David Reutimann - Atlanta Sprint Cup Series Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Aaron’s Dream Machine driver David Reutimann hopes to continue his strong start to the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season this weekend when the series visits the ultrafast Atlanta Motor Speedway. Reutimann is well on his way toward meeting his preseason goal of securing one of the twelve sports in NASCAR’s “Chase for the Championship.” The Florida native is ninth in points after three races owning a fifth-place finish in the Daytona 500.

Sponsor Aaron’s operates 1,695 stores in America but is headquartered in Atlanta. This weekend, the No. 00 team sports a new paint scheme on the Mitsubishi/Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry to honor Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc their 2009 Vendor Partner of the Year.

QUOTES

REUTIMANN ON RACING AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “I like Atlanta Motor Speedway a lot. It’s a cool racetrack. It’s pretty abrasive, so it’s a little bit rougher on the tires. The cars slide around a lot and it can be pretty fun, especially if we have a pretty good Mitsubishi/Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota. The track is still really, really fast - it’s one of the fastest places we go. We’ve had some good runs there in the past. I was able to win my very first pole there in the truck series, which came in only my second start in that series during my rookie year. We went to Daytona and then Atlanta was the second race of the year at the time. It’s always been pretty special to me - I enjoy going back.”

CREW CHIEF RODNEY CHILDERS ON THE SEASON AFTER THREE RACES: “It’s going good so far. It’s been kind of like what we’ve planned. We haven’t set the world on fire, but we’ve just been trying to be real consistent like we did last year in the first five races to just put ourselves in a good position in points when Martinsville comes around. We’re trying to be top-10, top-15 every week. The pit crew is doing a great job and getting better every week. We’ve had good Toyotas. We have to do a little better at the racetrack, but so far it’s going good.”

KEN BUTLER, AARON’S, INC. CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER ON PAINT SCHEME: “Mitsubishi has been a terrific vendor for many years, duly earning our Partner of the Year distinction. Designing a custom Mitsubishi paint scheme for the Aaron’s Dream Machine is not only an exciting, but valuable means of showing our appreciation for the partnership. Both companies will undoubtedly be pulling for Reutimann to bring the Mitsubishi car across the finish line first at Aaron’s home track.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
• Reutimann celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday, March 2.

• Reutimann has a streak of five consecutive top-15 finishes dating back to last season. The streak includes one top-five (5th, 2010 Daytona 500), two top-10s (Daytona and 10th, 2009 Phoenix-2), a 13th-place finish last weekend at Las Vegas and two 15th-place finishes (2009 at Homestead and 2010 at California-1).

• Over the last 10 races on 1.5 mile racetracks, Reutimann ranks fifth in total points (1,337) trailing only Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne. In that 10 race span, Reutimann has one win, two top-fives, three top-10s, collected two poles, led 46 laps and has an average finish of 11th with no finish worse than 20th.
• Reutimann currently has the longest streak of consecutive races finished without a Did Not Finish (DNF) at 44 races of drivers to start every race during that period. Reutimann’s last DNF was Oct. 5, 2008 at Talladega Superspeedway.
• Aaron’s, sponsor of the No. 00, will give away an autographed hat to a lucky race fan through Facebook and Twitter following any top-10 finish. Follow Aarons on Twitter (@AaronsSports) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/AaronsSports)