David Reutimann found himself in victory lane again last weekend in the Sprint Cup Series, and this time, it wasn’t rain shortened.
Reutimann put on a dominating performance, leading 52 of the race’s 267 laps and cruising past leader Jeff Gordon to easily pull away for his second career Sprint Cup Series victory.
Reutimann had previously won a rain-shortened race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May of last year, but had heard many question his ability to win a “real race.” He put those doubts out of the picture last Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway, and was quick to point that out following the race.
“I heard so much stuff for winning a rain-shortened event- everybody said we didn’t earn it,” Reutimann said in Victory Lane. “Tonight, I don’t know what they can say about this one. I don’t even know what to say. I was tearing up pretty bad [in the closing laps]. There was no rain tonight. We earned this one; nobody gave it to us and that feels really good.”
Gordon, making his 600th career Sprint Cup Series start, led 47 laps and appeared to be poised for his first victory in over one year, but handling issues late allowed Reutimann to catch up to the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet and eventually take the lead.
A late charge from Carl Edwards put Reutimann’s victory into jeopardy, but the No. 99 Ford of Edwards simply couldn’t catch up to Reutimann’s Toyota.
Edwards finished second, followed by Gordon in third. Clint Bowyer was fourth, and Jamie McMurray, who started the race on the pole and led 72 laps, finished fifth.
Several drivers in contention for the Chase for the Sprint Cup struggled in the LifeLock.com 400, notably points leader Kevin Harvick, who entered the garage less than 200 laps into the race with engine problems. He eventually returned, but finished 34th.
Jimmie Johnson had a dominating car early in the race, leading a race high 92 laps. He later spun out, and struggled for the remainder of the race, finishing 25th.
Other drivers who struggled included Kyle Busch in 17th, Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 23rd, Kurt Busch in 26th, and Greg Biffle in 35th.
Ocean County native Martin Truex Jr. added to Michael Waltrip Racing’s stellar night, starting eighth and finishing 11th.
Kevin Harvick remains the series points leader by 103 points over Jeff Gordon. There are currently five drivers within 120 points of 12th-place driver Clint Bowyer with six races remaining until the Chase for the Cup begins.
Nationwide Series: Kyle Busch capitalized on Brad Keselowski’s late race woes to move closer to the front and edge Joey Logano on a green-white-checkered finish to win the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. It was Busch’s 37th career Nationwide Series victory, moving Busch second only to Mark Martin for the most wins in NASCAR’s second tier series. Martin has 48th victories.
Toyota swept the top five positions, with Logano finishing second, Brian Scott in third, David Reutimann in fourth, and Jason Leffler in fifth. Keselowski, despite running out of gas and finishing 21st, remains the points leader by 227 points over Carl Edwards.
Camping World Truck Series: Austin Dillon, the grandson of longtime NASCAR owner Richard Childress, dominated the Iowa 200 at Iowa Speedway, leading 187 of 205 laps for his first career truck series victory. It was also the first victory for the No. 3 in NASCAR’s top three series since the death of driver Dale Earnhardt in February 2001.
Johnny Sauter finished second, followed by Matt Crafton in third, Ken Schrader in fourth, and James Buescher in fifth. Todd Bodine remains the points leader, 55 points ahead of second place Aric Almirola.
Coming Up: While the Sprint Cup Series enjoys a weekend off, there will be plenty of racing action ahead. The Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series head to Gateway International Raceway in Illinois for a weekend of racing.
Look for Ryan Truex, Ocean County native and the younger brother of Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr., to make his Nationwdie Series debut in the No. 99 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.
Also, the Rolex Grand-Am Series returned to the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville for a weekend of exciting road-course racing. Tickets are still available for the event and may be purchased by calling NJMP at 856-327-7217 or by visiting the track’s website online at http://www.njmotorsportspark.com.
Bruce Knoll, 18, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknoll jr4cmcherald@yahoo.com
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