BRISTOL, TN (March 15, 2008) David Reutimann finished third in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday after rain moved back into the area just after halfway and the race was called after 171 laps.

Reutimann started fifth for the 300-lap event and stayed in the top-ten for the first 45-laps when NASCAR ordered a competition caution for teams pit and check tire wear and car adjustments for safety purposes.  The Aaron’s Dream Machine was a little tight through the turns early and Crew Chief Jerry Baxter made several chassis changes during the first two pit stops and improved the handling.

With rain threatening and the halfway mark approaching, Reutimann had moved into the third position and was quickly gaining on the two leaders in front of him.  Caution was called on lap 163 as rain moved in and NASCAR parked the cars on pit road on lap 171.  After 45 minutes of consistent precipitation, officials called the race official.  

"You don't ever know what's going to happen with the weather. I would have like to see it go green a little while longer, to see what we could've done with those guys.” Reutimann stated.  “With the rain coming and washing us out, a third place finish isn't that bad, either. The Aaron's Dream Machine was going pretty good. Jerry Baxter (crew chief) and the guys made some really good adjustments on our Toyota. That last long run we were pretty good."

Reutimann and the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine enjoyed some excellent exposure during the race as ABC television focused on the Dream Machine for several laps and spoke of the team’s competitiveness.  Reutimann also made a trip to the media center after the race and was interviewed by several media outlets including SPEED television and SIRIUS Satellite radio. 

Saturday’s winners of the Aaron’s Dream Seat promotion at Bristol Motor Speedway enjoyed the life of luxury being upgraded to four of Aaron’s leather recliners perched high on the main concourse and enjoyed some of the best views in the house for Saturday’s Sharpie Mini 300.

Carrol Todd and her ten-year old nephew Spencer Henry correctly answered a trivia question from track announcer Tom Taylor and were upgraded to the Dream Seats.  Carrol and Spencer are from Mountain City, TN and while Carrol has been to several races at Bristol before, this was Spencer’s first trip and his excitement was evident.

Aaron’s in-store winners cancelled due to an emergency at the last minute and could not attend, so replacement winners were selected from the grandstands and given the upgrade.  Linda and Richard Benfer from Sycamore, Ohio were the Aaron’s Lucky Dog winners.  This is their first visit to Bristol Motor Speedway and they feel like the luckiest people in Tennessee.

The trivia question and winner introductions were filmed by the Sprint Vision production crew along with an announcement on how to win the Aaron’s Dream Seats for future events.  The promotion will be shown on the Sprint Vision screens around the speedway several times before the race along with an Aaron’s television commercial.

The next race for the Nationwide Series No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine will be the Pepsi 300 in Nashville, TN next Saturday, March 22^nd live on ESPN at 2:00 pm EST.