RICHMOND, VA (May 2, 2009) David Reutimann finished 28th at the Richmond International Raceway NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Crown Royal 400 Saturday night after the No. 83 of Brian Vickers washed up the racetrack and spun out Reutimann’s No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota with 43-laps to go. Looking at a sure top-15 finish, the late contact caused Reutimann to lose a lap and valuable championship points in route to the disappointing finish.
Unloading with one of the fastest cars on the track, Reutimann and the Aaron’s team were top-5 in both practices and qualified eighth for Saturday’s 400-lap race at the ¾-mile “Action Track”. Rain peppered the area most of Saturday but subsided shortly before the green flag and allowed the race to get underway as scheduled.
Reutimann fell back to 20th position for most of the first 200-laps as the Dream Machine did not provide sufficient grip through the center and exit of the turns. Crew Chief Rodney Childers ordered several chassis changes during pits stops in the first half of the race, but none of the changes made a big enough difference in the handling until a spring rubber was removed out of the right rear and the car came to life.
Removing the spring rubber and changing only two right-side tires gave Reutimann top-ten track position, which would be where he would ride for the next 100-laps. Still wanting more control through the turns with 50 to go, Childers ordered the Dream Machine down pit road for a final chassis adjustment and four fresh tires, but the pit stop pushed Reutimann’s position back to 17th, further back in traffic than desired.
Only seven laps after the green flag on lap 350 Vickers car pushed up from the bottom lane and spun Reutimann out in turn two. The spin caused the left front tire to go flat and the damage from the contact caused the Dream Machine to struggle with control during the remaining 40 laps. Reutimann would persevere and finish a disappointing 28th. The finish cost Reutimann two positions in the NSCS championship race, dropping him from 11th to 13th.
The next race for Reutimann and the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine will be next Saturday at the Darlington International Speedway in Darlington, SC.
Unloading with one of the fastest cars on the track, Reutimann and the Aaron’s team were top-5 in both practices and qualified eighth for Saturday’s 400-lap race at the ¾-mile “Action Track”. Rain peppered the area most of Saturday but subsided shortly before the green flag and allowed the race to get underway as scheduled.
Reutimann fell back to 20th position for most of the first 200-laps as the Dream Machine did not provide sufficient grip through the center and exit of the turns. Crew Chief Rodney Childers ordered several chassis changes during pits stops in the first half of the race, but none of the changes made a big enough difference in the handling until a spring rubber was removed out of the right rear and the car came to life.
Removing the spring rubber and changing only two right-side tires gave Reutimann top-ten track position, which would be where he would ride for the next 100-laps. Still wanting more control through the turns with 50 to go, Childers ordered the Dream Machine down pit road for a final chassis adjustment and four fresh tires, but the pit stop pushed Reutimann’s position back to 17th, further back in traffic than desired.
Only seven laps after the green flag on lap 350 Vickers car pushed up from the bottom lane and spun Reutimann out in turn two. The spin caused the left front tire to go flat and the damage from the contact caused the Dream Machine to struggle with control during the remaining 40 laps. Reutimann would persevere and finish a disappointing 28th. The finish cost Reutimann two positions in the NSCS championship race, dropping him from 11th to 13th.
The next race for Reutimann and the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine will be next Saturday at the Darlington International Speedway in Darlington, SC.
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I would like to see some changes in the crew for David since they seen to make a lot of mistakes. The past few races he lots position because mistakes on pit road. The tire was a big one. Michael shoud do something because now he is out of the top 12 and needs to get back in there. I believe he will win this season but the have to make changes to the pit crew.
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ReplyDeleteI could not agree more. The 00 has lost a ton of spots because of foul up's on pit road. Are they just slow or trying to do such a good job they actually make mistakes. Anyway David you keep driving your butt off. It is fun rooting for you. I even have my 11 and 9 year old rooting for you. A win will come soon.
ReplyDeleteYeah, pit road is a tough place. I always wonder how many spots he is going to lose everytime. Unless he does something different than the the field, he almost always loses a couple of spots.
ReplyDeleteIt'll get better. I still believe that David will make the chase this year. And it sure has been an exciting year so far
There is nothing that I will love to see more than David winning and making the chase. At least he is getting the recognition that he deserve, hopefully the crew can get better and help him instead of hurting like we see all the time.
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