Qualifying Report - Dover International Speedway

David Reutimann — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota — qualified 18th.

Friday Recap

• Jimmie Johnson won his second Coors Light Pole Award of 2010 with a time of 23.116 sec/155.736 mph
• Non-Chase drivers AJ Allmendinger and Mark Martin rounded out top three.
• Point leader Denny Hamlin will start fifth
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 24th
• Sunday’s race begins at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN-TV, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

DAVID REUTIMANN — "We really missed it today. We kept tightening up the Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota and when I went out to qualify it felt like it was plowing in the center. We just went too far in trying to tighten it up. It's disappointing - we normally qualify pretty well here and we ran well here in the spring. We'll just keep working on it tomorrow and try to get it better before the race on Sunday."

David Reutimann - Sprint Cup Series Preview - Dover International Speedway

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver David Reutimann knows that it’s not where you start, but where you finish that matters most in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. The 40-year-old, Zephyrhills, Fla. native’s most recent pole came at Dover International Speedway in May 2009 and he owns two top-five starts in the last three races at the Monster Mile. Reutimann has only nine races left this season to extend his pole streak to three consecutive seasons. This weekend’s race at Dover could serve as Reutimann’s best pole opportunity as well as second trip to victory lane in 2010. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver finished fifth on the concrete high banks in May posting 15 of the fastest laps in the 400 lap race.

REUTIMANN QUOTES

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALIFYING: “It’s got to the point that the racing is so competitive, it’s so difficult to pass and there are so many good cars that if you start up front it gives you a little bit of an opportunity to at least try to stay there. It’s also important because it give you the opportunity to get a good pit selection and things of that nature. Overall, just to be the fastest on that given day, mentally it’s just a big boost as well for yourself and the team, so while getting poles doesn’t get you into the Shootout in Daytona or anything of that nature any more it’s still just really, really important because of the racing aspect – it gives you the best possible start to the weekend that you can possibly have.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS WINNING AT LEAST ONE POLE A YEAR TO YOU: “I think it’s important and I take pride in winning a pole each year, unfortunately we haven’t been able to do that yet this year and that’s a little disappointing. We won a couple poles last year and I think one the year before at the Cup level, so we want to get one in the books before the end of the year. It’s important – you want to go out and win poles and win races. It’s a little disappointing so far because the last couple years we’ve been able to win one or two and we haven’t yet this year, so we need to try and step it up and get ourselves a pole … and another win.”

ON SOME OF THE CHASE GUYS THAT GAMBLED AND LOST AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: “Racing is a gamble anyway. I admire Tony (Stewart) and a couple of those guys for going all-in and taking that chance. They must have felt like that was the only way that they were going to win, so they went for it. They were all-in and it didn’t work out, but it just as easily could have. It’s just one of those things where you just don’t know and you take your shot. Fuel mileage and rain shortened events – you just don’t know how those things are going to shake out, but I applaud them for going out there and trying it. It didn’t work out for them, but at least they went down swinging.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• The David Reutimann Foundation is hosting its sixth annual Charity Cook Out and Golf Outing Dec. 3-4, 2010 at Silverado Golf and Country Club located in Reutimann’s hometown of Zephyrhills, Fla. In 2009, The David Reutimann Foundation raised over $100,000 which he distributed to Florida-based charities, including: All Children’s Hospital, Kids Go to Camp, Zephyrhills Women’s Pregnancy Center and Camp Boggy Creek.

• Aaron’s, sponsor of the No. 00, will give away an autographed hat to a lucky race fan through Facebook and Twitter following any top-10 finish. Follow Aarons on Twitter (@AaronsSports) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/AaronsSports).

• David Reutimann already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-fives (five) and has the final 10 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule to improve on his totals. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver also is closing in on several more personal bests:

Category Best (Year) - 2010
Wins: 1 (2009) - 1
Top-5: 5 (2009) - 5
Points: 16th (2009) - 15th
Avg. Start: 15.9 (2009) - 16.0
Avg. Finish: 16.4 (2009) - 16.8
Laps Led: 118 (2008) - 89

David Reutimann New Hampshire Race Report

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 TUMS Toyota driver David Reutimann overcame an ill-handling racecar to record a seventh-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. Reutimann started seventh and worked his way up to fourth over the first 75 laps. A loose handling condition dropped the No. 00 to 20th just past the half-way mark. Following a pit stop on lap 208, crew chief Rodney Childers called for Reutimann to stay out and save fuel over the final four cautions. The call moved Reutimann from 16th to fourth. The No. 00 raced in the top-10 over the final 75 laps and moved from ninth to seventh in the closing laps when two cars ran out of fuel. Reutimann moves to 15th in the standings. The Michael Waltrip Racing team returns to action Sunday at Dover International Speedway.


David Reutimann, No. 00 TUMS Toyota Camry

Started seventh and finished seventh

Battled a loose in, loose off condition for the majority of the afternoon and dropped out of the top 15 by half way.

Worked on the car under caution to correct the issue, but continued to race between 15th and 20th.

Stayed out under caution on Lap 223 to climb from 16th to 4th.

Stayed out following quick cautions on lap 238 and 241 to restart seventh on lap 245.

Remained in the top-10 the rest of the race and picked up two spots as leaders ran out of fuel to finish seventh.



REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That was ugly, but I'll take it! To struggle the way we did today and still come out of here with a seventh-place finish is pretty amazing. Our TUMS Toyota was loose in and off all day and really couldn't get a handle on it. Rodney (Childers) and (race engineer) Dax (Gerringer) really did a great job working on our fuel and pit strategy. We took a pretty big gamble by staying out toward the end and not pitting, but with the way the cautions worked out it was pretty good - we saved fuel and picked up a top-10. I can't thank our team enough for the job they did today and TUMS for its support."

RACE NOTES:

Clint Bowyer won the first race of the 2010 Chase for the Championship and is now second in points.

Denny Hamlin finished second and Jamie McMurray third. Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton were racing in the top-five, but ran out of gas in the closing laps.

Denny Hamlin now leads Clint Bowyer by 35 points

The race last 2 hours and 58 minutes. Cautions slowed race slowed race eight times for 34 laps.

Twenty-one lead changes among eight drivers.

NASCAR estimated attendance at 95,000.

David Reutimann - New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sprint Cup Series Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 TUMS Toyota driver David Reutimann has already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-fives (five) and has the final 10 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule to improve on his totals. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver also is closing in on several more personal bests:

Category: Best (Year) - 2010
Wins: 1 (2009) - 1
Top-5: 5 (2009) - 5
Points Finish: 16th (2009) - 17th
Avg. Start: 15.9 (2009) - 16.3
Avg. Finish: 16.4 (2009) - 17.2
Laps Led: 118 (2008) - 89

REUTIMANN QUOTES

ONE OF FOUR DRIVERS NOT IN THE CHASE WHO HAVE WON A RACE: “I don’t think that getting a win should automatically put you in the Chase, but it’d be nice if there was a little more emphasis on gaining some points in that area. That being said, it’s just odd how it worked out for us, but now we’re on the outside looking in unfortunately and we’re just going to have to do a better job next year. The No. 00 team has made amazing strides this year in how fast we are and how the cars handle, but we’ve had some bad breaks and need to be a little more consistent for next year to be one of the teams competing for the Chase.”

FIVE TOP-10 FINISHES THIS YEAR – ALL OF WHICH WERE TOP-FIVE: “Those statistics are a little misleading - our Toyotas have been better than that. We’ve had really good cars all year and we should have quite a few more top-10s, but I feel like there are a lot of situations where we finished somewhere from 11th-15th or 16th and we left some points on the table at the very end of the race. A perfect example is the last couple weekends we had really good cars and we didn’t finish like we needed to finish. At Atlanta we had a radio issue and fell multiple laps down and didn’t have much of an opportunity to get our laps back until the very end. Last week in Richmond we cut a tire early and lost a ton of track position that caused us to fall a couple laps down, but we were still running top-10 lap times all night. We had one of the stronger cars, but just had some tough luck at the start and couldn’t get back on the lead lap to gain any more positions. There’s been situations like that all year where we’ve had fast race cars and just haven’t finished like I know we are capable of.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• New Hampshire marks the fourth of five primary schemes for TUMS in 2010. The No. 00 TUMS Toyota last raced at Chicagoland, where Reutimann recorded his only win of 2010 and the second of his career. The No. 00 TUMS Toyota will appear for the final time in 2010 at Phoenix.

• TUMS, Levy and NHMS have partnered on the TUMS “Chowdah” Cook-Off. After submitting entries online at NHMS.com, five contestants have been selected to compete in the at-track cooking competition. Cooking will begin Sunday, Sept. 19 at 8 a.m. ET at the TUMS Fast Relief Zone located in the fan midway at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. NASCAR personalities Jimmy Spencer and Michael Waltrip will join the judging panel which takes place at 10 a.m.

• The David Reutimann Foundation is hosting its sixth annual Charity Cook Out and Golf Outing Dec. 3-4, 2010 at Eldorado Golf and Country Club located in Reutimann’s hometown of Zephyrhills, Fla. In 2009, The David Reutimann Foundation raised over $100,000 which he distributed to Florida-based charities, including: All Children’s Hospital, Kids Go to Camp, Zephyrhills Women’s Pregnancy Center and Camp Boggy Creek.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry

Started fifth and finished 19th.

Ran in the top six until lap 55 when contact by Kurt Busch cut Reutimann’s tire sending him into a spin.

Fell to 34th after stops on pit lane to repair body damage. Turned 10th-place lap times on return to track.

Pitted on lap 145 after losing a lap to the leaders. Race’s second caution flew seconds after the stop dropping him two laps behind leader. Took wave around before lap 153 restart.

Lap 225 caution enabled him to make up one of the two laps.

Ran 19th in the free pass position for remainder of the race but the much-needed caution never flew.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That was a frustrating night. We had a good Aaron's Dream Machine, qualified well and I thought we were going to have a pretty good night. Unfortunately the No. 2 car (Kurt Busch) hit one of our tires with his splitter and it caused us to spin and lose a ton of track position. Then we got stuck on pit road when the caution came out. I really thought we had a top-10 car easy tonight, but we could never get back on the lead lap. I give my crew a ton of credit though. They worked hard and did everything they could to put us in position to get back on the lead lap. We just never caught that final break. We'll regroup and try to get better next week in New Hampshire."

RACE NOTES:

Denny Hamlin won Saturday night’s race at Richmond.

Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose rounded out top five.

Race took 2 hours and 54 minutes with three cautions for 28 laps and none after lap 242.

Six leaders exchanged the lead 14 times with only 14 cars on the lead lap when checkered flag fell.

Richmond concluded regular season. Ten-race “Chase for Championship” among a dozen drivers begins Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Qualifying Report - Richmond International Raceway

Richmond International Raceway Qualifying Results

David Reutimann —No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota — qualified fifth.

Friday Recap
Carl Edwards won the Coors Light Pole Award
Juan Pablo Montoya and AJ Allmendinger rounded out top three.
Point leader Kevin Harvick will start 20th
MWR's Martin Truex Jr. starts 29th
JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 12nd
Saturday’s race begins at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) on ABC-TV, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

DAVID REUTIMANN — How was your car in practice today and how was your qualifying lap?
“We had a pretty good practice with the Aaron’s Dream Machine and we were just a little too free on our second lap.  We couldn’t be as productive as we needed to be and missed it a little bit.  All in all, pretty good effort for the guys.  We unloaded good, I made some smart changes and I feel like this is probably the best car we’ve ever had here.  I am kind of disappointed though, I feel like we should have been better in qualifying.  We got loose on our second lap and it cost us some time.  When you have opportunities to get poles, you want to get them.  When you miss them, it bums you out.”

Will you approach these final 11 races differently not being in the Chase?
“It’s our own fault for not getting in the Chase.  It’s a situation where we just go out here and race hard like we have been.  I’m not going to approach anything any different.  It may give us a chance to take some different chances and gamble a little bit on occasion when we probably wouldn’t.  Other than that, I think it’s business as usual for us.”

David Reutimann - Richmond Sprint Cup Series Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann has two goals for the remaining eleven races in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The 40-year-old Zephyrhills, Fla. native plans to win every race and wind up the season in 13th-place before turning his attention to the 2011 season. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver charged from 30th place in points after Texas in April to 16th place after last weekend’s 16th-place finish at Atlanta.

Reutimann is one of four drivers outside the top-12 in championship driver points to record a Sprint Cup Series win in 2010. Five drivers inside the top-12 are winless in 2010.

QUOTES

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON?: “My goals haven’t changed all year – my goal is to put the Aaron’s Dream Machine in victory lane every week. I show up at Daytona in February with the goal of winning 36 point races, a couple of exhibition races and a Sprint Cup Series championship. It’s a personal mind set and I know our No. 00 team feels the same way. I don’t come to the racetrack on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday wanting to finish second – that’s just not the way we do things. So now that we are on the outside looking in at the rest of the Chase guys it’s my goal to finish the season with 12 wins. I already have one win and we have 11 more races until the end of the year. Wouldn’t it be fun to see one of the guys outside the top-12 finish the season with the most wins? I want to be that guy! If I’m not in the Chase I want to spoil all the fun for everyone else by winning the next 11 races.”

ON BEING ONE OF FOUR DRIVERS WITH A WIN OUTSIDE THE TOP-12 IN POINTS GOING TO RICHMOND: “I wish I was one of the 12 guys inside the top-12 in points with a couple wins, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. We’ve had a good season and I know that the No. 00 Aaron’s team and all of Michael Waltrip Racing continues to get better every week. We caught some bad breaks early in the season that cost us a lot of points, but we’ve kept at it. At one point this year we were 30th in points and we’ve climbed our way back to 16th and keep on gaining spots each week. We’re not the only team in this situation – Jamie McMurray has two wins this year, but a couple of bad days cost him too. Same with (Juan Pablo) Montoya and (Ryan) Newman. It’s just frustrating to know we have a team that in my opinion is one of the 12 best in the garage and have to be on the outside looking in for the last 11 weeks.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• No. 00 crew chief Rodney Childers will join Larry McReynolds and Steve Post in-studio for MRN’s NASCAR Performance Live 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday.

• Reutimann led 104 laps at the fall Richmond race in 2008—a career best.

• Reutimann has three top-five finishes under the lights in 2010, including a win at Chicagoland Speedway - his second career Sprint Cup Series win. Reutimann also recorded top-five finishes in the Coke 600 at Charlotte (fifth) and the night race at Bristol (second). Reutimann has finished in the top-15 in six out of seven night races in 2010.

• Reutimann has already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-five (five) finishes with 11 races remaining in 2010.

• Only 10 drivers have more top-five finishes than Reutimann’s five in 2010.

• Reutimann is 16th in the championship point standings, trailing the top-12 by 186 with one race remaining before the “Chase.”