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NASCAR WCUP: Mechanical problems drop Michael Waltrip at Richmond

14 September 1999

 RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 14, 1999) - Philips Chevrolet driver Michael Waltrip
suffered his third straight setback Saturday night at Richmond International
Raceway when mechanical problems sidelined him for more than 50 laps and led
to a 38th place finish.

 Waltrip started 36th in the 43-car field, but had worked his way into the
top 20 during the first 150 laps.  But on lap 152, smoke trailed from the
rear of Waltrip's car.  He stopped briefly on pit road, but then headed to
the garage area where the Mattei Motorsports crew began looking for the
source of the problem.

 After a quick examination, the team pinpointed a problem with the rear end
in the form of a broken gear.  During the course of the next 50 laps, they
replaced several rear end components and then returned Waltrip to the
racetrack.

 "This is really a shame, because this Philips team gave me a good car
tonight," said Waltrip.  "I could run about anywhere I wanted.  It sucks to
finish where we did, but we can take what we learned about the car here and
build on it."

 Waltrip's finish dropped his three spots in the NASCAR Winston Cup point
standings to 24th with nine races remaining.  The series continues this
weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway with a 300-mile event on
Sunday.  Waltrip posted a 19th place finish at New Hampshire during the
series' first stop there in July.

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