David Reutimann - Atlanta Sprint Cup Series Preview

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.

No. 00 Wins Tissot Pit Crew Award - Again!!!

David Reutimann’s pit crew pocketed the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

It was the second Tissot win of the season for Reutimann’s No. 00 crew, which moved into a four-way tie for third place in the weekly pit-road competition. Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 continues to lead the Tissot standings with four wins

The weekly Tissot winner receives $5,000 from Tissot plus a Tissot V8 Quartz Chronograph watch. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will receive a $105,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the over-the-wall crew members and driver.

Reutimann’s Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota spent the least amount of time on pit road – 199.713 seconds -- during the 500-lap race at the half-mile oval. The quick work by the No. 00 crew helped Reutimann to a second-place finish.

Coming in second was Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Doublemint Toyota – 199.763 seconds and third was Gordon’s No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet – 204.369.

Reutimann’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Ryan Langley (front-tire changer), Chris Hall (front-tire carrier), Lee Cunningham (rear-tire changer), Donnie Marvel (rear-tire carrier), Tony Cardamone (jackman), Aaron Pieratt (gasman) and Jeff Seaberg (catch can). The team’s crew chief is Rodney Childers and the pit crew coach is Greg Miller.

“The Aaron’s Dream Machine No. 00 crew has been great all season long and Saturday night at Bristol was no exception,” said Childers. “They knew we had a great starting position and needed to have consistently great stops all night to keep us up front. With David (Reutimann) feeling under the weather all weekend it was even more important to support him as best they could. It all came together very well. They guys did a great job and I can’t say enough about the job they’ve done all season.”

Tissot has been the official watch and timekeeper of NASCAR since 2006. The company is also the official timekeeper for a number of other sports, including the MotoGP World Championship, the Ice Hockey World Championship and the Cycling World Championship.

David Reutimann Bristol Race Report

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.”

David Reutimann - Bristol Motor Speedway Preview

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).

David Reutimann Michigan Race Report

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.

David Reutimann - Michigan International Speedway Preview

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.

David Reutimann Watkins Glen Post Race Report

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.”

David Reutimann - Watkins Glen International Sprint Cup Series Preview

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.