When David Reutimann won the 2009 Coca-Cola 600, it was the first time I have ever heard of anyone having to apologize for winning a race. The race had been postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain showers. When the green flag fell, all the crews knew that rain could still be an issue and it could possibly be a race to halfway. It turned out that this was the case and a little after halfway, the heavens and pit road opened. Many of the lead cars came down pit road, but Rodney Childers made the call to leave Reutimann out in case the race ended. Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon followed suit.
Nascar brought the drivers down pit road and parked them as they began their track drying efforts. They always try their darnedest to get the advertised distance in so the fans can see a show. But the more it rained, the more it seemed like the race was over. It looked as if Reutimann, Childers and Michael Waltrip Racing had all netted their first victory in the same race. But Nascar continued to prolong the inevitable and kept trying to dry the track. Periodically, the FOX cameras would catch a shot of Reutimann sitting next to his covered race car, by himself, with a very serious look on his face. Almost waiting for the other shoe to drop and Nascar to call the drivers back to their cars to finish their longest race.
Eventually, after several hours of track drying (I think the jet dryers may have made 600 miles even if the race cars didn't. At least that's what it felt like), the race was called and Reutimann was declared the winner of the 50th annual Coca-Cola 600. Even David's father, dirt racing legend "Buzzie" Reutimann was on hand for this happy occasion. However, the win was not without it's controversy.
A Nascar driver never wants to win a rain shortened race, especially not their first win. But like Reutimann said in victory lane, "It certainly wasn't the prettiest win, but somebody's gotta win these things." No matter if the race goes the whole distance, if it's rain shortened or if a driver wins on fuel mileage, a win is a win is a win. There isn't an asterisk in the record books that this race was rain shortened. They will just say that Reutimann and his team won the race. But still, fans and reporters alike only talked about how Reutimann's win was a fluke, how he and his team backed into the victory and how they didn't earn it or deserve it. Later in the season, Joey Logano also won his first race in a rain shortened event at New Hampshire. The track drying took about a quarter of the eternity it did at the 600 and everyone seemed so happy and excited that the rookie, known as "Sliced Bread" (as in, the greatest thing since) had finally won wheeling Tony Stewart's old ride.
All season long, while Logano was lauded as the youngest driver to win a Sprint Cup race since Kyle Busch in 2005, Reutimann and his team almost had to apologise for winning a rain shortened race. They took so much garbage about how they won that race, but hadn't yet won a race that finished under green yet. That became this team's mission for the rest of the season. They put everything they had into contending for a Chase spot and winning another race. Both of which almost happened.
The next year, in 2010, Reutimann and his team returned to Charlotte for the Coke 600 and tried to win it again. This year, they were even more impressive, never leaving the top ten all night, fighting for the lead and eventually finishing fifth. Later that season, at Chicagoland Speedway, the #00 Tums team finally shut up all the haters, crybabies and trash talkers and won a race that went the full distance. They proved that they could do it. Like Reutimann said in his victory lane interview "I don't know what they can say about this one." When you race guys like Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards fro the victory and come out on top, that is a hard earned, well deserved victory (And just FYI, Logano still has yet to win a race the old fashioned way).
This weekend, Reutimann and his Aaron's Dream Machine team return for the 52nd Coke 600 and, in my opinion, should be heavily favored to win the darn thing. They are bringing back the car they ran third with in the All Star race one week ago so they will be a team to deal with as the race winds down. But whether they win their second Coke 6o0 this weekend or not, they have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are a team that can run up front and win a lot more races. But no matter what, a win is a win. Any driver will tell you how hard a cup series win is to come by these days, so every one is deserved no matter how you get it.
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