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REUTIMANN’S CAMRY ROLLS BY THE COMPETITION IN CHICAGOLAND

JOLIET, Ill. (July 10, 2010) – David Reutimann ran among the leaders throughout Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Chicagoland Speedway and led the final 32 laps around the 1.5-mile Illinois oval en route to his second career series victory.

Reutimann’s first victory in the Sprint Cup Series came a little more than a year ago at Charlotte Motor Speedway in a rain-shortened race.

After starting seventh in the Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) No. 00 TUMS Toyota Camry, Reutimann ran at the front of the field three times for 52 laps in the 267-lap race. He crossed the finish line ahead of runner-up Carl Edwards and third-place Jeff Gordon.

“First of all, I have to thank everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing,” said Reutimann, following the race. “Everybody did such a great job today. I don’t even know what to say. It was probably the lamest burnout they’ve ever seen at this race track. I was tearing up pretty bad. I have to thank all my guys -- they did a great job. There was no rain tonight and we earned this one. Nobody gave it to us, and that feels really good.

“I want to thank Toyota and Toyota Racing Development -- they gave us some great horsepower tonight,” added Reutimann. “It’s phenomenal horsepower and it’s just a total team effort. I heard so much stuff for winning a rain-shortened event that everybody said we didn’t earn it. Tonight, I don’t know what they can say about this one. You think about these moments all your life and you think about all the right things to say. I’m about to cry, this is awesome.”

Although veterans Edwards and Gordon tried to catch Reutimann in the final laps around the Chicagoland track, they came up short in their efforts. Both Edwards and Gordon were finally able to catch up to the Zephyrhills, Fla.-native in victory lane – where they congratulated him on the victory.

“We were just better on the long run,” said Reutimann, who has been driving a Camry for MWR in NSCS competition since the start of the 2007 season. “That last run, that was the worst we were all night -- the last green flag stretch. The car was really, really loose and I knew the 99 (Carl Edwards) was catching us awful fast. It was a good night, a good effort by everybody. It feels really good to get a second win under our belt. Tonight we just had the car to beat.”

Following Reutimann to the finish line were Camry drivers Denny Hamlin (eighth), Martin Truex Jr. (11th), Kyle Busch (17th), Joey Logano (19th), Reed Sorenson (27th), Marcos Ambrose (28th), Scott Speed (30th), Robby Gordon (38th), Mike Bliss (41st), Max Papis (42nd) and Joe Nemechek (43rd).
Reutimann’s victory was the eighth win for a Camry driver this year in the first 19 NSCS races of the season. Hamlin has five wins this season and Busch has been to victory lane twice.

It also was the third win for an engine built by TRD in Costa Mesa, Calif. In addition to Reutimann’s two Cup Series wins with TRD-built motors, Brian Vickers recorded a victory at Michigan in 2009 with an engine from TRD.

The win enabled Reutimann to move into 15th-place in the NSCS championship points standings and he is now just 96 points from 12th-place in the standings and a spot in the Chase championship playoff. Hamlin moved up one position to fourth in the unofficial NSCS point standings following Chicagoland, trailing leader Kevin Harvick by 203 points. Busch (sixth), Logano (19th) and Truex (20th) are also in the top-20 in points after 19 of 36 races this season.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes a week off before returning to action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, July 25.

Toyota NSCS Driver Finishing Positions at Chicagoland Speedway
1st, DAVID REUTIMANN
8th, DENNY HAMLIN
11th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
17th, KYLE BUSCH
19th, JOEY LOGANO
27th, REED SORENSON
28th, MARCOS AMBROSE
30th, SCOTT SPEED
38th, ROBBY GORDON
41st, MIKE BLISS
42nd, MAX PAPIS
43rd, JOE NEMECHEK

Toyota Drivers in NSCS Point Standings -- following Chicagoland Speedway**
4th, DENNY HAMLIN 2,542 points
6th, KYLE BUSCH 2,488 points
15th, DAVID REUTIMANN 2,190 points
19th, JOEY LOGANO 2,103 points
20th, MARTIN TRUEX JR. 2,060 points
24th, SCOTT SPEED 1,838 points
28th, MARCOS AMBROSE 1,739 points

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