MWR Texas Race Report

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished ninth - now 17th in points.
David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 37th - now 30th in points.

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary:

Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 56 NAPA Toyota wasn’t the fastest car at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday, but nobody did a better job improving their car throughout the race or avoiding all the carnage on the track. Truex worked to cure handling issues early in the race then used some nifty driving to avoid a spinning Sam Hornish on lap 110. Truex appeared destined to finish about 20th, but he and crew chief Pat Tryson kept working on the car. Truex managed to avoid a nine-car accident with 17 laps left in the race. The wreck allowed Truex to return to the lead lap and restart 13th with 12 laps remaining. Truex drove from 13th to ninth in the closing laps. The ninth-place finish allowed Truex to move from 19th to 17th in points as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega this weekend.

  

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

• Truex Jr. started 14th and finished ninth.
• Struggled early dropping to 33rd after a lug nut malfunction on the first stop.
• Truex and crew chief Pat Tryson battled handling issues early in the race.
• Truex narrowly missed a spinning Sam Hornish on lap 110 and ran 25th at the halfway mark.
• Truex fell a lap behind the leader on lap 190 while racing in 23rd.
• He in 20th on lap 317 when a chain-reaction wreck involving nine cars brought out the red flag for 20 minutes.
• Truex narrowly missed the carnage and earned the free pass to return to the lead lap. .
• After the delay, Truex restarted the race in 13th-place with four fresh tires.
• Truex moved from 13th to ninth in the 12-lap shootout.

 TRUEX QUOTE: “Merry Christmas to us. We have more work to do. That last run was tough. The NAPA Toyota wanted to go straight on exit when it hit the bumps. The whole race our car was good for two laps and then the handling would go away. We'll figure it out. Pat and I are still getting to know one another and that's part of the process when building a new team. We'll get it worked out. We'll take ninth and keep digging.”

David Reutimann Race Summary:

David Reutimann’s 2010 hard luck story played out at Texas Motor Speedway on Monday when another great performance ended with a disappointing finish. The No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine raced in the top five throughout most of the 334-lap race. But with 30 laps remaining, Reutimann began reporting something amiss under the hood as he gave up fifth-place to Tony Stewart. Just a few laps later the day came to a close amid flames and smoke under the hood as Reutimann coasted down the backstretch. NASCAR credited Reutimann with a 37th place finish. Reutimann raced in the top six at the moment he encountered race ending problems in three races this season. He dropped five spots to 30th in points. The Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega this weekend.”

  

David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota

•  Reutimann started 16th and finished 37th.
• Moved into the top 10 on the lap 83 restart.
•  Jumped to fourth at the lap 110 caution then ran comfortably in third.
•  Stayed in the top five throughout most of the race.
•  Dropped to ninth with 100 laps to go during a pit stop sequence, but climbed back into the top five with 50 laps remaining.
•  Reutimann began reporting engine problems with about 40 laps remaining giving up fifth-place to Tony Stewart.
•  With 24 laps remaining, the car burst into flames on the backstretch. Reutimann made it back to pit lane but his race was over.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: “That’s about as frustrating as it gets. We had  a great car all day and ran with the leaders and we have a problem with 20 laps to go and can’t finish the race. That unfortunately has been the story of our season so far. I don’t know what we need to do to turn it around, but this is getting old. We’ve had some good finishes go up in smoke … literally.”

  

RACE NOTES:

•  Danny Hamlin beat Jimmie Johnson by .153 seconds to win Monday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.
• Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five.
• A massive nine-car wreck among the leaders with 17 laps remaining brought out a red flag for 19 minutes and 13 seconds.
• Thirteen cars finished on the lead lap.
• Race took 3:30 hours and saw 31 lead changes among 12 leaders.
• NASCAR estimated 90,000 fans attended Monday’s race.
• In the DirecTV Head2Head competition Truex defeated Jeff Burton, but Clint Bowyer edged Reutimann. Truex will face AJ Allmendinger at Talladega.