Waltrip Ends Season With 30th-Place Finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Michael Waltrip closed out his final full season of driving the No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota with a 30^th-place result in Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The two-time Daytona 500 champion finished 32^nd in the owner points standing. It guarantees his new driver, Martin Truex Jr., a starting spot in the first five races of the 2010 season.

“Unfortunately we struggled all weekend with our NAPA Toyota,” said Waltrip who qualified for Sunday’s race in 39^th position. “It’s a little sad. We just kept working on it. My crew chief Gene Nead made some good calls and we were able to stay on the lead lap until the last lap or so. I am happy that we hung with it like we did, but sad at the result.”

The opening laps of the race saw the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota run extremely loose. The first opportunity to pit came under green flag conditions on lap 50. Waltrip entered the pits in 34^th position for a service that included four fresh tires, wedge and the addition of fuel. He returned to the track to find the car still on the loose side. The challenge caused Waltrip to lose a lap to the leader, Kevin Harvick on circuit 61.

Waltrip’s teammate Marcos Ambrose, who passed Jimmie Johnson to take the lead for four circuits, brought out of the first caution after a tire went flat. The NAPA pit crew used the unfortunate opportunity to work on the car. They made wedge, air pressure, and packer adjustments. The No. 55 returned to the race in 38^th position.

Crew chief Gene Nead kept Waltrip out on the track after the second yellow flag was thrown on lap 101. The strategy put the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota back on the lead lap. The strategy paid off as the race was slowed eight laps later. During the caution, Waltrip was on pit road for the addition of spring rubbers on lap 110. The race went back to green on lap 112 with Waltrip in 36^th and Kevin Harvick in the top spot.

At the halfway mark, fans were treated to a heated battle between Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart. It resulted in two on-track altercations. The first saw Montoya having to go behind the wall for repairs after Stewart caved in his fender. It cut down Montoya’s tire and sent him in the wall to bring out a caution on lap 116. Then as Waltrip was pitting with the frontrunners, several cars got bunched up when entering pit road. Elliott Sadler did not see what was happening and crashed hard into the back of the No. 43. Waltrip sustained minor damage to the nose of his car. The NAPA team fixed the nose and made a toe change on laps 118 and 120. Waltrip returned to the track in 32^nd place.

The next 20 laps saw the NAPA Toyota respond to the changes. This time is was extremely tight. Another chance for Nead to get a better balance for Waltrip happened on lap 155 after Montoya spun out Stewart. The driver of the No. 42 was cited for rough driving and penalized two laps. The rest of the field was on pit road for service. The NAPA crew removed spring rubbers and changed the track bar and wedge. Waltrip restarted in 31^st and Denny Hamlin was the new leader.

Two more services for Waltrip were completed on laps 196 and 216. The NAPA Toyota was extremely loose on the final run, but Waltrip liked the feel of it in comparison to the tight condition. The No. 55 driver was able to pick up one more position before Hamlin took the checkered flag to claim his fourth victory of the season. During Hamlin’s victory lane interview, he congratulated Waltrip for his 25 seasons in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and appreciated the positive influence he has had on his career.

Meanwhile, the night’s biggest winner was Jimmie Johnson who finished fifth. He made history by winning his fourth straight championship. It also put his car owner, Rick Hendrick in the records books. Hendrick is the first owner to have three drivers finish in the top-three positions in the points standings.

The top-10 finishers of the race were Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and AJ Allmendinger. As for Waltrip’s teammates, David Reutimann and Ambrose, they finished 15^th and 35^th.

Crew chief Pat Tryson who will lead the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS team next season guided his team to a fourth-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship standings. Truex’s top-10 finish at Homestead resulted in his 23^rd-place finish in the standings.

The NAPA AUTO PARTS team will now focus on getting ramped up for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. All the action begins at Daytona Speedweeks for the 52^nd running of the Daytona 500 on February 14. Both Waltrip and Truex will be behind the wheels of NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyotas. The Great American Race will air on FOX, MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

Unofficial Results:

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2009/36/data/results_unofficial.html

Lap By Lap:

http://www.nascar.com/2009/races/lapbylap/11/22/lap.by.lap.homestead/index.html

NAPA Racing Press Box featuring Michael Waltrip - Homestead-Miami Speedway

Heading into Homestead-Miami, what do you expect to see when it comes to the Chase?

“It is a two-man battle between Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin. I ran across Jimmie Johnson at Texas and congratulated him on the year he has had. I told him that I was in his corner as being one of the greatest race car drivers to ever be in one of these cars. I basically congratulated him because the championship was his. Then on lap 3, he crashed. I thought Jimmie might think I jinxed him. Seriously though, Jimmie needs to finish 25^th or better to win his fourth championship. If he has an accident, he can’t finish 25^th or better nowadays. It’s going to be a great race and as we have seen, anything can happen. Regardless, I stand by what I have said about Jimmie. What we saw last week in Phoenix was amazing. The 48 team bounced back from adversity to win the race. It is a sign of a true champion.”

What is your opinion of the track?

“The track is a little strange and strange means good. I guess you could say I fit in nicely there. You almost go into the corner and run it deep, but then you let off and sort of search for a groove. There are a lot of things that go on at that track. You never feel like you have a 100 percent handle on things at Homestead. I talked to some of the other drivers and they feel the same way. That’s why I think you see a lot of drivers roll in right next to the fence. It is something they can predict. Once they get up there, it is pretty much the same banking. You go in low and there are some transitions that make driving the corner more challenging than normal.”

MWR is coming off a week of more announcements. You must be proud.

“MWR had a lot of good news to announce at Phoenix. NAPA was certainly instrumental in what happened since they are the cornerstone sponsor of my organization. Best Western announced its extension with us through 2010. Toyota also signed an extension with MWR to continue the support of our cars for multiple years. I want to thank NAPA for signing the extension earlier this season and getting Martin Truex Jr. It was really big for our young company. It helped us grow with the addition of TUMS and extend our partnerships. I am really thankful to NAPA and I look forward to more great things to come.”

Michael Waltrip Fast Facts

NAPA AUTO PARTS driver Michael Waltrip will start in his 759^th NASCAR Sprint Cup race when he competes in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

He will start in his ninth race at the 1.5-mile track. His best start is eighth and best finish is second while driving the No. 15 NAPA car on Nov. 11, 2001.

During his career at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Waltrip has earned one top-five and one top-10 finish. His average start is 29^th and average finish is 30^th.

Waltrip has completed 1873 of 2140 laps (87.5%) at the track and has led a total of two laps in competition.

Entering this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, the NAPA team is 32^nd in the owner points standings and is guaranteed a starting spot in Sunday’s race.

REUTIMANN SCORES HARD-FOUGHT TOP-10 FINISH AT PHOENIX

AVONDALE, Ariz. (November 15, 2009) – David Reutimann spent much of Sunday’s Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 frustrated with the way his Aaron’s Dream Machine was performing. But he and the team displayed the never-give-up attitude that has helped them establish the series’ longest streak without a DNF, and by the end of the race Reutimann was able to catch the leaders and score an impressive top-ten finish at Phoenix International Raceway.

On Friday, Reutimann wasn’t happy with his qualifying effort of 15th. He thought his No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine had the potential for more if they could get the handling fixed. Unfortunately, when the green flag dropped on Sunday the issues continued.

He was initially able to move up from his 15th-place starting position to 13th, but on lap 13 he reported that the car was “loose on entry, loose on exit” – meaning that the backend of the car would start to slide going into and coming out of the corner.

Within another ten laps Reutimann was starting to lose positions. “We’re in really big trouble here,” said the concerned driver.

He would slide back as far as the 18th position before the team was able to make its first pit stop on lap 71. As Reutimann was preparing to come in for the stop he radioed instructions to his crew chief Rodney Childers, “Forget the entry. I need a ton of help in the center (of the turns) and I can’t get up off the corner.”

The adjustments made in the pits immediately started to pay dividends as Reutimann began to move up, getting as high as 11th by lap 96.

“The exit is a hundred percent better,” said Reutimann. But he cautioned, “When (the handling) goes away, it goes away in like three laps.”

When the caution flag came out for debris on lap 114, Childers summoned his driver to the pits for another wedge adjustment and four new tires. Reutimann entered the pits in 12th place, but the Aaron’s crew knocked out the stop in 12.9 seconds, gaining their driver three positions and moving the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine into the top-ten.

The radio from the car went silent for a little while as Reutimann maintained a steady pace within reach of the top-ten. But on lap 145 the frustrated driver complained, “It’s back to driving (poorly) again.” Several laps later he went further. “We might have done too much. It hasn’t been good since the restart.”

Luckily, a caution quickly came out, giving Childers the chance to make some adjustments to the Aaron’s Dream Machine. Realizing the over-adjustments made on the earlier stops, Childers decided to undo the wedge adjustment made on the last pit stop and instead made a change to the air pressure in the tires.

The changes weren’t quite enough as Reutimann explained on lap 200, “Can we just concentrate on one thing? I’d like (help in) the center if I can get it.”

So when the driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine brought his car down pit road for the team’s final stop on lap 240, Childers ordered four new tires and a trackbar adjustment.

Restarting 15th with about 70 laps to go, Reutimann began his final surge towards the checkered flag. Slowly and methodically, the Aaron’s Dream Machine began slipping past the competitors. On lap 258 Reutimann moved into 12th place. On lap 276 he passed Kyle Busch for 11th.

Finally, with just eight laps left, Reutimann made it past teammate Marcos Ambrose to get back into the top-ten where he would finish.

“We got behind in the middle point of the race there and then we got pretty good until we over adjusted and got it bad,” explained Reutimann after the race. “There towards the end, we got it decent again. We’ll have to try a little different approach next time when we come back. The pit stops were awesome. The guys did a great job today, so I’m really happy with that.”

Points leader Jimmie Johnson rebounded from a horrible race in Texas last week to pick up the win. Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. round out the top-five.

Next weekend the Sprint Cup series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final race of the 2009 season. ABC brings the television coverage of the Ford 400 beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on November 22nd.

Good Weekend for Waltrip at Phoenix Despite Being Caught Up In Wreck

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Michael Waltrip Racing had a prosperous weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. The organization announced contract extensions with Toyota and Best Western along with a multi-year partnership with Gary and Blake Bechtel that puts driver Trevor Bayne in the No. 99 Nationwide Series Toyota in 2010. The same held true for driver Michael Waltrip as his team had solid practice sessions and an 11^th-place starting spot for Sunday’s main event. His NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota was fast in the race but, a wreck on the restart on lap 119 ended the team’s chance for a top-15 finish. The two-time Daytona 500 champion was able to get back on track after repairs to finish in 36^th position.

“It was a great week for MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing),” said Waltrip. “We announced our Toyota extension and Best Western coming back to our team as a sponsor. I’m really proud of the effort our team put together, but disappointed in the end result, obviously.

“We lost power steering so we pitted twice during the caution to try and fix it. It put us midway in the pack. The guys in front of me messed up and got together. I slowed down and because I still didn’t have any power steering, I tried to turn right at the last second to miss the 96 (Erik Darnell), but I couldn’t turn. A couple guys passed me and it caused them to get in it. Ty, my spotter, said it wouldn’t have mattered if I had power steering or not. I was doomed. That’s what happens when you get caught in the back. It’s a shame, but the NAPA Toyota was strong.”

Martin Truex Jr., who will be driving the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota next season, led the field to the green flag. Waltrip was in close pursuit during the first green-flag sequence. His only complaint was the right-side tires had too much air in them. Waltrip ran comfortably in the top 15 before making his first stop for four tires and fuel on lap 70.

Not long into the next run, Waltrip lost his power steering. It was a handful, but he persevered until the first caution of the day was thrown for debris. Crew chief Gene Nead brought Waltrip in for service on laps 116 and 117. The team put on four fresh tires and added fuel. The second stop saw the crew add power steering fluid. Waltrip returned to the track in 24^th position.

The race returned to green on lap 119, but the restart was anything but clean when Brad Keselowski was hit from behind. Waltrip had nowhere to go and was collected in the mess. The NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota sustained significant damage to the front of the car and was forced to go behind the wall for repairs. The NAPA team’s hard work enabled Waltrip to refire the engine on lap 171.

For the remainder of the race, the NAPA Toyota was on track going from 39^th to a 36^th-place finish.

As for Waltrip’s teammates, David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose, their finishes reflected the type of car Waltrip had before his accident. They finished 10^th and 11^th, respectively,

Meanwhile, points leader Jimmie Johnson rebounded from last weekend’s crash to win his third victory of the season. His lead over teammate Mark Martin is 108 points heading into the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Following Johnson to the finish line to round out the top 10 were Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon and David Reutimann.

Next Sunday, it’s NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It gets underway at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC, MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING EXTENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH TOYOTA THROUGH END OF 2012

PHOENIX, Ariz. (November 14, 2009) – Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) announced today the extension of its partnership with Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The new agreement will keep the emerging organization with the manufacturer through the end of 2012.

MWR launched its full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams in 2007 during Toyota’s inaugural year in the premier series. With Toyota’s support, MWR has won three poles, the 50^th running of the Coca-Cola 600 and competed for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship until the final regular-season event at Richmond International Raceway in September.

In 2010, MWR will field the No. 00 Aaron’s/Tums/Best Western Toyota Camry full-time with driver David Reutimann, the No. 55 Toyota Camry with Michael Waltrip on a limited basis and the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry full-time with Martin Truex Jr. Additionally, MWR signed a two-year technical alliance extension with JTG-Daugherty Racing to field the No. 47 Toyota Camry with driver Marcos Ambrose.

MWR receives engines from Toyota Racing Development (TRD) out of Costa Mesa, California, along with Red Bull Racing. TRD’s Salisbury, N.C., facility supports MWR’s vehicle dynamics and development, aerodynamics, tire data analysis and race strategy programs.

“Simply put, MWR would not exist without Toyota,” said co-owner Michael Waltrip. “Toyota put us on the map in 2007 and that’s why I was so proud to deliver TRD’s engine facility its first NASCAR Sprint Cup win. For MWR to know it has Toyota’s support through the 2012 season is phenomenal and delivers our organization what every team in the garage desires – stability.

“Michael Waltrip Racing was a part of Toyota’s “Freshman Class” and they have shown tremendous progress, as well as dedication to Toyota’s goal of winning the Manufacturer’s Championship,” said Lee White, President of TRD. “Michael has always been a tremendous spokesperson for Toyota and continues to impress all of us with the moves he is making to elevate MWR to a championship caliber organization.”

This announcement comes on the heels of MWR announcing 100% renewal with its existing sponsors, a new relationship with TUMS as a primary and associate sponsor on the No. 00, a two-year extension with JTG-Daugherty Racing and a new partnership with its NASCAR Nationwide Series team with Gary and Blake Bechtel forming Diamond-Waltrip Racing to field Camrys for 18-year-old phenom Trevor Bayne.

“We have come a long way in a short period of time,” Waltrip added. “We have a lot more work ahead of us, but we are truly blessed that, in these times, we have so many positive announcements for our partners and employees.”

AMBROSE COLLECTED IN THE BIG ONE AT TALLADEGA AND FINISHES 34TH

TALLADEGA, Ala. (November 2, 2009) – Marcos Ambrose was relieved Ryan Newman was unharmed and released from the Talladega Superspeedway infield care center after a horrifying accident Sunday afternoon. As Ambrose was lined up behind Newman and Newman behind his team owner Tony Stewart, cars ahead of them appeared to slow causing a chain reaction with Newman flipping upside down as the end result. Newman landed on Kevin Harvick’s car before resting in the grass on the backstretch on Lap 183. Ambrose was thankful everyone was safe and soldiered on to finish in 34^th-place after another multi-car crash occurred during the midst of a green-white-checker finish. Jamie McMurray won the event.

“I’m just thankful that Ryan is okay and that’s all that matters,” Ambrose said. “Cars in front of me checked up and I got hit from behind. I don’t know what started it all – don’t know what caused it. I’m just glad everyone was alright. That's all that matters.”

Ambrose started the race from the 17^th spot due to NASCAR setting the field by the owner points standings because of inclement weather on Saturday. When the scheduled 188-lap race got underway, Ambrose made his way to the top 10 by Lap 21 and he was running fifth two laps later. As everyone lined up single file, Ambrose held on to his fifth spot until pitting under green for four tires at Lap 42. When the No. 2 car of Kurt Busch wrecked on Lap 49, Ambrose and the No. 83 car of Brian Vickers made contact causing damage to the right front fender of the Kingsford® Charcoal Toyota.

Kerr called Ambrose to pit road three laps later when pit road opened. The crew assessed the damage, made repairs, changed four tires and made a chassis adjustment. On Lap 55, the field returned to green flag racing and Ambrose was 19^th. He reentered the top 10 six laps later as the field lined up nose to tail again. The damage to his front fender caused the car to be tighter as he still held on to the sixth-place spot on Lap 80. Ten laps later Ambrose sustained more damage this time to the left rear.

Ambrose still maintained his stride and as green flag pit stops started, the Australian driver led lap 98 and 99 before heading to pit road for four tires and the pit crew to push the left rear fender back in. He returned to the track in 29^th place.

When the next yellow flag waved for debris, the pit crew took the opportunity to work on the fender again. Ambrose restarted 30^th on Lap 107 as Denny Hamlin led the field into Turn 1. On Lap 129 while Jeff Gordon was now in the lead, Ambrose was back in the top-10. Shuffled back to 18^th on Lap 136, Denny Hamlin brought out the next caution as his No. 11 car’s engine expired. Ambrose came down pit road for right side tires and an air pressure adjustment on Lap 140. Back to racing on Lap 143, Ambrose made his move and shot up to third place on Lap 150. Two laps later, Jamie McMurray was in the lead, Juan Pablo Montoya was in second, Ambrose in third and David Stremme in fourth. Stremme lined up behind Ambrose and pushed him to the front to lead another lap at Lap 153. The next lap Ambrose was fifth where he stayed for the next ten laps. Ambrose was then shuffled out of line back to 29^th.

While running just outside the top-20 at Lap 183, the big one happened. Newman flipped upside down after entangling with teammate Stewart and Ambrose as cars ahead of them checked up. The event was red flag for safety crew workers to turn Newman’s car over and cut the top off for him to climb out. When the red flag was lifted, Ambrose limped to pit road for the crew to repair the car for him to finish the race.

With the competitors facing one attempt at a green-white-checker finish, McMurray led the field to green on Lap 189. The yellow flag waved immediately as several drivers like David Reutimann, Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Scott Speed, Brad Keselowski and others were involved in another big wreck. Jamie McMurray won under caution after the second multi-car wreck in the closing laps ended the race.

This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Texas Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the Dickes 500 on Sunday, November 8^th begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC, PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.