If you still don't believe that nice guys can finish first, you weren't paying close enough attention to Saturday nights race at Chicagoland Speedway. The perfrmance that David Reutimann put on was one not t be missed. Reut led three times for 52 laps, including the final 32 and he held off a hard charging Carl Edwards to net his second career victory.
The race started with a very spirited rendition of the national anthem by Jim Cornelison, the Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer. Then the field was in the hands of polesitter Jamie McMurray who led the field to the green. His lead was short lived however, as Jimmie Johnson grabbed the top spot before lap one was completed. Jamie Mac continued his slide through the field, getting shuffled to fourth by lap six. Reutimann was climbing and by lap 36, he was battling Greg Biffle for fourth place after starting seventh.
The first yellow flag of the night waved on lap 39 when David Stremme slapped the wall. Johnson led the field to the restart on lap 43, followed by Martin Truex, Jr, McMurray, Biffle and Reutimann. Johnson's #48 Chevy led for a long time, while McMurray's #1 Chevy was right on his tail. Meanwhile, Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Martin Truex, Jr and David Reutimann were solidly in third and fourth respectively.
The lead changed hands on lap 96 when McMurray grabbed the lead when Johnson ducked into the pits for service. However the 48 missed its pit and Jimmie was forced to come back around to his crew again. David Reutimann slid his Tums Camry in front of Truex Jr's NAPA Camry to grab second place on lap 116.
The caution flew again on lap 129 for debris in turn two. After pit stops, Jamie Mac and Jimmie Johnson led the field back to the green on lap 137. It didn't take long for the yellow to come back out when Jimmie's #48 made contact with Martin Truex's #56, sending the Lowe's Impala spinning through the backstrech grass. Neither car received damage. McMurray and Jeff Gordon led the field as the green flag flew again on lap 140.
Gordon grabbed the lead on lap 166, making him only the third leader of the evening. On the next lap, Reutimann passed McMurray for second place and set his sights on the #24 car up ahead of him. Reutimann's teammate, Truex, had slid back to eighth place by lap 178. The yellow flag came out for the fourth time on lap 180 when Bill Elliott's #21 Ford got into the wall and then T-boned by Robby Gordon's#7 ending both drivers nights. Elliott and Gordon both walked away, despite the severity of the damage.
The green flag on lap 189 saw Jeff Gordon, leading Clint Bowyer, McMurray, Reutimann and Carl Edwards down into turn one. It was at this point that points leader Kevin Harvick took his #29 Shell Pennzoil Chevy behind the wall for his crew to adjust on. Points frontrunner Kurt Busch was also having a terrible run of it, racing around 30th place all night.
By lap 203, the race was on! Reutimann was giving Jeff Gordon all he wanted as the two duked it out for the top spot. Reutimann finally grabbed the lead on lap 213 and his #00 Camry was on a rail as he proceeded to gap the #24 car. Then final pit stops began to take place. This was the money stop. If you want to win, you have to have a flawless stop.
Reutimann and Gordon were the first to blink, pitting on lap 233, handing the lead to Bowyer. Clint pitted on the next lap and passed the lead to Edwards. Juan Montoya grabbed the top spot next time by as Edwards and Truex pitted. Then on lap 236, Reutimann regained the lead and never looked back. Despite complaining of a bad vibration and a closing Carl Edwards, Reutimann held on to stun the field and grab his second career Cup Series win!
A tearful Reutimann pulled into victory lane and stood on his car, arms raised in triumph in a shower of beer. This was not just another win, it was vindication. It validated what Reutimann had worked for his entire life and proved that his win in last years Coke 600 was not a fluke, that his run at the Chase was not a fluke and that he will be a driver to contend with in the future. It was also nice to see a driver be genuinely excited about winning a race, instead of the Jimmie Johnson's and Denny Hamlin's that win every week with the same manufactured excitement. David's win, as well as his emotion, was real and you could see the relief on his face. The questions about whether or not he could win a race that went the full distance were answered now. Another question was also answered that night: Yes, nice guys CAN finish first!
The race started with a very spirited rendition of the national anthem by Jim Cornelison, the Chicago Blackhawks anthem singer. Then the field was in the hands of polesitter Jamie McMurray who led the field to the green. His lead was short lived however, as Jimmie Johnson grabbed the top spot before lap one was completed. Jamie Mac continued his slide through the field, getting shuffled to fourth by lap six. Reutimann was climbing and by lap 36, he was battling Greg Biffle for fourth place after starting seventh.
The first yellow flag of the night waved on lap 39 when David Stremme slapped the wall. Johnson led the field to the restart on lap 43, followed by Martin Truex, Jr, McMurray, Biffle and Reutimann. Johnson's #48 Chevy led for a long time, while McMurray's #1 Chevy was right on his tail. Meanwhile, Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Martin Truex, Jr and David Reutimann were solidly in third and fourth respectively.
The lead changed hands on lap 96 when McMurray grabbed the lead when Johnson ducked into the pits for service. However the 48 missed its pit and Jimmie was forced to come back around to his crew again. David Reutimann slid his Tums Camry in front of Truex Jr's NAPA Camry to grab second place on lap 116.
The caution flew again on lap 129 for debris in turn two. After pit stops, Jamie Mac and Jimmie Johnson led the field back to the green on lap 137. It didn't take long for the yellow to come back out when Jimmie's #48 made contact with Martin Truex's #56, sending the Lowe's Impala spinning through the backstrech grass. Neither car received damage. McMurray and Jeff Gordon led the field as the green flag flew again on lap 140.
Gordon grabbed the lead on lap 166, making him only the third leader of the evening. On the next lap, Reutimann passed McMurray for second place and set his sights on the #24 car up ahead of him. Reutimann's teammate, Truex, had slid back to eighth place by lap 178. The yellow flag came out for the fourth time on lap 180 when Bill Elliott's #21 Ford got into the wall and then T-boned by Robby Gordon's#7 ending both drivers nights. Elliott and Gordon both walked away, despite the severity of the damage.
The green flag on lap 189 saw Jeff Gordon, leading Clint Bowyer, McMurray, Reutimann and Carl Edwards down into turn one. It was at this point that points leader Kevin Harvick took his #29 Shell Pennzoil Chevy behind the wall for his crew to adjust on. Points frontrunner Kurt Busch was also having a terrible run of it, racing around 30th place all night.
By lap 203, the race was on! Reutimann was giving Jeff Gordon all he wanted as the two duked it out for the top spot. Reutimann finally grabbed the lead on lap 213 and his #00 Camry was on a rail as he proceeded to gap the #24 car. Then final pit stops began to take place. This was the money stop. If you want to win, you have to have a flawless stop.
Reutimann and Gordon were the first to blink, pitting on lap 233, handing the lead to Bowyer. Clint pitted on the next lap and passed the lead to Edwards. Juan Montoya grabbed the top spot next time by as Edwards and Truex pitted. Then on lap 236, Reutimann regained the lead and never looked back. Despite complaining of a bad vibration and a closing Carl Edwards, Reutimann held on to stun the field and grab his second career Cup Series win!
A tearful Reutimann pulled into victory lane and stood on his car, arms raised in triumph in a shower of beer. This was not just another win, it was vindication. It validated what Reutimann had worked for his entire life and proved that his win in last years Coke 600 was not a fluke, that his run at the Chase was not a fluke and that he will be a driver to contend with in the future. It was also nice to see a driver be genuinely excited about winning a race, instead of the Jimmie Johnson's and Denny Hamlin's that win every week with the same manufactured excitement. David's win, as well as his emotion, was real and you could see the relief on his face. The questions about whether or not he could win a race that went the full distance were answered now. Another question was also answered that night: Yes, nice guys CAN finish first!
