Atlanta
Post-Race Report
09-07-2010
David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Outdoors Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann overcame an early-race black flag that dropped him two laps behind the leader to finish 16th Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Reutimann made an unscheduled green flag stop about a third of the way into the 500-mile race to reconnect the radio inside his Camry. He made up the first lap quickly and second of the two laps with less than 30 laps left in the race. Reutimann had little time to pass lead lap cars but he gained about six positions over the final laps for the 16th-place finish. Reutimann moves to 16th in the point’s race. The Michael Waltrip Racing team and the Sprint Cup Series return to action Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.
David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry
· Started 13th and finished 16th
· Fell to 19th in the first 50 laps due to ill-handling car but climbed back to 14th.
· NASCAR black-flagged Reutimann on lap 105 to reconnect his car radio.
· The unscheduled stop dropped him two laps down to leaders.
· Took the wave-around on lap 148 and immediately regained one lost lap at the next caution.
· Raced hard a lap down for most of the race before getting the second lap back with 30 laps remaining.
· Restarted the race in 22nd with 25 laps remaining and worked his way to 16th when the checkered flag fell.
REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That was just a long night. We had an issue with the radio early on and I couldn't hear the spotter or crew chief, so NASCAR black flagged us and we ended up two laps down. We got one back pretty quick, but it took us almost all night to finally get the lucky dog and get back on the lead lap. And once we finally got back on the lead lap we were almost out of time to make up any significant ground. It was a pretty frustrating night, but I'm proud of my guys. They gave me a great Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota. We just never had the opportunity to show how good the car was after the deal with the radio. That was a tough night. Hopefully we can do a little better next week in Richmond."
Atlanta
Pre-Race Report
08-31-2010
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Outdoors Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann learned at Bristol Motor Speedway how difficult it is to make up ground in the point standings this late in the Sprint Cup Season. Reutimann battled through flu-like symptoms all weekend to finish second—his second best finish of the 2010 season—but only gained 10 points in pursuit of the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Championship. With only two races remaining before the Chase, Reutimann is 17th trailing 12th-place Clint Bowyer by 155 points. Reutimann has extra reasons to look forward to Sunday’s race that begins at 7 p.m. at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway. Both of Reutimann’s two career victories came on 1.5-mile tracks and he owns top 15 finishes at each of the six 2010 races held under the lights.
QUOTES
WHAT IS IT ABOUT NIGHT RACES THAT YOU LIKE?: “Night races are just a whole different feel. They’re just a whole different vibe. It almost takes you back to when you started out racing. Almost all of us, at least at one time or another, raced local short tracks on Friday or Saturday nights. It almost takes you back to having that same feel. That same vibe that I did when I was growing up. I think that’s one of the things that I like so much about it. It takes me back to my earlier days of racing.”
ON RETURNING TO ATLANTA: “I feel like at the fall night race last year we had a really strong run and we felt like we found some things at that point. Rodney (Childers) and the guys came up with some stuff that really seemed to work well there. We kind of went along the same lines when we went there earlier this year in Atlanta and again we had another really, really good racecar. I just think that we continue to build each time we go there. I’ve been talking to Rodney and I think that we may be going there with a little bit different approach, but also knowing that we have some things in our back pocket to fall back on that we know have been good in the past. So, we’ll start off with one thing and know that if it doesn’t work out that we can switch to another. It’s a good racetrack – a 1.5-mile track that we’ve been good at and I really enjoy racing on the 1.5-mile tracks. We’ve been really strong at those places.”
MWR TOYOTA STRENGTH ON THE 1.5-MILE TRACKS: “I think Rodney (Childers) and the guys, (engineer) Dax (Gerringer) and the guys , have a really good feel for what makes our cars good at those places. I also just like the 1.5-mile racetracks as a driver, so if you combine all that stuff I think it just ends up being a better fit for us.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· In the last 12 races on 1.5-mile racetracks (including Atlanta - technically a 1.54-mile track), Reutimann has two wins, four top-fives, five top-10s, nine top-15s and led 60 laps.
· The last time Reutimann visited a 1.5 mile racetrack under the lights he recorded the win at Chicagoland Speedway - his second career Sprint Cup Series win. Reutimann has consecutive top-five finishes at night races on 1.5-mile tracks (Chicago, fifth at Charlotte).
· Reutimann is currently 17th in the championship point standings, trailing the top-12 by 155 with two races remaining. With 12 races remaining in 2010, Reutimann has already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-five (five) finishes. Reutimann has scored 20 fewer points in 2010 then at the same point in 2009. He has three DNFs in 2010 after not recording one in all of 2009.
· Reutimann will spend the day on Wednesday, Sept. 1, on the ESPN Campus in Bristol, Conn. Reutimann is participating in the ESPN “Car Wash” in which a NASCAR driver travels to Bristol to take part in various media opportunities across the ESPN television, radio and electronic media properties.
Bristol
Post-Race Report
08-21-2010
David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann endured food poisoning on Friday then posted a second-place finish Saturday night in the 500-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Saturday marked the first time in his Sprint Cup career Reutimann earned a second-place finish. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver started fifth and raced in the top five throughout the night leading 25 laps around the 400-lap mark before Kyle Busch made the race winning pass with just 81 laps remaining. Reutimann held off Jamie McMurray in the closing laps to secure second place. Reutimann is 17th in points and 155 points out of the 12th and final Chase position with two races remaining. The Sprint Cup Series enjoys an off weekend before traveling to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 5.
David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry
· Started fifth and finished second.
· Reutimann led 25 laps and raced in the top five throughout the race.
· Marked his first second-place finish in his Sprint Cup career.
· 17th in points—155 points behind Clint Bowyer in the final spot in the “Chase for the Championship.”
· Fifth top-five of the season and 10th of his career.
· Suffered from food poisoning on Friday. He and Aric Almirola shared driving duties in Friday practice.
REUTIMANN QUOTE: "(Crew Chief) Rodney Childers and the guys gave me exactly what I asked for tonight. All in all it was a great team effort by Michael Waltrip Racing this weekend. My team did a really good job. They had to work with two drivers on Friday with two different styles and they were able to make it work. We know we are capable of winning races. My team is an excellent team. We have some good race tracks coming up for us so we are going to keep digging and see how this thing turns out.”
Bristol
Pre-Race Report
08-18-2010
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann knows he has a lot of ground to make up in a very short amount of time to earn a spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “Chase for the Championship.” With races remaining at Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond, Reutimann finds himself 18th in points trailing the top-12 by 165 points. But Reutimann and the Michael Waltrip Racing crew have reason for optimism. In the spring races at both Bristol and Atlanta, Reutimann raced in the top-five chasing down the leaders before mechanical problems ended both races early. He recorded a 15th-place finish at Richmond after starting second.
QUOTES
ON THE FINAL THREE RACES BEFORE THE CHASE CUT OFF: “I love Bristol! I love Atlanta. Richmond is one of those places that I really like, we’ve struggled a little bit there, but I do like the racetrack. We have some good racetracks coming up for us. I’m looking forward to getting back to the mile-and-a-half at Atlanta. We had a really good run going there earlier this year, but again, we didn’t get the finish we would have liked. We had two great races going earlier this year at Bristol and Atlanta, but ended the race early due to some issues that forced us behind the wall. I was second at Bristol and hanging around the top-five at Atlanta and we weren’t able to finish either of those races – so I’d like to get back there and run the way I know we are capable of running. We have a great team. The guys on the No. 00 have been working hard and I know we have some good cars capable of running up front. Hopefully we’ll see that again in these last three races before the (Chase) cutoff.”
SATURDAY’S RACE AT BRISTOL: “We had an excellent Aaron’s Dream Machine our first trip to Bristol this year – probably the best car we’ve ever had there. It didn’t turn out the way we’d of liked, but I know that we’re going to have a good car this time around. Goodyear’s got a little different tire this time, but in our business you can never just go back with the exact same stuff and expect to run well. That never seems to work – you always have to constantly evolve and change this up. I feel good about going back there this time – I’m pretty excited about it because we’ve struggled a little bit lately.”
No. 00 TEAM PERFORMANCE SINCE WINNING CHICAGO: “Honestly, we just haven’t been very good. Since our Chicago win the rest of our races have been pretty disappointing. We just have to get back on our game and start running like we are capable of doing. That’s really the long and short of it. I know everybody is working really, really hard, but sometimes things just don’t go your way. Things haven’t gone our way. I know that we’re a much better team than where we’re running right now, and that makes it even worse. We’ll get back on the other side of it. Hopefully we’ll do it at Bristol this week.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· Reutimann chose “The Game” by Motorhead as his introduction song prior to Saturday night’s race. Motörhead is a British rock power trio well-known in the professional wrestling community for performing “The Game” as the entrance music for popular WWE wrestler Triple H.
· Reutimann has finished on the lead lap in 18 of 20 races that he was running at the finish and 18 out of 23 total races in 2010. He has finished 20th or better in 16 of the 20 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 12 of the 20. Reutimann has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five races in 2010.
· Reutimann won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10. The Sprint Cup Series win is his first of the season and second of his career. Reutimann led 52 laps in the win — the second highest total of any race in his career (Best, 104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008).
Michigan
Post-Race Report
08-16-2010
David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann spent most of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway adjusting to the constantly changing track conditions before earning a hard fought 16th-place finish. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver moved from 14th to 10th in the first 60 laps, but struggled with the balance of the racecar as the day progressed. The No. 00 team stayed out to gain track position on lap 159, but a series of quick cautions dropped Reutimann to 19th at the final restart on lap 172. Reutimann raced his way to 16th before the checked flag flew on lap 200. Reutimann remains 18th in the point standings, trailing the top 12 by 165 points with three races remaining before the Chase cutoff. The series returns to action Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
DAVID REUTIMANN: “We just fought it all day today. We’d work to correct one thing and it would hurt something else. We tried some pit strategy by staying out late in the race to gain some track position, but really we just did the best we could with the Aaron’s Dream Machine. The track conditions were tough today, but on a day like today you just do what you can to gain every position. We’ll take it and head to Bristol.”
Reutimann Notes:
· Reutimann started 14th and finished 16th.
· The No. 00 raced its way from 14th to 10th in the first 60 laps
· The Aaron’s Dream Machine struggled with a tight center, loose off handling condition
· The No. 00 fell a lap down during a green flag stop on lap 135, but raced back to the lead lap within seven laps.
· Reutimann stayed out under caution on lap 159 to restart fourth.
· Reutimann restarted 19th on the final restart on lap 172 and improved to 16th when the race ended.
RACE NOTES:
· Kevin Harvick recorded his third win of the year.
· Harvick is the first driver to clinch a berth in the Chase for the Championship
· Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.
· Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 293 over Jeff Gordon
· Race took 2 hours, 46 minutes and 38 seconds and included five cautions for 25 laps.
· There were nine leaders and 17 lead changes.
· NASCAR estimated the race attendance at 105,000 fans.
Reutimann finding a way to give something back
Annual golf tournament raises money for Camp Boggy Creek in Fla.
It happens every time. Win a Cup race, and just about everybody and their brother jumps on your bandwagon.
Just ask David Reutimann -- I'm sure he'd tell you. The good thing is, he's had a chance to experience the exultation of winning a Cup race twice: Last spring at Charlotte and last month at Chicagoland.
And there are good things that come out of that. For example, Reutimann was part of Chicagoland's dog-and-pony show this week when the track in Joliet, Ill., announced it would host the opener for the 2011 Chase.
But this story isn't about people jumping on Reutimann's bandwagon, this story is out to show winning hasn't changed one major component in Reutimann's life. That is, his commitment to giving back to the community around him and helping people through all spectrums of society -- but primarily in his home state of Florida.
In the week before he won at Chicagoland, Reutimann was at his "home" Cup track, Daytona International Speedway. There, he took a break in the schedule to make a morning-long trip to Camp Boggy Creek in Eustis, Fla., about an hour west of Daytona Beach.
It was a breakthrough moment in a lot of ways for Reutimann and his cousin, Shawn Reutimann, who's David's spotter at the race track and an integral member in planning and executing the major event involving the David Reutimann Foundation.
"I've lived in Florida the majority of my life, and up until a couple years ago, I never even knew [Boggy Creek] was there, or that a place like that even existed [in Florida]," David Reutimann said. But the wonderful thing about him -- his whole family for that matter -- is that knowing about it was all it took to flip the switch.
The Reutimanns have hosted a benefit golf tournament in November following the end of the NASCAR season for the past five years, primarily supporting Florida charities like Zephyrhills Meals on Wheels, which the Reutimann Foundation helped keep in business. It wasn't hard to put Boggy Creek on the list.
"I looked online and I thought, 'Wow! This is perfect. This is in our home state, this is in our backyard [so] let's take care of the people in our backyard,'" Shawn Reutimann said. "That's kind of how we got involved."
As the Reutimanns' golf tournament has grown, so has their support -- not only of Boggy Creek but everything they can handle.
"We're always thinking about what more we can do to help," Shawn Reutimann said. "It started out because me and my cousin, who owns the Silverado Golf and Country Club in Zephyrhills, Fla., came together with this idea to have a golf tournament. We started out raising $25,000 and in our fifth year we raised $100,000.
"David is doing a lot more as far as appearances and all of that money goes into the foundation. Everywhere we turn we are trying to find more ways to raise money. Coca-Cola has been able to put some money into it. We've been looking at maybe doing a bowling tournament in our hometown or maybe doing a race kinda like Tony Stewart does [at Eldora Speedway] out at East Bay [Raceway in Gibsonton, Fla.], which is our local track. Just little stuff like that -- anything we can do to put extra money into the David Reutimann Foundation."
Several people in Reutimann's party that day had been to the Petty family's Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., which is a real testament to the corporate power and spirit of giving that's truly alive in the NASCAR community.
But none had been to Camp Boggy Creek, a more typical camp environment in a much more bucolic setting than Victory Junction -- which is pure NASCAR. The ironic thing is that Boggy Creek, which was founded by the late actor Paul Newman, was the seed in the late Adam Petty's fertile young mind that's grown into Victory Junction. Full Story
Michigan
Pre-Race Report
08-10-2010
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann spent his Monday traveling to Chicago to assist Chicagoland Speedway in announcing it will become the first race in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship. The press conference took place at Fulton’s on the River in downtown Chicago and was attended by NASCAR VP of racing operations Steve O’Donnell, Reutimann, Kevin Harvick and Chicagoland Speedway president Craig Rust.
QUOTES
ON CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY BEING ADDED TO THE 2011 CHASE SCHEDULE:
“Chicagoland Speedway is a cool place. It’s a neat racetrack, the facility is phenomenal and the people are great. People can talk about the markets and all the other things that are really, really important to our sport, but I think what it comes down to for us, what’s important for a driver, is that it’s a fun racetrack. Anytime a driver can go out there and have fun at a racetrack you are going to see better racing. You’ll see guys run at the top or the bottom or the middle and I just think that adds excitement to the event. What makes Chicago such a cool racetrack – I mean you have a back straightaway that’s not straight, so I don’t know what you’d call that, but whatever you want to call it – maybe the curveaway. It’s a unique racetrack and great facility. I just think it’s a perfect place to start the Chase. Hopefully next year I’m part of that equation as well.”
ON THE ADDITION OF THE 1.5-MILE RACETRACK TO THE CHASE: “People say that Chicagoland Speedway is just another mile-and-a-half racetrack and it is, but that’s where the similarities end from a lot of the other racetracks that we go to. It’s just unique, especially with the entrance of the corners. Every year you go back the racetrack gets a little more personality. I always consider racetracks to be a living breathing thing and their attitudes change over the years as well. One bump that was not that big one year will be maybe a little bit bigger issue the next. With that being said, it’s a cool racetrack and it’s a challenge.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ADDING ANOTHER 1.5-MILE TRACK TO THE CHASE?
“I’m all for it, especially since I won there. The only problem that I have is that they changed it to a day race, and that’s just going to completely mess my deal up. (Laughs). I finally for one race in my entire life get things figured out and then they change it on me. I think the reason behind the move to a day race was like – well, Reutimann ran pretty good there, so what can we do to mess up his program. (Laughs). I’m sure they had a big meeting on that.
“What’s important is that we have good racing on the racetrack and I think this particular racetrack adds to that. I think this is a win-win personally.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· Reutimann has finished on the lead lap in 17 of 19 races that he was running at the finish and 17 out of 22 total races in 2010.
· Reutimann won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10. The Sprint Cup Series win is his first of the season and second of his career. Reutimann led 52 laps in the win — the second highest total of any race in his career (Best,104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008).
· Reutimann has won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series - Sprint Cup Series (Charlotte-1 2009, Chicago 2010), Nationwide (Memphis 2007) and Camping World Truck Series (Nashville 2005).
· Reutimann has finished 20th or better in 15 of the 19 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 12 of the 19. Reutimann has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five races in 2010.
Watkins Glen
Post-Race Report
8/09/2010
David Reutimann Race Summary: David Reutimann drove the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota to a 23rd place finish at Watkins Glen International on Sunday - his second best career road course finish. Reutimann started 30th and quickly raced way in to the top-25, while battling a loose racecar. Reutimann steadily worked his way around the road circuit holding his position while the No. 00 team worked to improve the car's balance. Reutimann brought the Aaron’s Dream Machine home in one piece and gained ground on the top-12 in championship driver points. With four races remaining, the No. 00 team remains 18th in points trailing Mark Martin for 12th by 166 points. Next week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the two-mile Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry
· Reutimann started 30th and finished 23rd
· The Aaron’s Dream Machine raced in the top-25 the majority of the race
· During green flag pit stops around lap 60 Reutimann raced as high as 16th
· This marks Reutimann’s second best career road course finish
· Reutimann remains 18th in championship driver points, but is now only -166 points out of the top-12
REUTIMANN QUOTE: "We did the best we could today with the Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, but it was a struggle. We were very, very loose all day and just never got in front of it. I would have liked a little better finish, but right now I'm just happy we don't have any more road courses this year. I’m ready to get back to ovals. I think we’ll be good at Michigan next weekend.”
Watkins Glen
Pre-Race Report
8/05/2010
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann makes no secret that road course racing isn’t his specialty. But that hasn’t stopped the 40 year-old former dirt track racer from working hard to get better. Every time Reutimann has raced on a road course he’s set a career-best road course finish. Reutimann spent two days last week at Watkins Glen International in street cars in preparation for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visit to the 2.45-mile road course circuit in upstate New York.
Reutimann’s Improvement
2008 Infineon 40th
2008 Watkins Glen 33rd
2009 Infineon 31st
2009 Watkins Glen 25th
2010 Infineon 20th
QUOTES
ON TESTING AT WATKINS GLEN: “We were up there in a completely different car then we are going to race last week, so it’s hard to take away a great deal from it. I think the biggest thing is that it gets you freshened back up on the racing line and trying different things and doing different things throughout the course of the day. I think any time you get out on a track it’s a big help, but it’s a situation where you make the best of the test that you can, but we can’t be in the exact race car that we’re going to race.”
ON RACING IN THE NORTHEAST: “My family has raced up in Syracuse and areas like that, which is obviously not Watkins Glen, but in the same area of the country – just within a couple hours drive from Watkins Glen. The Mile at Syracuse, Brewerton, Canandaigua and Rolling Wheels in Weedsport and different places like that. We even race a little bit up at Black Rock on weekends when we race the Cup cars at The Glen, so I’ve raced at a lot of the racetracks around those areas, but I haven’t had much time to go hang out and see what Watkins Glen has to offer or really any of the areas in that part of the country other than just racetracks. I never had a great deal of success up in that part of the country to be quite honest. It was always a struggle. I met a lot of really, really good people that I still know and keep in contact with today, but for the most part the time I spent up there wasn’t the greatest time in my career certainly. I’ve kind of forgot a lot of what happened up there in my early racing life, because there wasn’t a whole lot of good to remember unfortunately. The racing was awesome, the people were awesome, and a lot of great racetracks, but our results weren’t exactly what you’d call awesome. I just wasn’t in a position to excel at that point.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· The No. 00 and No. 56 Sprint Cup Series pit crews plan to make a special trip to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Level Cross, N.C. on Tuesday night to take part in NASCARnival night at the camp. Both teams will perform pit stops and spend time with the campers.
· At Indianapolis, Reutimann snapped the longest streak of consecutive lead laps finishes at 11 races. He has finished on the lead lap in 16 of 18 races that he was running at the finish and 16 out of 21 total races in 2010.
· Reutimann won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10. The Sprint Cup Series win is his first of the season and second of his career. Reutimann led 52 laps in the win — the second highest total of any race in his career (Best, 104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008).
· Reutimann has won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series - Sprint Cup Series (Charlotte-1 2009, Chicago 2010), Nationwide (Memphis 2007) and Camping World Truck Series (Nashville 2005).Reutimann has finished 20th or better in 15 of the 18 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 12 of the 18. Reutimann has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five races in 2010.
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