LEBANON, Tenn. (June 10, 2006) – David Reutimann prepares for the NASCAR Busch Series race at Nashville Superspeedway tonight fresh off of collecting his fifth top-five and eighth top-10 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series finish of the 2006 season at Texas Motor Speedway last night. Reutimann posted a fourth-place finish in his No. 17 Team Tundra Racing Toyota at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.
“We had a solid finish at Texas," Reutimann said. "Our goal there was to get our first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win of the season, but we were just a little bit off last night. That’s all it takes in this deal. My guys are doing a great job and the pit stops continue to be good. We’ve just got to figure out what it’s going to take to beat the No. 30 Toyota Tundra truck. Our bar is set so high that it’s disappointing to finish fourth. We would have given anything last year to finish in the top-five every week. Now, we are doing that. It feels like anything less than a win is unacceptable to us. We’re after this championship."
Reutimann is currently third (115 points from Todd Bodine in first-place) in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings after his fourth-place finish at Texas. This season the third-generation driver has amassed two Bud Pole Awards, five top-five and eight top-10 finishes in nine starts. Reutimann has collected the most top-10 finishes of any regular this season.
“We’ve racked up a lot of good finishes, but were missing a win,” Reutimann said, who is 21 points from second-place (Ted Musgrave) in the championship standings. “I know it’s around the corner, but it’s frustrating. We’ll take the fourth-place finish and move on to the next race.”
Directly following the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event, Reutimann was dropped off in Smyrna (Tenn.) as his Darrell Waltrip Motorsports team continued their trip on to Statesville (N.C.).
"After truck race last night, they dropped off my spotter and I off at the Smyrna Air Center,” Reutimann stated. "We came in this morning and practiced the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine and it was the fastest car (30.055 Best Time - 159.667 Speed) in first practice. We were trying to make some gains on the Michael Waltrip Racing entry, but we ended up way too loose in final practice. We were 20th in that session.”
Reutimann has the same agenda for Nashville after posting a top-five finish at Texas. The Florida native’s best NASCAR Busch Series finish at the track is fifth-place. Reutimann also scored his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win at the 1.33-mile tri-oval in August 2005.
“In my first Busch race at Nashville, I finished in the top-five," Reutimann said. “My focus right now is to get Aaron’s and Michael Waltrip Racing a top-five finish at Nashville tonight. It’s a place I love and we feel like we can pull it off.”
Live coverage The NASCAR Busch Series event tonight begins at 8:05 p.m. Eastern live on FX and MRN Radio.
