Michael Waltrip Racing's Michael Waltrip, David Reutimann run well at Martinsville
Michael Waltrip Racing's Michael Waltrip is enjoying a strong start to the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. // LaDon George, NASCAR Scene
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Michael Waltrip endured another solid outing in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, though teammate David Reutimann suffered a late setback that kept the organization from another outstanding afternoon.
Waltrip finished 13th in the Cup race, rallying from losing three laps after he spun just 21 laps into the race. Waltrip managed to earn the free pass repeatedly to climb back into contention and finish among the lead cars.
His finish helped him climb four spots in the standings, to 17th.
"[The team] did a great job," Waltrip said. "To battle back from being down a lap three times and race back on the lead lap was great. I am so proud of my team. They prepared a good car for me. That’s how this deal works – I want top-10 finishes bad."
So does David Reutimann, who is off to a strong start this season in the MWR No. 00. Reutimann was having another good day when contact with David Stremme caused him to cut a tire and then spin coming off Turn 4 on lap 466 of the 500. Reutimann, who has been in the top 12 in the standings all season, was uncharacteristically outspoken about the contact that led to his 20th-place finish. He remains 11th in the NASCAR Cup standings.
“We just got run over by a lapped car that had his eyes rolled back in his head and ran over us for no reason," he said. "It’s disappointing when you run top-10 all day and you don’t really touch anybody all day for Martinsville and then have somebody spin you out.
"That’s hard to take, but we’ll just move on.”
