MWR Richmond Race Report

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 19th and now 17th in points.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 22nd and now 20th in points.

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann overcame an early-race spin and an untimely caution after a pit stop to finish 19th Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. Reutimann qualified fifth and ran in the top six until Kurt Busch made contact with his left rear tire. The spin and visits to pit lane to repair the body damage dropped Reutimann to 34th place. The Michael Waltrip Racing team returned Reutimann to the track where he turned lap times equal to cars in the top 10. He pitted on lap 145 after losing a lap to the leader, but the race’s second caution fell seconds after the stop dropping Reutimann two laps behind the leaders. Reutimann nearly returned to the lead lap, but the race ran without incident after lap 242. The Michael Waltrip Racing team and the Sprint Cup Series return to action Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry

Started fifth and finished 19th.

Ran in the top six until lap 55 when contact by Kurt Busch cut Reutimann’s tire sending him into a spin.

Fell to 34th after stops on pit lane to repair body damage. Turned 10th-place lap times on return to track.

Pitted on lap 145 after losing a lap to the leaders. Race’s second caution flew seconds after the stop dropping him two laps behind leader. Took wave around before lap 153 restart.

Lap 225 caution enabled him to make up one of the two laps.

Ran 19th in the free pass position for remainder of the race but the much-needed caution never flew.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That was a frustrating night. We had a good Aaron's Dream Machine, qualified well and I thought we were going to have a pretty good night. Unfortunately the No. 2 car (Kurt Busch) hit one of our tires with his splitter and it caused us to spin and lose a ton of track position. Then we got stuck on pit road when the caution came out. I really thought we had a top-10 car easy tonight, but we could never get back on the lead lap. I give my crew a ton of credit though. They worked hard and did everything they could to put us in position to get back on the lead lap. We just never caught that final break. We'll regroup and try to get better next week in New Hampshire."

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. and his Michael Waltrip Racing team finished 22nd Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. Truex crashed just minutes after Friday’s practice started. The accident forced him to use a backup car during qualifying and Saturday’s race. Truex suffered bad luck during the race when a caution came out on lap 145 seconds after he made a green flag stop dropping him two laps behind the leaders. With only three cautions there were no chances to regain the lost laps. Truex and the Sprint Cup Series returns to action Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

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

Started 29th and finished 22nd.

Fell down a lap to leaders on lap 137.

Pitted around lap 145— seconds before caution flag flew dropping him two laps behind leaders.

Took wave around before lap 153 restart.

Lap 225 caution enabled him to make up one of the two laps.

Fell down a second lap with 81 laps remaining.

Truex crashed early in Friday practice forcing him to qualify and race the backup car.

TRUEX QUOTE: "This was an all-around rough weekend for the NAPA AUTO PARTS team. We wrecked a car in practice and we never seemed to get the handling during the race. I am really proud of my guys for the job they did all weekend. Hopefully the next 10 races we can use to make our cars better for next year."

RACE NOTES:

Denny Hamlin won Saturday night’s race at Richmond.

Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose rounded out top five.

Race took 2 hours and 54 minutes with three cautions for 28 laps and none after lap 242.

Six leaders exchanged the lead 14 times with only 14 cars on the lead lap when checkered flag fell.

Richmond concluded regular season. Ten-race “Chase for Championship” among a dozen drivers begins Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.