NASCAR WCUP: Michael Waltrip experienced it all at Martinsville
4 October 1999
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 4, 1999) - Philips Chevrolet driver Michael Waltrip experienced a little bit of everything on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but unfortunately had to settle for very little at the end of the day. During the first 40 laps, Waltrip fought an ill-handling car, which dropped him from his 18th place starting position to 25th in the running order when the caution flag flew for the first time. With little to lose, crew chief Bobby Kennedy called Waltrip to pit road for a much-needed adjustment, and returned him to action in 30th place. On the restart, it was obvious the move was a good one. Waltrip began marching back toward the front. As one of only a handful of cars that chose to pit during the first caution, Waltrip enjoyed the advantage of staying out longer than many of the leaders, and that advantage turned out to be a huge one. As the leaders started coming to pit road for green flag service, Waltrip soared up the rundown. By lap 140, he found himself on the lead lap, in a very fast car and in the sixth position. Then, to Waltrip's delight and the dismay of almost half of the field, the caution flag flew. The incident put Waltrip back in pit sequence, placed him just outside the top five, and caught a number of good cars one lap down. But, Waltrip's good fortune only lasted about 45 minutes. When the next round of pit stops arrived just after lap 280, the same scenario that put him in the front turned against him. He pitted at lap 284 under green, and was looking forward to chipping away at the front five cars. But, on lap 288, the caution came out, and stranded the Owensboro, Kentucky driver one lap down. For the next 175 laps, it still looked like a top 15 finish would be the order of the day. Waltrip even suffered a flat right front tire with 85 laps to go, and still managed to maintain his spot on the racetrack. But, with 30 laps to go, all optimism disappeared when a dejected Waltrip radioed back to his crew. "I think the rear end just let go," said Waltrip. "That's it." Waltrip drove the car straight to the garage area, where he was forced to call it a day. The DNF left Waltrip with a deceiving 33rd place finish, and dropped him to 27th in the NASCAR Winston Cup point standings with six races remaining. The series continues next week, with the running of a 500-mile event at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.