Michael Waltrip Racing - Pocono Race Report

• David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - Finished 15th - 19th in points.

• Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - Finished 25th - now 15th in points.

David Reutimann Race Summary: David Reutimann salvaged a top-12 finish out of what looked to be an extremely difficult weekend at Pocono Raceway. Reutimann started 29th following his Friday afternoon qualifying effort and began working his way forward at the start of the race. When the first caution came out Reutimann and the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine came to pit road for service and went back out to restart in the mid-20s. On the restart, Reutimann received both front and rear damage after contact with another car. The damage caused the No. 00 to have a loose handling condition that eventually led to falling a lap down to the leaders on lap 70. Reutimann did his best to work with the car until he could come in for repairs on lap 100. The No. 00 Aaron’s team worked throughout the race to make the car better and work on several different options for pit strategy. A late caution with just two laps remaining forced the event into a green, white, checkered finish that saw the No. 00 restart 20th before another caution came out due to a massive incident involving several cars. Reutimann avoided the incident and crossed the finish line in 12th.

David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry

• Reutimann damaged the front and the rear of the Aaron’s Dream Machine on the first restart due to contact

• The damage caused Reutimann to struggle with a loose handing condition throughout the race

• The No. 00 went a lap down to the leaders on lap 70

• Reutimann came to pit road under caution on lap 100 to fix the front and rear damage

• Regained lead lap status on lap 155 by taking the wave around

• A quick caution on lap 158 brought the No. 00 back to pit road for work and started with the lead pack

• Reutimann worked his was from 31st and the last car on the lead lap up to 20th by the final caution on lap 198.

• Reutimann restarted 20th after taking two tires and avoided a last lap wreck to finish 12th.

• The 12th place result is the sixth consecutive top-15 for the No. 00 Aaron’s team.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: “The Aaron’s Dream Machine had a pretty rough day. We struggled and just couldn’t get a handle on it. We got into someone early with it and it knocked the quarter panel loose. Everything is so aero-sensitive that it just made us bad, bad loose all day. We lost a lap before we were finally able to come in and fix it. Then I got back in the fence again with it. To come home 14th (12th according to NASCAR’s unofficial results) is a lot better then we were looking at most of the day. The No. 00 crew worked on the Aaron’s Dream Machine all day and did a great job. It was just a rough day.”

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: Martin Truex Jr. had a solid run spoiled after a last lap incident caused major damage to the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. Truex started 27th but was quick to report a loose-handling Toyota. The first caution flew on lap 15 and Truex hit pit road for service. He restarted 26th and began slowly working his way through the field. By the halfway point he was in the top 15 and then was listed in the top 10 with just under 50 laps remaining in the 500-mile event. With pit strategy starting to play out near the end of the race, crew chief Pat Tryson summoned Truex to pit road for fuel only on lap 168. Truex was forced to restart deep in the field with only 30 laps remaining in the event because some teams opted to stay on the race track. The veteran driver sliced and diced his way through the field and was in the top 12 when a caution flag flew with just two laps remaining in the race forcing a green, white, checkered finish. Unfortunately, Truex was involved in a massive incident on the final lap and he limped the No. 56 Toyota to a 25th-place finish.

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

• Truex finished 25th and is now 15th in championship point standings. He is 65 points out of 12th.

• Fought a loose handling No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota for the majority of the event.

• Worked his way into the top 15 by the halfway point

• Truex reported the car was starting to come to life on lap 125

• Listed in the top 10 with just under 50 laps remaining in the race

• Ran as high as eighth at one point in the race

• Truex pitted on lap 168 for fuel only

• Truex was involved in a massive incident on the last lap of the race and limped to the finish line

TRUEX QUOTE: “There’s not a whole lot I can say about today. It’s a shame to race your way up into a top-10 position and have the race unfold the way it did. We got back up to 14th and then we got involved in the last lap crash. To have a good run taken away like that is tough. I don’t like races like this . We has a good NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota and the guys did a great job. We didn’t deserve a 25th-place finish today.

RACE NOTES:

• Denny Hamlin won the race under caution over teammate Kyle Busch

• The win is Hamlin’s fourth of the season.

• Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton rounded out the top-five

• The race lasted three hours and forty-four minutes in front of an estimated crowd of 105,000

• The race featured 14 lead changes among seven drivers

• The race was slowed by eight cautions for a total of 27 laps

• The start of the race was delayed nearly two hours due to rain and track drying

• The next race is June 13, 2010 at Michigan International Speedway.