David Reutimann Darlington Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Most race fans who follow No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann know his father Buzzie Reutimann taught him an awful lot about racing. The 1997 Dirt Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee’s racing exploits are legendary up and down the east coast.

Less familiar is David’s mother Linda Reutimann who will visit Darlington Raceway this weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day. Don’t look for Linda on top of the pit box or in the Sprint cup garage. Instead, David says, she’d prefer a seat in the grandstands to watch the action on the historic track.

QUOTES

REUTIMANN ON MOTHER’S DAY: “I always have my Dad (Buzzie Reutimann) there, I mean, almost always – and that’s really special to me. My Mom (Linda) always spent a great deal of time with me in the grandstands back when we were younger and she tried to keep me out of trouble. She spent lots and lots and lots of time at racetracks. Mom is really, really low key. She likes to come to the races, she may come in to see me for a bit, but then she normally goes and sits in the stands because she always feels like she’s in the way or something like that. And let me be the first to tell you that she’s never in the way, but she just likes to be very low key and doesn’t like to be in the middle of things. I think she comes to a weekend like Darlington a bit reluctantly. She comes because she knows that I like it, but I don’t think that it’s her style for sure because she’s so quiet and reserved. I enjoy having her there with me, so I’m glad that she comes.”

REUTIMANN ON DARLINGTON: “Darlington definitely earns its nickname – that place is just tough! I mean, that name is just spot on. That place is way too tough to tame. It’s hot and it’s a tough racetrack. It’s a long race and it’s just a really, really tough racetrack. It’s one of those places that will just flat wear you out.”

REUTIMANN ON GETTING HIS FIRST DARLINGTON STRIPE: “Geez, I’ve had so many. I don’t know if I really remember the first one. I think my first Darlington stripe came in my first truck race there. I think I got it during the race. Everyone was telling me that I was going to get one at some point. When it finally came I was like, well, at least I got that out of the way. Then as the race went on there was another five or six before the race was over with, so yeah, that place has not been especially kind to me over the years. We are going to try and turn that around this time and improve our season a little bit and get us headed back in the right direction again.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

Reutimann has finished 20th or better in six of the seven races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in five of the seven. In his three DNFs (Did Not Finish), Reutimann was racing in the top-five of all three races at the time of the issue leading him to retire from the race. (5th at Atlanta, 2nd at Bristol, 5th at Atlanta).

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).

Aaron’s/Alabama Crimson Tide No. 00 Toyota Camry diecast cars available for purchase at any Aaron's store nationwide.  Aaron’s stores throughout Alabama will host the Alabama National Championship show car and also have championship/racecar t-shirts and championship 9" plush Lucky Dogs for sale.

Martin Truex Jr. Darlington Preview

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Martin Truex Jr. heads to his favorite track for this weekend’s running of the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. A win at the Lady in Black would lead to a huge payoff for Michael Waltrip Racing’s new driver. The obvious reward is a win for his new team and sponsor NAPA, a cool $285,000 for his Martin Truex Jr. Foundation thanks to the DIRECTV Head2Head Knockout competition and a guaranteed starting spot in the Sprint All-Star race.

QUOTES

Truex Jr. on Darlington: “Darlington is a special place because of the history and the things that have happened there over the years. Especially when you think about all the guys that have won. It’s also a special place to me because I clinched my first championship there in the Nationwide Series. I think there were two or three races to go in the season and we had the Wrangler colors and the Dale Earnhardt paint scheme on my car. It was a very cool day to have won the championship. I have a lot of pictures from that day hanging in my shop.

“What I like about Darlington — it’s one of the most challenging tracks on the circuit. I really, really like it. It is really a fun place to race. I have had some great runs there. I haven’t won there, but I feel like some of my best performances as a driver have come at that track. It really challenges you as a driver. You really have to be up on the wheel and concentrate all day and all night long.”

Truex Jr. on DIRECTV Promotion: “I am so excited to have made it to the final four. Thanks to DIRECTV, I have already won over $30,000 for the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. That means a lot to my foundation as it will help many children in need. This weekend, if all goes well, we could walk away with an additional $250,000. That money will go a long way as we’ve got a lot of projects going on now so I want to thank DIRECTV for making this promotion possible.”

Truex Jr. on Mother’s Day Activities at Dover: “My parents have been a huge part of my racing career. It’s going to be nice to bring my mother out to the pre-race festivities. She’ll get to see what it’s like to be out there as a driver with all the fans watching. She’ll probably get a little bit nervous, but I look forward to taking her out there and ride around the truck with me before the race.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

The driver of the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota will be competing in his 163rd NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday night at Darlington. This will be Truex’s fifth race at the 1.366-mile oval. His best start is 16th and best finish is ninth. Both occurred last year on May 9. During his career, Truex has earned one top–five and four top-15 finishes. His average start is 26th and his average finish is 11th.

In the last four races, Truex ranks ninth in NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers’ Statistics at Darlington Raceway. And just out today, the ESPN Power Rankings rates Truex 13th heading into Darlington.

The DIRECTV Head2Head Knockout promotion enters the Fastest Four round. Truex will now compete for the final prize of $250,000 against Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin. Truex is competing to raise money for the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. The head-to-head “races within the races” launched at Texas and concludes this weekend at Darlington. In classic “bracket-tournament” fashion, fans entered their own bracket predictions at www.DIRECTV.com/NASCAR for the chance to win $1 million or a car.

HELP MARTIN: The first annual Catwalk for a Cause: A Celebration of Fashion Benefiting the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation takes place May 18 at River Run Country Club in Davidson, N.C.

For more information on Truex’s foundation: http://www.martintruexjrfoundation.org/ .

Trevor Bayne Previews Road America

Martin Truex on Darlington and Racing For His Foundation

Video Highlights Of Martin Truex's Richmond Media (Courtesy of SPEED-TV)

MWR - Richmond Race Report

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished seventh - now 14th in points.

David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota - finished 15th - now 27th in points.

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota team proved it’s not where you start—it’s where you finish. After starting the race in the 26th position and struggling to find the proper balance early, the No. 56 team fell a lap down to the leaders on lap 129, but raced its way back onto the lead lap by way of the lucky dog on lap 170. The team made adjustments during their pit stop at that time and seemed to find the right mix to make a run toward the front. Truex Jr. found himself gaining ground quickly and was racing in 19th just 20 laps later. As the race progressed, the No. 56 team continued to gain ground and found itself inside the top-10 racing in eighth by lap 269 and raced as high as fifth before the final three cautions. Truex Jr. and the No. 56 team raced hard with the leaders over the final 30 laps to bring home a seventh-place finish.

TRUEX: “I cannot get over how bad our NAPA Toyota was at the start of the race. And then (Crew Chief) Pat (Tryson) started adjusting on it and bam! It came to life. In the history of my career, I've never had a car turn around that well. It was a fun night. We may have adjusted on the track bar a little too much at the end, but it still drove off the corners really well. I cannot get over how our night changed. Tryson and the team did an awesome job for me. It was an awesome night!”

Truex Notes:

Truex Jr. started 26th and finished seventh.

The No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota fell a lap down at lap 129

Raced its way back onto the lead lap by way of the Lucky Dog on lap 170

Truex Jr. raced from 26th to 19th by lap 190 and reported the car was handling much better

By lap 269 Truex Jr. was racing in the eighth position and gaining on the leaders

Truex Jr. raced as high as fifth before finishing seventh following the final restart.

David Reutimann Race Summary: David Reutimann and the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine started the race on the outside of the front row along side Kyle Busch following a solid qualifying effort on Friday afternoon. At the start of the race on Saturday night, Reutimann looked to continue his strong effort by maintaining a top-five position for the first 160 laps. As the track conditions changed into the night time hours the No. 00 team fought a tight center condition and continued to work on the car throughout the race. Reutimann consistently ran in the top-15 the entire race which is exactly where he finished as the checkered flag waved. Reutimann is now 27th in points as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves to Darlington for Saturday night’s race.

REUTIMANN: "That wasn't really the result we wanted. We had a very good Aaron's Dream Machine early on, but it just got tighter and harder to turn the center as the race went on. Just disappointed. We were so good early I was hoping to finish a little better than we did. That said, we brought home a clean car with a top-15 finish. Hopefully we can do a little better next week."

Reutimann Notes:

Reutimann started second on the outside of the front row and finished 15th.

Reutimann has finished in the top 15 in five of the seven races he’s finished in 2010.

Reutimann raced in the top-five for the first 160 laps.

The No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine battled a tight center condition throughout the race

The No. 00 started 11th on the final restart on lap 395 and finished 15th.

RACE NOTES:

Kyle Busch beat Jeff Gordon by 0.755 seconds.

Kevin Harvick finished third. Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five.

The race lasted three hours and was slowed by six cautions for 37 laps.

The estimated race attendance was 93,000

The race featured 12 lead changes among eight drivers

The No. 47 team won the Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race Award

In the DirecTV Head2Head competition Truex defeated Mark Martin in Richmond.