BRISTOL, TN (March 16, 2008) David Reutimann and the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine finished 20^th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 Sunday.  Starting 39^th, after Friday’s rain caused the field to lineup by the rulebook; Reutimann steadily moved up into the top-30 during the opening laps and broke into the top 25 on lap 111. 

Crew Chief Ryan Pemberton and the team worked to help make the car rotate better through the turns during the first couple of pit stops, and Reutimann passed a few more cars mid-way through the race, but found himself one-lap down on lap 173.

Never really being in a position to be granted the Aaron’s Lucky Dog and getting back on the lead lap, the Aaron’s Dream Machine continued to run around the 25^th position but Reutimann never quit and continued to work to get back on the lead lap.  The car was turning respectable lap times around the 0.533-mile high-banked speedway, but the caution flags never came at the right times to help with the Aaron’s Lucky Dog free pass.

Mid-way through the race Reutimann was 19^th but still asking that the car turn better under throttle.  On the fifth pit stop of the race, the Dream Machine came into the pits hot and was penalized one lap for pitting outside of his pit box.  The penalty moved him back to the 29^th position again, but this time, two-laps down from the leaders.

Pemberton and the crew continued to work on the Dream Machine every stop, and seemed to help the car’s handling each time.  In the closing laps of the 500-lap event Reutimann moved into the 20^th position to take the checkered flag for a solid finish.

"We just battled track position all day long with the fact that we had to start so far back. We never really could get a break to get it made up.” Reutimann said after the race. “That was kind of the way our day went. We screwed up in the pits -- I was out of the box a little bit and we got a penalty and that put us two laps down or I think things could have been a lot different. All in all it was a good day -- we learned a lot. It was my first race at Bristol in a Cup car because we missed the other two -- it was a decent day in the points because it could have been much worse."

David and the crew’s efforts helped move Reutimann up two position (tied for 25^th) in the drivers points, and maintained the 27^th spot in the all important owner points.  Reutimann will be guaranteed a starting spot in each race as long as he is within the top 35 cars in owner points.

Aaron’s enjoyed some high-level exposure Sunday.  In addition to the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine’s television coverage during the race, Lucky Dog appeared at the speedway entertaining fans, posing for photographs and giving away little Aaron’s Lucky Dogs at the Toyota display and the grandstands surrounding the Aaron’s Dream Seats.

The Food City 500 marked a milestone for Michael Waltrip Racing’s Dale Jarrett.  It was Dale’s last points race event and the beginning of his retirement.  The opening ceremonies were emotional for Jarrett, his family, everyone at MWR and his sponsor UPS.  Bristol Motor Speedway and UPS saluted Jarrett’s’ accomplishments with several pre-race celebrations and MWR honored their relationship with Dale with a special sticker on each of the MWR racecars.  Jarrett went on to finish 37^th in the race.  David Reutimann will take over the driver seat of the No. 44 UPS Toyota starting in Martinsville in two weeks.

The Sprint Cup Series will be off next weekend, but the Nationwide Series and the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine will be racing next Saturday at the Nashville Superspeedway.

Aaron’s hosted winners of the Aaron’s Dream Seat promotion at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday and treated the winners to luxurious Klaussner Furniture recliners perched high atop the concourse for some of the best views in the 160,000-seat speedway.

Alvin Bradshaw of Reno, NV won the sweepstakes and treated his son Greg to the weekend trip that included airfare, lodging, transportation and spending money along with the comfortable seats for the Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.  This was their first time to a NASCAR event even though they are big fans of the sport.  Aaron’s made their dreams come true!

Darren Pelphrey and his nine-year old son Jordan of Adrian, MI won an instant upgrade to the other two Aaron’s Dream Seats by correctly answering a trivia question while on camera and displayed on the huge infield jumbo-tron.  Jordan knew that David Reutimann recently celebrated his 38^th birthday on March 2 and that correct answer gave them the upgraded seats for them to enjoy the race.

Lucky Dog was on hand to help host Aaron’s guests as well as posing for photographs and “woofing it up” with the surrounding fans and the cameras!

The Aaron’s Dream Seat sweepstake is held twice per year and is one Aaron’s most successful promotions.