Finally a reason to smile for Waltrip and No. 55 team

BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Crewmen from Michael Waltrip Racing were pushing the team's No. 55 car toward its transporter Sunday when a NASCAR official ordered them to change course. The vehicle had performed well enough at Michigan International Speedway to be one of a dozen chosen for a run through the track's engine dynamometer.

For an organization that's struggled just to get to the starting line, it was heady stuff. A team that once missed 11 consecutive races, that had its original crew chief banned for a technical violation and has been surrounded by rumors that drivers are being fired or sponsors are backing out, received a sorely-needed boost of momentum and confidence when Waltrip finished an unexpected 10th in the Citizens Bank 400.

Lap-by-Lap

Carl Edwards took the lead with 35 laps to go and and never looked back in the Citizens Bank 400 on Sunday. Follow how he went from a pit-road penalty to Victory Lane.

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"We've struggled a lot, had a lot of problems and rumors. It's good just to keep working," said Waltrip, drenched in sweat, a towel around his neck. "I didn't even know most of the rumors, so it didn't affect me. There was a lot of talk about people leaving and our team not being healthy financially. We just keep our heads down and keep working."

Waltrip led one lap during a pit cycle, stayed on the lead lap until the cars were in sight of the white flag, and might have finished even higher had he not scrubbed the wall in Turn 4 trying to take a position from Kevin Harvick. The contact scraped up the side of the blue and yellow Camry, and buckled the sheet metal above the right-front wheel well. But it didn't prevent Waltrip from recording his best finish since he placed seventh at Michigan two years ago, as well as Toyota's third top-10 of the year.

"We were chasing Harvick really hard and lost the front end and got up into the wall off [Turn] 4," said crew chief Buddy Sisco, who moved atop the pit box April 29. "He had to slow down, and that cost us a position or two there. But you can't blame a guy for digging. He was giving it his all."

In recent weeks, the Waltrip team has tried to bring a degree of consistency to an organization whose first few months of existence have been wracked by scandal and frustration. David Hyder, the team owner's original crew chief, lost his job after a fuel additive violation at Daytona resulted in a massive point penalty that's kept the team out of the top 35. Waltrip missed 11 consecutive races until two weeks ago at Dover, Del., when he at last broke through. (Continued)