David Reutimann | Aaron's Sports

LATE RACE CONTACT ENDS TOP-FIVE FOR REUTIMANN AT MICHIGAN

Lunes, 18 de Agosto de 2008

Tangle with Bowyer Cuts Tire and Ends Solid Run For Aaron’s Dream Machine

BROOKLYN, MI (August 16, 2008) David Reutimann’s return to oval tracks did not end up the way he had planned. Running in the fourth position late in the 125-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series event in Michigan, contact with the No. 2 of Clint Bowyer cut Reutimann’s left-rear tire and sent the Aaron’s Dream Machine hard into the backstretch wall. The time needed to repair the damage was enough to drop Reutimann back to a disappointing 34th place finish.

After two weeks of running road course races, Reutimann and the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing team were looking forward to returning to the circle-tracks again, and it showed. Posting solid top-five finishes in both Friday practices and securing the fifth spot in qualifying Saturday morning, Reutimann and the team were optimistic about their chances in Saturday afternoon’s main event.

When the green flag fell, Reutimann moved into fourth on lap-one and raced solidly in the top-five for the first 40-laps. Pitting under the green flag on lap 42, the crew made air pressure adjustments to the new tires and raised the track bar several rounds to help the Dream Machine keep momentum through the high-banked turns.

After running 10-laps, the second caution of the day flew and Reutimann wanted more of the same adjustments to help the car through the turns. Crew Chief Jerry Baxter brought the Dream Machine back down pit road and changed four tires, made further chassis adjustments and filled the tank with Sunoco fuel. Loosing valuable track position with a second stop, Baxter justified his decision saying that it was important to get the car handling well early in the race and still have enough time to move forward to the front.

Restarting 12th and having better tires than those in front of him, Reutimann moved quickly back into the top-five and was keeping pace with the leaders. Had the strategy played out, Reutimann would have been in excellent position to lead late in the race and have a shot at his first win of the season.

However, while battling for the third spot with the No. 2 of Clint Bowyer with 40 laps to go, Bowyer got loose and hit the Dream Machine on the left side and caused the left-front tire to blow going down the back stretch. Reutimann hit hard against the outside wall and had to bring the car to the garage for repairs as the final laps wore down.

After spending 18 laps in the garage making repairs, Reutimann returned to the track with ten laps to go to take the checkered flag 34th.

Aaron’s guests including Bill, Linda and Cristina Zvonar, Keith Evans, Jerry Moog and Steve O’Dell had the opportunity to meet David and get photographs taken with Reutimann on pit road before the race. They also enjoyed watching the start of the race from pit road before moving to the grandstands for the end of the race.

ESPN and SPEED Channel covered Reutimann well throughout the weekend and gave Aaron’s tremendous coverage during their broadcasts. Pre-qualifying and pre-race interviews focused on Reutimann’s road course experience over the previous two weeks and a post-wreck interview in the garage area let fans feel David’s frustration from the incident.

The disappointing 34th-place finish dropped Reutimann one position to fifth in the championship points race.

The next race for David and the Dream Machine will be this Friday at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

Escrito por: lmalford
Fecha de Publicación: 8/26/2008
Número de Visitas: 963

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