Dramatic Last Lap Pass Insures Top-Three for Aaron’s Dream Machine

DARLINGTON, SC (May 9, 2008) David Reutimann drove the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine to a third place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Diamond Hill Plywood 200 Friday night at the historic Darlington Raceway.  A strong racecar, fast pit stops and savvy pit strategy put Reutimann in a solid top-five position toward the end of the 147-lap event, but keen driving skills kept the Dream Machine out of trouble throughout a caution-filled end of race shootout to advance into the top three at the checkered flag.

The team brought out the backup car Thursday after Reutimann slammed into the turn-two wall toward the end of the first practice and damaged the primary car.  The backup proved to be strong during the second and third practices on Thursday, but Reutimann chose to be cautious and not press the car hard.

Qualifying 21st Friday afternoon, Reutimann felt that the Dream Machine was good around the newly paved 1.33-mile oval and was optimistic about his chances Friday night.  “I didn’t push it during my qualifying laps.” Reutimann stated.  “The car was good and I probably should have drove a little harder to get a better starting spot, but I couldn’t afford to put it into the wall this close to race time.”

The heat of the day faded as the sun went down and the green flag dropped, but the action was just heating up at the track “Too Tough To Tame”.  Reutimann began working his way up through the field, dodging two early crashes and moving forward at a steady pace.  Reutimann picked up five spots in 14 laps and broke into the top ten on lap 52.  He liked the way the Dream Machine was handling, but wanted it a bit tighter so he could drive it through the turns harder.

Pitting only twice during the race, Crew Chief Jerry Baxter ordered four tires and a slight track bar adjustment each time and the crew performed flawlessly.  As the laps wore down, the Dream Machine was turning its fastest laps with 50 to go.  Moving into sixth with 10 laps to go, Reutimann dodged a couple of late cautions and was sitting fourth as the field setup for a green, white, checkered flag finish.

Restarting on the bumper of the No. 03 car driven by Todd Bodine, Reutimann patiently waited to make his move until the last lap.  Coming out of turn two, Reutimann moved to the inside of the 03 and they raced side-by-side into three and four.  Coming out of four to the checkered flag, The Dream Machine inched ahead of Bodine at the line to take the third spot.  Tony Stewart won the race followed by Clint Bowyer.

“I killed the Aaron’s Dream Machine in practice, but the backup was just as strong and our pit stops were great tonight.” Reutimann stated after the race.  “It’s so hard to pass here.  It's pretty tough and you've got a lot of good guys out there and the closer you get to the front the harder it gets. I'm proud of my guys. They thrashed and got us going and we really had a good car all night, we just kind of fought for some track position. I'm happy with the way it turned out. The 20 car is getting a little old--seeing that thing win. We need to do something to try to combat that."

Reutimann moved up two positions in the Championship points race to fourth, 168 behind leader Clint Bowyer. 

The Nationwide Series takes a week off next week, but Aaron’s will be on Reutimann’s No. 00 Cup Series racecar next week for the Sprint All Star Showdown Friday at 5:00 PM at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.