DAYTONA, Fla. (July 3, 2009) - Friday night's Nationwide race in Daytona started out just as Michael Waltrip expected, but an accident on pit road spoiled those plans and sent the Aaron's Dream Machine from first place to the back of the lead-lap cars.  Not satisfied with an average finish, Waltrip and the Aaron's team continued to work on the car and salvaged an 11th-place finish.

Michael Waltrip was the only driver to post top-five speeds in both practices Thursday at Daytona, so he was confident the No. 99 Aaron's Dream Machine could score a great finish.  Even with a low qualifying spot that confidence didn't fade.

At the drop of the green flag Waltrip was in 34th place but the Aaron's Dream Machine quickly moved up through the field.  By lap 55 the Aaron's Dream Machine was leading the pack and Waltrip was dreaming of his first Daytona win in the Nationwide Series.

Unfortunately, the lead was short-lived.  On lap 58 a wreck brought out the caution and the leaders came to pit road.  During pit stops the Aaron's Dream Machine, which came into the pits as the leader, was hit by the Chevy of Mark Green as Waltrip exited his pitbox.  The accident caved in a large section on the right side the No. 99 and severely dampened any chance for a win.

Over the next several laps the team would bring in the Aaron's Dream Machine for multiple pit stops and extensive repairs, which pushed Waltrip deep in the running order.

From there Waltrip simply rolled up his sleeves and went back to work.  With the race more than half over there wasn't a lot of time, but the Aaron's Dream Machine was still stronger than most of the cars on the track and allowed Waltrip to move all the way up to 11th place at the checkered flag.

"The car was loose all night but the guys did a good job tightening it up," said a disappointed Waltrip.  "Getting hit in the pits killed the right side.  But the guys did a great job fixing it and we made a decent finish."

Clint Bowyer was able to hold off a pack of cars to take the win as a wreck ensued behind him.  Kyle Busch was second, followed by Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, and Kasey Kahne.

Next weekend, the Nationwide Series heads to Chicagoland Speedway where it will run a second consecutive Friday night race under the lights.  The Dollar General 300 will be covered live by ESPN at 7:30 p.m.