A cut tire ruined a top ten run for David Reutimann. He finished 26th and one lap down in the Kroger 250, tonight's Nationwide Series race at O'Reilly Race Park.
Because David was practicing and qualifying his Sprint Cup car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway a few miles away, Mike Skinner prepared the #99 Aaron's Dream Machine. Skinner ranked first in practice, and David qualified the car in 21st.
The green flag waved at 8:16pm ET. Kyle Busch passed pole sitter Colin Braun for the lead right away. David picked up 20th on lap 4 and 18th two laps later. He was up to 17th on lap 11; he gained another spot the next time around the track. On lap 16, David passed Landon Cassill for 15th. Carl Edwards' #60 was smoking with a leaking oil cooler line. He smacked the wall on lap 21 as David was passing him for 14th.
The first caution was on lap 22 for Mike Bliss, who got loose running high and spun. Danny Efland received the free pass.
Busch led the lap 26 restart, and the yellow flag waved immediately after that. Efland and Brett Rowe both spun on the restart. Brad Teague received the free pass.
Racing resumed on lap 32 with Busch leading and David in 14th. He reported that the car was feeling tight on exit. While David was looking to pass Bowyer, Cassell got around both of them. The #99 was 15th on lap 40 but 14th the next time around the track when he did get around Bowyer. On lap 49, Mike Bliss moved past the Aaron's Dream Machine. David was now 15th. He lost another spot on lap 53, this time to Bowyer. He gained it back three laps later by getting around David Stremme. On lap 73, David picked up 14th from Bobby Hamilton Jr. He got around Scott Wimmer ten laps later for another spot. Wimmer made a comeback on lap 96, dropping the #99 to 14th, but David rallied back to 13th one lap later. He was 14th when the yellow flag waved.
The third caution was on lap 100 for David Stremme, who was smoking heavily after getting loose and swinging his rear into the wall. Mark Green received the free pass, and leaders pit under caution. Morgan Shepherd led when he stayed on track, and Jason Leffler was penalised for speeding on pit road.
Busch led the restart on lap 105. David was 11th. Two laps into the run, the #99 was 10th.
Lap 119 saw the fourth caution. Kelly Bires had run several laps with tire rub and ultimately cut down a tire and wrecked. Brad Keselowski spun out Bryan Clauson when the field slowed for the wreck. Brian Keselowski received the free pass.
The green flag returned on lap 128. Busch led, and David was 10th.
The fifth caution was on lap 143 for Travis Kittleson, who cut a tire and got into Jason Leffler and then into the wall. David led a line of cars to pit road.
Racing resumed on lap 149 with Busch leading and David in 16th. One lap into the run, the #99 lost five spots. David pit with 49 to go with a right front flat. He got a new tire and a fender pulled out. He went two laps down to 26th.
The sixth caution was on lap 163.
Busch led the lap 169 restart. David was first in line along the inside, running two laps down in 26th.
Cauion came out for the seventh time with 31 laps to go. Edwards was back on the lead lap.
Racing resumed with 27 to go and Busch leading. David was 26th and two laps down. With 25 to go, he got around Busch to get himself back one of those laps. He finished there.
Coverage of tomorrow's Sprint Cup race starts at 1:00pm ET on ESPN2.