FORT WORTH, Texas – Michael Waltrip and the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota team posted a 19th place finish in today’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. The two-time Daytona 500 champion had his hands full with an ill-handling Toyota Camry, but was able to hold on for a top-20 finish in his third outing this season with crew chief Jerry Baxter and the No. 99 team for Michael Waltrip Racing.
“All we could do was survive,” said Waltrip who qualified the Aaron’s Dream Machine in 19th position. “My car wasn’t a dream to drive today. We still need to figure out a better set up for the front end of the car because what we have so far doesn’t work for me. Jerry (Baxter) and I will get together this week and come of up with a new plan so that we can be better prepared for next weekend’s Nationwide Series race at Nashville.”
Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag and never looked back as he quickly checked out with a blistering-fast pace. Waltrip’s car was a handful from the get go despite the fact that his lap times were within the top-15 range. The driver’s biggest concern was his car was loose in and way too tight off the corners. Then on lap 38, Waltrip lost a lap to the leader while running in 20th position.
The first opportunity to fine tune the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine came under green-flag conditions on lap 57. Baxter ordered up a service that included a track bar adjustment, four fresh tires and fuel. Unfortunately for Waltrip, he was assessed with a pit-road penalty for excessive speed when exiting the pit and had to complete a pass-through penalty on lap 60. The Aaron’s Dream Machine was scored in 29th place, two laps down.
Another chance to work on the car came quickly when a caution for debris was thrown on lap 69. This time, Baxter called for an air pressure change along with two spring rubbers that were to be pulled out of the left rear of the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream machine. Four fresh tires and fuel were also a part of the service. Waltrip returned to the track in 27th position and Tony Stewart was the leader off of pit road.
At the halfway mark, the Aaron’s Dream Machine was loose on initial throttle but then it pushed severely through the remainder of the corners. The even bigger problem for Waltrip was that the front end of the car had a strange feeling to him. The only thing the team could work on was the rear of the car so a series of adjustments were completed on laps 122 and 162. Baxter put into motion more spring rubber and air pressure changes. Waltrip was able to pick up two more positions on the track as his lap times continued to improve after each pit stop. The No. 99 Toyota Camry was scored in 19th position.
The team’s final stop came under caution on lap 190. The pit crew completed an air pressure change to the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine. Waltrip came over the radio after the race went back to green to let Baxter know that the car’s front end never responded to the changes and was glad that his pit road mistake did not cost the team as much as it could have and when the race concluded, Waltrip finished 19th.
Kyle Busch dominated the Nationwide Series event by leading 178 of 200 laps. Rounding out the top-10 finishers were Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Paul Menard, Matt Kenseth, Mike Bliss, Jeff Burton, David Reutimann and Justin Allgaier.
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