43 says he can really only run the top side," Ty said.
Jamie McMurray led lap 153. Marcos was 3rd, David was 22nd, and Mikey was still out back.
"35 to go, 35."
Marcos led lap 155.
"All right, bud, we saved plenty of fuel. We need to get going here," Gene said.
"Yeah, 10-4, man. Great," Mikey replied.
"Coming with you, coming wit you. You're clear clear."
McMurray led lap 155.
"Something's wrong with that 43. He just about quit right there," Mikey commented. He was 34th, having passed Reed Sorenson. Marcos was 5th, David 15th.
"They're going to do this single file thing now," Ty said.
"Lap times, please," Mikey requested.
"51.10," Gene replied. "The leaders are running 50.30's.
"51.15. The pack in front of you is running 51.40's."
"30 to go. 30," Ty said.
"51.15.
"50.90.
"50.80.
"50.58."
With 26 laps to go, Mikey picked up 33rd from Robert Richardson III.
"50.70. That pack in front of us are running 50.20's.
"50.30. That pack in front of us is running about the same."
"They're starting to get two-wide up there. It will be good for us if we can start making some time here," Ty observed.
"50.20. The guys up front are running 50.70's.
"50.70. The guys up front are running 50.50's."
"21 to go. 21."
"51.28."
With 20 laps to go, Earnhardt Jr led. Marcos was 9th, and David was 20th. Mikey ran 33rd.
"51.80. That pack is running 49 flats."
Mikey was 32nd on lap 169. Scott Speed in the #82 had dropped back.
"50.50.
"50.37."
McMurray led lap 172. David was 10th, Marcos 22nd, and Mikey 32nd.
"50.55."
"16 to go. 16."
"50.50.
"50.60."
"12 to go, 12. Three by three about ten deep, twelve deep. Maybe we'll get us a break here."
"Yeah, 10-4. We'll see what happens, see if we get a chance to fight."
David Stremme led lap 177. Mikey was 32nd, David 16th, Marcos 29th. McMurray reclaimed the lead one lap later.
"10 to go this time," Gene noted.
Stremme led going into 9 laps to go.
"8 to go, 8."
McMurray led going into 7 to go.
"They can't lap us, can they, Ty?" Mikey asked.
"No, no. We'll run out of laps."
Kurt Busch dropped off and headed to pit road with 6 laps to go.
The fifth caution was with 5 laps to go. Cars had bottled when Tony Stewart let off the throttle to stay off the car in front of him. Marcos got into Ryan Newman, sending him sideways and into Kevin Harvick's #29. Newman's #39 went up and landed on the top of the #29, then slid on its roof and remained upside down. Elliott Sadler was also collected.
"Five to go. Big spin, big crash in turn 3. They'll all be in the bottom when you get there."
"We're going to need to top this thing off, put fuel and tires on this thing."
"Tape the grill up too," Mikey requested.
"10-4. Put four tires on this thing and fill it with fuel when pit road opens. Tape on the grill. Yeah, we'll close that right front shock up."
"Do anything you can think of to make it go fast for two laps."
"Yeah, 10-4."
Mikey said to do anything they could think of.
"We're on it, bud. We're going to need to go around this 29. Hopefully, he'll be gone." He reviewed with the crew what they needed to do.
"Do whatever you can to this windshield."
Mikey made stops with some others. Bobby tried to say something, but Gene cut him off to guide Mikey to the box.
"Well that was great," Mikey said.
"Give 'em something to clean it with. Come on guys!"
"I mean, I said windshield. There you go. That's more trouble so far."
"Let's go."
"Damn, yo, listen!" Bobby yelled.
"All you're doing is making it worse."
"It's making it better," Mikey replied. "No."
Mikey had to return to pit road. "Windshield's fine. I mean, I can see now. You did a good job on that."
Gene said it was the glue on there that made the windshield worse the first time.
The race was red flagged at 4:24pm.
"What are they doing down there, Ty? Getting that car back over?"
"Yeah, they're talking to him on the radio. Ryan's okay, but he's trapped in there." Ty said they were trying to figure out how to get him out.
At 4:32pm, Ryan Newman emerged from his car after safety crews had flipped over his car and had cut away the top of his car. He was able to walk away from the wreck.
"How many did it get, Ty? Five or six?" Mikey asked.
"No more than five," Ty replied.
"10-4. Where was I running?"
Gene said they were 32nd and are 30th now.
Mikey asked what car had turned Newman.
Ty said he didn't know, but he told Mikey somebody had hooked the #39.
"The 39 run into the back of somebody and kind of turned himself sideways," Gene replied.
"All right, crank it up," Ty said at 4:37pm.
Stewart was in the garage. Marcos went to the pits, as did Harvick. Newman's car had been towed from the scene.
Ty said this would complete 186. "Some of those guy who didn't pit earlier, they're on the edge of not making it. So we'll see what happens."
"Has David been competitive with his fender?"
Ty said David fell off the pace just before the caution. Gene told Mikey David was slow the whole time. Bobby came on the radio and said David had gotten knocked out of the draft. Ty confirmed this, saying it was the #09. Mikey asked if the #33 was out of gas and noted people rolling slow on the track.
"Roll on up there to that 00. Damn 36 and 82 are up there. We gotta get around this junk here when we get started," Ty said.
Mikey asked where he was.
"28th, 28th. You'll be lined up behind this 36," Gene replied.
"They say one to go, but the 24 is in the middle of 1 and 2, getting pushed by a wrecker." Ty said people would be in trouble on fuel if they went another lap. "Two more in front of us pitted. The 24 fell off, so we should be three more spots here."
"I think the 13 just run out of fuel," Gene added. "They just kind of stopped there."
"No, you don't get it. If they keep going, we could trap a few of them. We'll see."
Ty said an extra lap would work to their favour too.
"I think the 42 just run out. Where did I should last time by?" Mikey asked.
"Right now, we're showing 24th," Gene replied.
David Stremme ran out of fuel, and the green flag was called off again.
"People just keep running out," Ty observed.
"We're good on fuel, so life is good," Gene said.
"I know we are, brother. I know. The whole field is coming down pit road now."
"Well, they're going to have to, sooner or later."
"Where does this show me now, Ty? Where am I at?" Mikey asked.
"Currently, we are 17th, bud," Gene replied. "18th. We passed the 00 there."
"Just keep coming up there like that," Ty guided. "What's going to happen is somebody's going to hit the gas and nothing's going to happen, so just be ready here. It's going to be two laps if we don't have an incident here."
McMurray led the green/white/checkered restart. John Andretti ran out of fuel. Mikey was 17th.
"Pace car's off. Be ready. Ready? Ready? Green green green. Everybody's rolling. Stay down, stay down. Got one slow up high. Got one outside outside. Still outside outside. Still outside. The 48 in front of the 82 there. Still outside still outside. Keep coming keep coming keep coming keep coming. Come on back up come on back up. Caution's out. Back it down back it down back it down."
"I tell you, let me just explain one thing to you. If I saw what I just saw, they should park Brad Keselowski for the rest of his life."
"All right, I didn't see what happened, but he caused a bunch of crap here," Ty replied.
"Why did the 19 just drive around me? He's not in front of me."
Ty told Mikey to come through the high side.
"Okay, line up behind the 48. Hold on one second. 31's in front of you, and then the 48's in front of you, and then we're behind the 48."
"Well, I was just getting this 19 back where he belongs, where he's supposed to be."
"I think we're going to be 7th. We were a lap away from 3rd or 2nd or who knows."
"Is the race over?"
"The race is over, the race is over."
"10-4. Good job."
The race had finished under caution. Keselowski had turned Kurt Busch. The #55 barely dodged it. Martin Truex Jr was collected, and when he came down off the wall, he turned Mark Martin upside down. Martin returned onto all four wheels. David sustained significant damage from this wreck. Others who sustained amage where David Ragan and Casey Mears.
"Yeah, bring it on down pit road, man. Pit road," Ty said.
Jamie McMurray had won the race. Mikey came home 7th. David finished 26th, Marcos three laps down in 34th.
Next weekend's Sprint Cup race will be at Texas Motor Speedway. Coverage of the Dickie's 500 begins Sunday at 2:30pm ET on ABC. The Nationwide Series' O'Reilly's Challenge will air the day before at 12:00pm on ESPN2.
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© 2009 Kellyanne Lynch, in association with Cyber Speed Design. All rights reserved.
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