DAVID REUTIMANN
No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE TOYOTA
NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES
INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday fully aware of the history and prestige that comes with success at the Brickyard. The Zephyrhills, Fla. native who grew up racing on dirt tracks said driving 200 mph into a flat corner four times a lap for 160 laps at Indianapolis demands as much from the driver as any track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver said success in Saturday’s qualifying is critical to victory on Sunday.
REUTIMANN QUOTES
DOES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE: The 1.5-mile banked racetracks fit my driving style far better than a long, flat racetrack like Indianapolis. That said, Indianapolis is a great racetrack. The history of the racetrack and the prestige that comes with winning there – or even racing there – is a really big deal. Our sport is so much about track position because it’s so difficult to pass with so many great teams out there that it’s tough. It’s tough to qualify well, but if you can qualify well and stay up front you definitely have a shot at winning the deal. Also if you don’t qualify as well as you’d like it can still be possible to win the race, but you definitely have your work cut out for you at that point.”
ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an extremely large racetrack, but very flat and it has kind of a unique shape compared to other racetracks. It’s a big square and the corners have very little banking – they seem completely flat when you go in there. You end up going over 200 miles per hour in the straight-aways – so you’re going 200 mph into a flat turn. It’s something that will keep your attention for the entire race.”
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN’T A PROFESSIONAL RACECAR DRIVER: “I’m not really sure what I’d be doing – I’d probably be cutting somebody’s grass somewhere. I’m not really good at anything else. I can build racecars I guess, so maybe I’d be doing something involved with racing either as a fabricator or building cars, chassis or things of that nature. Thankfully I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to make my living racing the Aaron’s Dream Machine for awhile and I hope I don’t have to stop any time soon.”
ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· Reutimann at Indianapolis: In four career NSCS starts at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Reutimann has one top-10. His average starting position is 25th and finish is 26th. Reutimann was involved in a first lap incident in 2010 that put him three laps down, but he battled back to finish 29th with a damaged racecar.
· Ready for the Road: Reutimann spent Monday road course testing at Road Atlanta and Wednesday and Thursday testing driving school cars at Watkins Glen in preparation for the upcoming Sprint Cup Series event at Watkins Glen. Reutimann has improved his finish each time he has visited Watkins Glen, including his career best finish of 23rd last August.
· Career Numbers: In 154 career Sprint Cup Series starts, Reutimann has two wins, 12 top-fives, 24 top-10s and three career pole awards and has led 327 laps.
· Social Winning: Fans can win an autographed Reutimann hat from Aaron’s when the No. 00 logs a top-10 finish. To win you must follow @aaronssports on Twitter.
· Meet The Driver: Reutimann will sign autographs as part of a NASCAR autograph session on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the pavilion suites and at the MWR merchandise hauler on Sunday at 10 a.m.
