Have a FaceBook, Twitter, or other social networking account?

Link them to your fanatic account!

Add An Account

TAKE ME TO...
NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Reutimann Earns First Top Five
David Reutimann is pleased with the strides made at Michael Waltrip Racing since its dreadful start-up season of 2007...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted March 01, 2009   Las Vegas, NV
After Vegas, David Reutimann moved up to fifth in points, the highest ranking ever by one of the Michael Waltrip Racing drivers in its brief 2+ year history. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Kyle Busch won Sunday’s Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but David Reutimann was nearly as happy with his effort, a stellar fourth-place, his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup top-five finish in 66 starts.

Reutimann qualified his Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota fourth on Friday, but his No. 00 Camry was one of four Toyotas that had to change engines after a wear issue between the camshaft and the lifters was discovered. That meant that the Zephyrhills, Fla., native had to start Sunday’s race from the back of the field. As things turned out, that didn’t seem to slow him up much at all.

Although he did not lead a lap all race long, Reutimann diced through the field quickly, moving from the back of the grid to 16th place by the one-quarter distance. He had the advantage of having car that had run well all weekend, and he persevered through a record number of cautions to get his MWR No. 00 to the front pack, at least within hailing distance of race-winner Busch and his closest pursuers, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton.

In the process, Reutimann moved up to fifth in points, the highest ranking ever by one of the MWR drivers in its brief 2+ year history. Heady stuff, indeed, given that Reutimann began the season with his car only sponsored for half the season before Aaron’s agreed to step up and be his primary backer for all 36 races. But his car has been fast all year and Reutimann already has shown himself to be a capable wheelman.

And his career-best result, above all else, was a vindication for how far this team has come in a relatively short time. “You are just kind of relieved if anything,” Reutimann said when asked how he felt scoring his first Sprint Cup top five. “You run around here for a couple of years and trying to get close to winning one of these things and so we’re a little closer than what we were. It feels good to be where we are. Having Aaron’s onboard for a full year — the only way you can repay a sponsor like Aaron’s is to get them some good runs and I think we’re trying to pay back a little bit for what they’ve done to us.

Clearly, Reutimann is pleased with the strides made at MWR since its dreadful start-up season of 2007. “It’s been great,” said Reutimann. “I love my team. My crew chief (Rodney Childers) is doing a great job. The organization is doing great and the cars are exceptional. If we just keep doing this, knocking on the door, we’ll get ourselves in the right position.”

The right position, of course, is victory lane. If Reutimann’s performance on Sunday was any indication, he’ll be there sooner rather than later. “I tell you, thank the lord, it was a blessing today to be able to drive that car,” Reutimann said. “It drove great all day. Rodney (Childers) made a great call there at the end to take two tires and fuel and we just kind of hung in there. We needed longer runs to get the Aaron’s Dream Machine up front and we just didn’t quite that at the end, but I’m awful happy with the finish.”

LAS VEGAS NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES RACE RESULTS

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

tom_jensen's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tom Jensen

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2012

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.