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Waltrip, Reutimann Qualify Up Front

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 6, 2007

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Michael Waltrip went from failing to qualify for 19 of 29 races to winning his first pole since 2005, and Zephyrhills' David Reutimann qualified a career-best fifth Saturday at Talladega.

Qualifying for today's UAW-Ford 500 wasn't as big a surprise at it sounds.

Because this is an 'impound race,' meaning there was no practice or adjustments after qualifying, teams with guaranteed starting berths qualified with their race setups.

The top eight qualifiers came from the pool of 16 who had to qualify on speed. Most of their cars had qualifying setups and parts that made their cars faster for one lap, but aren't as well suited for going 500 miles.

Other oddities included Toyota taking four of the five spots, Formula One transplant Jacques Villeneuve qualifying sixth for his first Nextel Cup start, and Dale Jarrett turning the eighth-fastest speed but having to start 43rd.

Only the top seven from outside the top 35 in owners points qualify on speed. The 43rd spot is reserved for a former champion or the eighth fastest from outside the top 35. Jarrett has used his six chances to get into a race as a former champion, but he got the spot on speed.

'We push things as much as we can, to get in,' Reutimann said. 'Those other guys don't because they're just concerned about the race. The stuff we have in our cars sometimes doesn't always live the longest, but you don't have a choice.'

Among some of the tricks teams needing to qualify on speed employ: using different gears, running lower fluid levels in the rear end and transmission, and using thinner fluids.

Waltrip, whose pole-winning speed was 189.070 mph, insisted his team didn't sacrifice his chances in the race for qualifying.

'I told my guys Friday night, 'If we can get in, we can win,'' Waltrip said.

REUTIMANN CONTRACT: Reutimann still hasn't signed the new contract Michael Waltrip Racing has offered him, but the team has scheduled an announcement for Friday at Charlotte about his 2008 plans.

'We're not done with any of it, but we feel confident by next Friday we'll be able to say what we're doing,' Waltrip said.

UNSCHEDULED FLIGHT? Wings are used on the back of cars to create downforce on the rear wheels. When a downward-angled wing gets turned around, it can create flight.

Kyle Busch thinks that could be a problem today for the Car of Tomorrow at Talladega.

'If you look at it, the back bumper is scooping air right up underneath that wing,' Busch said. 'Anytime you push air up against something, t's going to lift it up.'

Roof flaps that pop up when a car gets turned around are supposed to counteract the effect of the wing, just as they did for the spoilers on NASCAR's old cars. But Busch isn't convinced the roof flaps will be enough.

'I think air is going to get packed up right there and they're going to go airborne,' he said. 'It would have been cool if we could have come up with some sort of quick-release device that, if there was air that got packed up underneath the wing, the wing would fly forward and flop up on the front side of the deck lid.'

BLAST FROM THE PAST: The original 'Alabama Gang' - Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison and Red Farmer - took questions in the media center Friday on a wide range of subjects.

Among the highlights was 68-year-old Donnie Allison taking umbrage at the suggestion Farmer is close to him in age.

'Shoot, he used to change my diaper,' Donnie jabbed.

Farmer, who turns 75 on Oct. 15, still races a super late model at the Talladega dirt track across from the speedway. In fact, he won a match race Friday night against Reutimann and another driver despite having a cast on his right arm from recent surgery.

Bobby Allison, by far the most successful of the Alabama Gang, won four times in 37 starts at Talladega Superspeedway. It was his crash at Talladega in 1987 - his car became airborne and crashed into the catch fence on the main straightaway - that prompted NASCAR to require restrictor plates to cut speeds.

Tony Fabrizio

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