Tommy Baldwin Racing Makes Most of Tough Day at Las Vegas Blaney finished 29th; Reutimann finished 31st
LAS VEGAS, NEV. (March 12, 2012) – Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) struggles to overcome mechanical issue and car handling at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS). A sparking wire in the cockpit near the halfway point marred David Reutimann and the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet six laps down, and the team finished in the 31st position. Dave Blaney qualified for his third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event in a row this weekend. He started 38th and drove the No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet to a 29th-place finish in the Kobalt Tools 400.
David Reutimann – No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet Reutimann posted the 33rd, 33rd and 37th-fastest lap times in the three practice sessions this weekend. During the practice sessions, the team primarily focused on race runs and the handling of the Chevrolet. The No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet qualified 31st for the Kobalt Tools 400.
The Zephyrhills, Fla., native took the green flag from the 16th row and quickly drove into the 25th position. Reutimann radioed that the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet was tight coming off the corner. By lap 19, he fell back to the 29th spot and radioed that the car had no front grip and had trouble turning in the corner.
The No. 10 Chevrolet fell a lap down on lap 40 while in the 29th position. Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin called for Reutimann to come down pit road for a green-flag pit stop for four tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. As the crew got to work, the No. 37 spun in turn two, and Baldwin called for the team to only change two tires to stay on their lap. NASCAR officials called a caution, and the Accell Construction Chevrolet stayed out and received the wave around to get back on the lead lap.
Reutimann restarted in the 27th position on lap 50. Still struggling with front grip, the No. 10 team pit for four tires, fuel and adjustments. As Reutimann drove down pit road, another yellow flag waved, and he did not stop and went back on track. This time the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet went a lap down. After the yellow-flag pit stop, the team restarted 35th, one lap down, on lap 78.
By lap 94, Reutimann radioed that the Chevrolet was starting to get tight again but was much better on this run. The change on the last pit stop helped the car, but it still needed help in the center of the corner. The No. 10 moved into 31st place by lap 100, but Reutimann radioed that there was something smoking in the cockpit and it was starting to spark. Baldwin called the Accell Construction Chevrolet down pit road to assess the problem. The team found a wire that was sparking and fixed the problem but went seven laps down while fixing the problem.
As the rest of the field made green-flag pit stops, the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet got two laps back and ran in the 38th position, five laps down. A lap 126 caution allowed the team to continue working on the handling of the Chevrolet. The team made a four-tire stop and air pressure adjustment.
The Accell Construction Chevrolet restarted 36th, five laps down, on lap 133. Still battling a tight condition, the No. 10 team made another pit stop with adjustments on lap 174. Racing in the 34th position, six laps down, the changes to the car helped at the beginning but got worse later in the run. The team made another four-tire pit stop and adjustment during the lap 206 caution period.
During the next run, the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet was really loose, so the team went back on the adjustment during a caution on lap 230. During the lap 246 caution period, the team made another adjustment to the No. 10 Chevrolet but did not change tires. Reutimann radioed that the handling was much better and finished in 31st place, six laps down.
The No. 10 team is now 39th in NSCS Owner Points. The team is now eight points behind the No. 26 in 38th, tied with the No. 32 in 40th and 14 points outside the top-35. Reutimann is 33rd in NSCS Driver Points. He is tied with Landon Cassill in 32nd and one point ahead of David Stremme in 34th.
“Unfortunately, we had a good car again and had an electrical issue,” explained Reutimann. “Up to that point, I felt the car was okay and moving forward in the adjustments. The issue really messed up our day being so many laps down. It’s unfortunate, but we will get back to it in Bristol.”
Dave Blaney – No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet Blaney had issues early on as a brake rotor broke in the No. 42 Chevrolet and caused Blaney to hit the wall on his first practice lap. With significant damage to the right side of the No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet, Blaney drove into the garage and the team worked on the car. The team made eight laps in first practice. Later that day, Blaney qualified for the Kobalt Tools 400 with a 38th-fastest qualifying lap, fourth among the cars who had to qualify. Blaney posted the 35th and 36th quickest times in second and final practice on Saturday.
The Hartford, Ohio native started the Kobalt Tools 400 from the 19th row and drove into the 31st position by lap 27. He fell a lap down on lap 34 and made the team’s first pit stop of the day on lap 43. The No. 37 hit the wall in turn two on lap 45 and brought out the caution, which resulted in the No. 36 team being one lap down after a wave around.
The No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet restarted 32nd, one lap down, on lap 50. A yellow flag waved on lap 74, and Crew Chief Ryan Pemberton called for the team to make a four-tire pit stop and adjustments. When the field restarted, Blaney radioed that the car was really loose and the tires felt very different this run. By lap 100, he radioed that the car was back to where it was the last run.
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet team made a green-flag pit stop on lap 122 for four tires and no adjustments. Blaney got back on track in the 33rd position, two laps down. A caution was called for fluid on the track on lap 128, and the team decided to stay out. Blaney radioed that the car was tight at the beginning but really picked up speed through the last run. By lap 140, he told the No. 36 crew that the car was really tight. The No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet fell a third lap down on lap 162.
On lap 166, Blaney radioed that he felt like he had a tire going down on the front right. His spotter confirmed that the tire looked low, so Pemberton called Blaney down pit road for a green-flag pit stop. The team changed four tires and a wedge adjustment.
Ten laps later, Blaney radioed that the car was the worse it has been all day and felt like something was wrong since the handling changed so drastically. The team later discovered that the right-front side of the hood caved in and believe that is what caused the drastic change in handling.
A lap 206, debris caution allowed for the No. 36 team to change four tires and make an adjustment to help the tight-handling Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet. The field restarted on lap 210 with Blaney in the 33rd position, four laps down. He radioed that the car was still really tight. He continued that the car was better that run but got worse later in the run. The team made a four-tire stop with adjustments during a caution for debris on the track on lap 230.
Blaney restarted 32nd, four laps down, on lap 233. The team made another pit stop during the caution period on lap 246 for more adjustments. Blaney radioed that the car felt better but was still tight. The No. 51 Chevrolet had an accident on the backstretch and brought out the final yellow flag on lap 256. Pemberton called for the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet to come down pit road for adjustments but no tires. Blaney finished the 400-mile race in the 29th position, four laps down.
The No. 36 Chevrolet is 20th in NSCS Owner Points. The team is eight points behind the No. 78 Chevrolet in 19th and one point ahead of the No. 2 in 21st. Blaney is also in 20th place in the NSCS Driver Points. He is eight points behind Regan Smith and one point ahead of Brad Keselowski.
TBR will return to NSCS racing next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the team’s 100th start. Blaney will attempt to qualify for the Food City 500 on Friday, March 16th. Reutimann will race the No. 10 Chevrolet on Sunday, March 18th.
About Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, founded in 1982, is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts, salvage and surplus merchandise. Famous for its signature catchphrase Good Stuff Cheap, Ollie’s offers a huge variety of famous brand name merchandise at up to 70 percent off the regular retail price, and the assortment is always changing. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet operates 114 stores in Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Visit www.ollies.us for additional information.
About Accell Construction: Accell Construction, Inc. operates as a full service site civil contractor for the petroleum terminal and bulk storage industries and specializes in tank farm construction, tank foundations and other related site civil construction. Accell Construction’s clients know they can expect excellent safety, reliability and top-notch job performance. Accell, whose projects are always in budget and completed early, enjoys a 20 year reputation that is second to none.
Oklahoma based Accell Construction operates civil construction projects in numerous states across the U.S. and has constructed some of the largest petroleum storage facilities built in the U.S. in the last 15 years.
Accell benefits from a team of employees who bring decades of civil experience. The Accell team, many of whom have been with the company since inception, is committed to excellence and safety. All field personnel are also required to be TWIC certified. Accell has a well known reputation in the petroleum storage industry for performing the highest quality work—always in an expedient, but safe manner.
For more information on Accell Construction, visit www.accellconstructioninc.com.
About Tommy Baldwin Racing:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin formed Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) in 2009. Baldwin utilized a declining economy to open a NSCS team with a stringent budget. The team worked to build to full-time competition, and by the 2011 season, the team’s third season, TBR competed in every race and locked the No. 36 Chevrolet in the top-35 in NSCS Owner Points. Dave Blaney drove the No. 36 Chevrolet to TBR’s highest finish of third in the October 2011 event at Talladega Superspeedway. TBR also fielded a second car for select races in the past two seasons with multiple drivers.
Based in Mooresville, N.C., TBR will compete in the NSCS in 2012 with NASCAR veterans David Reutimann and Dave Blaney. The team will also compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with Ryan Blaney, Bobby Santos and Ryan Truex.
For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit tommybaldwinracing.com or follow us on Facebook, facebook.com/TBR.HBR, and Twitter, twitter.com/TBR_Racing.
