Reutimann moves team back into top 35 with Phoenix outing
By SceneDaily Staff
Sunday, April 13, 2008
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AVONDALE, Ariz. – While his fellow Toyota drivers were chasing the win, David Reutimann had a different goal in mind. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver just wanted to get back into the top 35 in owners points.
He did just that with his 18th-place finish Saturday night, bumping Hall of Fame Racing’s J.J. Yeley out of the locked-in group for the next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Reutimann already put one car in the top 35 with his strong start in MWR’s No. 00. But when Dale Jarrett retired after the season’s fifth race, Reuimann took his place in the UPS-sponsored No. 44. That team was barely in the top 35 and one race of setbacks caused Reutimann to fall out of the group.
It was a familiar feeling for the driver who, along with his MWR teammates, spent all of 2007 having to qualify for races based on speed. He did just that and has now moved back into the top 35 after a decent showing in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.
Now, Reutimann heads into the Sprint Cup’s weekend off secure in the knowledge that he can focus on racing, and not qualifying, at Talladega Superspeedway.
“It's great to go to the next race and just worry about racing,” he said. “We'll go there and do that. All we had to do was finish the last couple of races and we'd be 'off to see the wizard' and be in good shape.”
Still, he’s deep in the standings. Reutimann’s team is 34th, 16 points ahead of Yeley’s 36th-place team. He’s not counting on anything yet, but rather staying focused on putting a little more distance between himself and that cutoff.
“We'll take them one at a time,” he said. “All I know is we don't have to worry about [qualifying]. We can act like a regular race team now and make our car better for race runs. It's going to be a lot of fun - I'm looking forward to that.”
- Mentioned Drivers:
- David Reutimann
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