NAPA AUTO PARTS Team Finishes 32nd at Lowe’s Motor Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. – Michael Waltrip and the NAPA AUTO PARTS team led three laps before an incident on pit road took them out of competitive contention. The setback was unfortunate since Waltrip had a fast car during Saturday night’s NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The team put into motion several strategies but the deficit was too much to overcome and resulted in a 32nd-place finish.

“Gene (Nead, crew chief) and the NAPA guys gave me a good car,” said Waltrip who qualified 33rd for the NASCAR Banking 500. “I really had something to work with and we ended up having a problem on pit road that cost us some laps. At that point, we had to take chances with the wave around. We had to live with our circumstances and make the most of a bad situation.”

Before the pit road incident, crew chief Gene Nead made the call to keep his driver out during routine pit stops under caution. The call put the NAPA AUTO PARTS/Susan G. Komen Foundation Toyota atop the leader board for three laps. Then on the following pit stop on lap 91, Waltrip’s luck changed. Nead called his driver in for a scheduled stop. What was not anticipated was a long stop by the No. 83 Red Bull team who was pitted behind the No. 55. Waltrip entered his pit as driver Brian Vickers finally got going. It resulted in a near miss, two NAPA crew members colliding on pit road and a tire rolling out of the team’s pit box. Jack man Tony Cardamone sustained a high-ankle sprain and is expected to be out for at least two to three races.

When all was said and done, Waltrip was down three laps and in 40th position. Nead and the team started implementing the wave-around strategy in an effort to get the laps back that the NAPA team had lost. The first opportunity happened on lap 119 when NASCAR threw the yellow flag after Kyle Busch spun on the track. The team opted to stay out to get a lap back. Unfortunately, the team lost the lap when they had to pit for fuel and four tires under green at lap 147.

Another wave around opportunity took place on lap 163 after Juan Pablo Montoya spun on the track. Waltrip stayed out and Nead encouraged his driver as his lap times were faster when running the high line. This time the gamble paid off as Montoya’s rear quarter panel fell off causing a debris caution on lap 188. Waltrip pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. He returned to the track in 38th position, two laps down to the leader, Matt Kenseth, when the race went back to green on lap 194.

By the 300-lap mark, Waltrip had made his way up to 32nd place. His car was consistently turning laps as fast as the top-20 cars, but the loss of laps prevented the No. 55 Toyota from getting back into the mix. The team continued on to finish 32nd.

Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson proved he was not only the fastest car in qualifying, but he had a car that would win the race. Johnson prevailed to win his sixth race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. His victory stretched his points lead over teammate Mark Martin to 90 points.

Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Casey Mears, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch.

Waltrip teammate David Reutimann battled flu-like symptoms to persevere to a 15th-place finish. Marcos Ambrose scored 22nd.

Next Sunday the NAPA team returns to the short track of Martinsville Speedway. Broadcast coverage begins Sunday at 1 pm eastern on ABC. It can also be heard on MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

Ambrose Finishes 23rd After Being Involved in Late Race Accident at Auto Club Speedway

FONTANA, Calif. (October 12, 2008) – Marcos Ambrose’s chance for a top-15 finish was ruined when he was collected in an accident inside ten laps remaining in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Auto Club Speedway. The JTG-Daugherty Racing team persevered to quickly make repairs to the right front of the No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota for Ambrose to get back on track. The Australian driver finished in 23^rd-place after NASCAR lifted the red flag for cleanup following the multi-car accident.

Three-time champion Jimmie Johnson won race number 30 and assumed the points lead. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon finished second, Juan Pablo Montoya finished third, his other colleague Mark Martin was fourth and Tony Stewart rounded out the top-five.

When the green flag fell on an overcast afternoon at the two-mile D-shaped oval, Ambrose started 27^th and his Little Debbie Toyota was loose in the middle. That didn’t slow him down as he immediately jumped inside the top 20 on Lap 2. However, his car continued to loosen up and by Lap 20, he had fallen back to 28^th place.

On his first green flag pit stop of the day, crew chief Frank Kerr called for four tires and a wedge adjustment. Ambrose needed forward bite and was fighting to stay ahead of the leader Juan Pablo Montoya. As the 42 car closed in on Ambrose within four car lengths, a caution occurred on Lap 59.

“We caught a break there and kept from going a lap down to the leader,” Ambrose said. “We really needed forward drive and it was really loose in when I would hit the brakes.”

On pit road two laps later, Kerr told the JTG-Daugherty Racing team to make an air pressure adjustment, put a half of round of wedge in, pull the left front packer out and change four tires. Ambrose restarted 25^th on Lap 64 and immediately, he communicated to Kerr that his Little Debbie® Toyota was out of control.

“It was crazy loose,” Ambrose said. “It was really out of control. I’m not sure what happened there. It was just all over the track. We completely lost the handling.”

Under caution at Lap 82, Ambrose was back on pit road for tires, a spring rubber in the left rear and the pit crew put the packer back in the left front.

“The handling had just totally gone away,” Ambrose said. “I was spinning out.”

Going back to work from the 25^th spot, Kerr told Ambrose to be patient because he was in dirty air. It was going to be a long day, but Ambrose fought hard and by Lap 109, he was among the top-20.

On Lap 118 under caution, the Little Debbie® crew had another chance to take a stab at it. They changed four tires and went up a half round on the track bar. The sun was out and it changed the track conditions.

When the field got the green again, Ambrose was 18^th on Lap 121. Even though he was now too tight in the middle and the right rear was giving up forward bite, he was moving forward. On Lap 134, he positioned his Toyota in the top 15 while Jimmie Johnson showed the way.

“The attitude of the car was somewhat better than it had been earlier in the race, but the right rear had lost grip,” Ambrose said. “It was also pushy loose off and tight in the middle.”

While green flag stops commenced, Ambrose was shown in 10^th on Lap 160. He headed to pit road the following lap for tires and more adjustments. Just 10 laps later, Ambrose was running lap times as fast as the eventual winner, Johnson.

“I was still too loose,” Ambrose said.

With no right rear tire grip and the left rear spinning as well, Ambrose pitted under a debris caution at Lap 184 for four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment. Fortunately, the caution came at the right time because the team discovered after his stop that he had a left front tire going down.

“We were lucky,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose restarted 16^th on Lap 189 as another caution immediately occurred involving the leader Denny Hamlin who had just cut across the nose of Montoya’s machine. The contact resulted in Hamlin hitting the pit wall taking himself out of contention. The 42 car assumed the lead as Ambrose was 14^th when the green flag flew in the air at Lap 194. Ambrose made a great move five laps later to pass Jeff Burton, Martin Truex Jr. and Greg Biffle for 11^th. On Lap 205, he made the move to pass Matt Kenseth for 10^th place. As he maintained 10^th, he was losing forward bite.

Ambrose continued to make a couple more pit stops in hopes of getting a better handle on the Little Debbie® Toyota Camry. As he was running just outside the top 15 and with a car capable of finishing in the top 10, Ambrose’s day was disrupted. His No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota was collected in a multi-car crash involving Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Reed Sorenson, Brian Vickers, AJ Allmendinger and Jeff Burton.

“I’m not sure what exactly happened,” Ambrose said. “I just saw the 88 come down into us and we had major damage to the right front. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

All things considered, Ambrose was still able to nurse his car home to a top-25 finish and stay 17^th in the championship standings.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes on Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the NASCAR Banking 500 on Saturday, October 17^th begins at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and PRN Radio.

Waltrip Steers the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota to a 17th-Place Finish at Auto Club Speedway

FONTANA, Calif. – After two frustrating weeks of bad luck, Michael Waltrip drove the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota to a 17th-place finish after starting 34th in Sunday’s 250-lap event at Auto Club Speedway. Waltrip battled back from being a lap down twice to persevere to a solid finish.

“The team did a good job on pit road and I’m really proud of them,” said Waltrip. “They used a good strategy and got us a couple laps back. Then at the end of the race, there was a huge crash involving multiple cars and I got through it. We’ve certainly had our share of wrecks this year that were not our fault. I made a good move to get through it.”

Leading the field to the green flag was Denny Hamlin. Waltrip’s team put an entirely new setup under its Toyota earlier in the morning so the two-time Daytona 500 champion used the opening laps to get a feel for the new combination. Unfortunately, it was extremely loose and he had to wait for the team’s first service under green to tighten up the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. The chance to make adjustments, add fuel and change four tires happened under green-flag conditions on lap 38. The service took only 13 seconds. Waltrip returned to the track in 36th position.

The changes made to the NAPA Toyota helped handling, but it still needed more help through the middle and off the corners. Waltrip maintained his 36th-place position, but went a lap down. NASCAR threw a caution on lap 59 when Jamie McMurray brushed the wall. Instead of pitting, the NAPA team opted for the wave around and returned to the lead lap. The strategy paid off as another caution flag was thrown 20 laps later. This time the NAPA team pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Waltrip restarted 26th as Martin Truex Jr. led the field to green.

The handling on the NAPA Toyota still challenged Waltrip. It was extremely loose and it cost him time on the track and one lap. The team gambled again by staying out when a caution was thrown for debris on lap 184. Like before, NASCAR waved the yellow flag shortly after the restart. Crew chief Gene Nead called his driver to pit road for service that included the addition of spring rubbers along with four tires and fuel. Waltrip left his pit box scored in 25th position and encouraged his team to keep up the good work as a respectable finish was well deserved.

The spring rubber adjustments made the NAPA Toyota come alive as he moved from 25th to 19th in less than 25 laps.

“Our car was good,” added Waltrip. “It bounced around and floated the nose, but other than that, it was still competitive. I could drive it.”

With five laps remaining, a multi-car crash was triggered near the front of the field. The cars of Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Marcos Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger, Reed Sorenson, Brian Vickers, Jeff Burton and Elliott Sadler were involved. Waltrip dodged the bullet and NASCAR threw the red flag as it took nearly 20 minutes to clear the track of debris. When the race was back on, the NAPA team opted to pit for four fresh tires and an air pressure adjustment as Waltrip still needed his car to be tightened up in order to make another run at the front.

When the race went back to green on lap 247, the NAPA Toyota was scored in 18th and Waltrip was able to pick up one more position before the checkered flag waved. Jimmie Johnson took the victory and the lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship points standings.

Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Jeff Gordon, Montoya, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, David Ragan, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. As for Waltrip’s teammates, David Reutimann finished 18th and Ambrose rebounded from the big crash to collect 23rd place.

Next Saturday, the Chase moves to the site where Michael Waltrip Racing won its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race earlier this season -- Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Broadcast coverage gets underway at 7 p.m. eastern on ABC. It can also be heard on PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

AMBROSE COLLECTS ANOTHER SOLID TOP-15 FINISH THIS TIME AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (October 5, 2009) – Marcos Ambrose had a strong showing in race number 28 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season at Kansas Speedway. The Australian driver brought home a 14th-place finish in his No. 47 Little Debbie® Toyota to maintain 17th in the championship standings. Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart won the 400-mile event, Jeff Gordon finished second, Greg Biffle was third, Juan Pablo Montoya crossed the finish line fourth and Denny Hamilton rounded out the top-five. Mark Martin continues to lead the championship standings by 18 points over Jimmie Johnson.

On Sunday afternoon, Ambrose started 27th as the 43-car field was led to the flag stand by pole-sitter Mark Martin for the start of the 267-lap event.

“The Little Debbie® Toyota was a little loose in the beginning, but it still was really good,” Ambrose said.

On the very first lap, NASCAR threw the caution flag when Joey Logano spun around. Ambrose was scored in 21st place as the field returned to green flag racing at Lap 5. The very next lap the No. 98 entry of Paul Menard lost control and several cars were collected on the backstretch including Michael Waltrip, David Ragan, Max Papis, and Bobby Labonte.

As NASCAR safety workers cleared the track of debris from the melee, crew chief Frank Kerr keyed up the microphone.

“Some of the drivers are saying that grip all the sudden goes away so be careful out there Marcos,” Kerr said.

Martin led the field back to the start-finish line for the restart on Lap 11 while Ambrose was in 18th place. By Lap 15, Ambrose broke into the top 15 while Dale Earnhardt Junior was the new leader. Kerr told Ambrose he was catching the drivers ahead of him and was running lap times as fast as Earnhardt.

Ambrose was hitting his Little Debbie Toyota’s right front on the 1.5-mile D-shaped oval and he was loose off. After running 15th for several laps, he was able to pass Clint Bowyer on Lap 39 for 14th and set his sights on the top 10.

“At that time, the car was so close to being awesome,” Ambrose said.

“He was as fast as Dale,” Kerr said.

On Lap 50, Ambrose drove by Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. for 12th place before he headed to pit road for his green flag pit stop four laps later. Ambrose drove on to pit road while shown in seventh place for four tires and an air pressure adjustment.

As the 32-year-old returned to the track he thought he might have a vibration and he was way too loose.

During the next caution at Lap 69, Ambrose told Kerr that the balance of the Little Debbie® Toyota was hurt and it was jumping loose on him. Kerr communicated to his JTG-Daugherty Racing crew to put the air pressure back to where it was and to change four tires.

“It was jumping loose on me,” Ambrose said. “The car had also been tighter in Turns 3 and 4.”

Ambrose was back to green flag racing on Lap 74 in 15th place, but he reported right away that his Toyota was really free and that it may need a wedge adjustment to tighten it up.

“It was loose in and off,” Ambrose said. “All in all, it was just really free.”

Handling was Ambrose’s nemesis causing him to slip outside the top-15. Around Lap 100, he had fallen to 23rd. Nearly 25 laps later, Brian Vickers spun around bringing out a caution that allowed the pit crew to make an air pressure adjustment, change four tires and go a half of a round up on the track bar. There was also damage sustained to the left rear quarter panel that Kerr called Ambrose back in on the next lap for repair.

“I’m not sure who got into me, but we had some damage to the rear,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose restarted 18th on Lap 130 after the dent was hammered out of the left rear and the rear corner was taped up. Ambrose was glad to see another caution at Lap 147 because he was tight in the center and loose off. The crew opted to put on only right side tires for track position. When the green flag waved at Lap 151, Ambrose was shown in seventh place. Still battling looseness, he slid out of the top 10 at lap 154.

“It was loose off,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose still needed more security and on Lap 238 under caution, Kerr was able to have the team change four tires again and make another track bar adjustment. As the 14 car of Tony Stewart showed the way on Lap 241, Ambrose was 16th. He returned to the top 15 the next lap.

“At that point it really didn’t matter what was going to happen because the changes they made, did make an impact and we were running better,” Ambrose said. “We made some gains.”

The gains were good enough to keep Ambrose in the top 15 and he crossed the finish line 14th.

Next week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels west. Live coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, October 11th begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT on ABC. Sirius XM Satellite and MRN Radio will also carry flag-to-flag coverage.