Waltrip and Allmendinger to back of grid

Michael Waltrip and AJ Allmendinger will have to go to the rear of the field for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday as their crews spent Saturday afternoon making engine changes at Infineon Raceway.

Car owner/driver Waltrip was set to start 35th while Red Bull Racing’s Allmendinger would have started 36th, so they don't lose too many positions. They will join Michael Waltrip Racing's David Reutimann in the rear of the field for the race. Reutimann was set to start 42nd and will have to go to a backup car after crashing in practice Saturday. He too hardly lost any positions. When you are a backmarker as these drivers are, where you are at the back doesn't really matter much.

At least they are better than IndyCar hero and 2007 Indy 500 champion Dario Franchitti. He wasn't even fast enough to qualify and his specialty is road racing. He went from hero in the IRL to zero in NASCAR. Ouch.