Monday, April 16, 2007
REUTIMANN COLLECTS TOP-10 FINISH FOR AARON'S
AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
AND PREDICTS MORE SOLID FINISHES LIE AHEAD
FORT WORTH, Texas (April 15, 2007) – David Reutimann and his Michael Waltrip Racing team rallied together to deliver another strong finish with the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry by posting a sixth-place finish in the NASCAR Busch Series event on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.
“Last week, we finished second and this week we finished sixth,” said Reutimann, who is currently fifth (463 points out of first and 60 points out of second) in the NASCAR Busch Series driver standings after eight races this season. “If we had not had an issue with my water bag, we may have finished in the top-five. The team had to drop the window net on our first pit stop to move it. That cost us valuable track position, but we were able to battle back for a top-10 finish.”
“The top-10 finish was big for us because we had a lot of key representatives from Aaron’s in the Fort Worth area for the National Managers Meeting,” Reutimann continued. “I spoke in front of 2,000 people on Wednesday night and that’s something I have never done before. Seeing that many people under one roof from Aaron’s, gave me a huge confidence boost. There is so much enthusiasm shown by Aaron’s every week that carries our Aaron’s Dream Team. I only wish we could have finished better for Aaron’s because we had a car capable of a top-five finish.”
After starting the 200-lap event in seventh-place, Reutimann radioed to crew chief Jerry Baxter on Lap 6 that he could not turn the wheel.
“My arm was hitting the water bag and I couldn’t turn the wheel like I needed to,” Reutimann said. “I was not able to get a good feel for what the car was doing because of that.”
Entering pit road on Lap 56 under caution while in eighth-place, Reutimann told his crew to reposition the water bag. While changing four tires and making a track bar adjustment, the Aaron’s Dream Machine team had to drop the window net to remedy the issue. The stop proved to be costly as Reutimann left pit road in 22nd-place.
On Lap 89, Reutimann moved into the top-15. On Lap 122, Reutimann reentered the top-10. Before pitting on Lap 126, Reutimann was shown in fourth-place.
“The Aaron’s Dream Machine was too tight at that point,” Reutimann said. “The guys put on four tires and made adjustments to help handling.”
Reutimann restarted fourth on Lap 129 and maintained a top-five run until making a routine pit stop 33 laps later. The No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine restarted sixth on Lap 165. Reutimann protected his position and went on to collect his second top-10 finish this season.
“It’s a little disappointing that we finished outside the top-five,” Reutimann said. “We were so close. I’m just so proud of my team and how they have been working so hard on this program. We’re running up front and our confidence is up now. We’re setting our bar high and we know we can deliver. We just need to keep the ball rolling in the right direction and continue to build our momentum. If we can do that, a win is around the corner for us.”
Next on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule is Phoenix International Raceway. Reutimann’s car sponsor for the race is Best Western, but Aaron’s will return to the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry entry for the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway. Reutimann is confident he will excel in the next two events.
“Back in the day, I raced at tracks that were unique like Phoenix International Raceway and that’s where I excelled,” Reutimann said. “Because the track is oddly shaped, it’s a favorite of mine. This will be my first time running a Busch car there, but I have three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts and my best finish is seventh. After Phoenix, we have the Talladega Busch race and it is sponsored by Aaron’s. That race is huge for our team. You always want to perform for your sponsor, but when they are the title sponsor of the race, you put a lot of pressure on yourself to win.”
Although Reutimann has not raced a NASCAR Busch Series entry at Talladega Superspeedway, he finished sixth while driving the No. 17 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Tundra in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event last season during his first race at the 2.66-mile tri-oval.
“Racing at Talladega Superspeedway in a truck was the most fun I had in a long time,” Reutimann said. “I can’t wait to go back there to run the Aaron’s Dream Machine in the Aaron’s 312. Aaron’s has a lot of promotions surrounding that race and it’s a big weekend for them. We will be running a special paint scheme on our Busch car that you will hear about later this week. We want to win that race for Aaron’s, all of their employees and fans of the program.”
Live coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, April 20th begins at 9 p.m. EDT on ESPN2 and MRN Radio.
Live coverage of the NASCAR Busch Series Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 28th begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT on ABC and MRN Radio. The 2007 racing season at Talladega Superspeedway kicks off with Aaron's Dream Weekend set for April 27-29, featuring the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series practice and The Birmingham News Qualifying for the NASCAR Busch Series on Friday, April 27, The Birmingham News Qualifying for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series and the Aaron's 312 NASCAR Busch Series race on Saturday, April 28, and the Aaron's 499 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on Sunday, April 29.
For information about Aaron’s Sales and Lease Ownership, please visit www.shopaarons.com. For additional information about Reutimann, please visit www.davidreutimann.com.