David Reutimann, No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry

Dodge Challenger 500 at Darlington Raceway

May 10, 2008

UPS Racing Team Notes of Interest

With a 22nd-place finish at Richmond last week, the #44 UPS Team advanced one position in the owner’s point standings into the 32nd spot. Michael Waltrip, owner of the #44, is currently 81 points ahead of the 36th place owner Bill Davis (#22). Reutimann has one Sprint Cup start at Darlington Raceway to his credit, a 33rd place finish as a result of an engine failure. Reutimann is currently 30th in the driver’s point standings.

Reutimann Discusses Racing at Darlington Raceway

The big question this weekend is how different Darlington is going to be since the repaving. You haven’t had a chance to run there yet but what is your opinion heading into the weekend?

“I think that it’s going to be a big challenge for everyone. Anytime that a track is repaved it presents an obstacle for every team in the garage the next time we race there. What we do know is that it’s going to be very fast. We’ve all heard about the guys that tested there and the speeds they were running going into turn three so that’s going to be interesting. NASCAR is giving us some extra practice time on Thursday, so that’s something every team will use as a mini-test session.

To me this is where being inside the top-35 is so crucial for our team. Every team has a lot of work ahead of them this weekend so if you’re concerned about making the race your focus isn’t on adapting to the new surface, it’s on just making the race. Being locked in, we have the ability to just focus on the task at hand and that’s getting our UPS Team up to speed as quickly as we can.”

Darlington has been a tough track for you in terms of results. Is it one that you like to visit?

“We haven’t been able to crack the top-20 yet at Darlington in any series but we’ve had some trouble there, whether it been an accident or engine failure, so I think the bottom line is what everyone says, that you have to race the race track and not worry about those around you. That’s not going to change even with the repaving. Darlington is a place that doesn’t reward aggressiveness especially early on in a run. Typically there has been a lot of passing at Darlington and until we race this weekend we don’t know if that’s going to the case still, but it’s a driver’s race track.

I’m looking forward to running both the Nationwide race as well as the Sprint Cup race this weekend. We’re all interested in seeing what the speeds are going to be like and what the track is going to do at night. There will be a lot of eyes on the Nationwide race this weekend so I’m excited that I will be behind the wheel and getting some extra time on the track before the Cup race on Saturday.”

#44 UPS Toyota Primary Team Members

Crew Chief: Ryan Pemberton

Car Chief: Steve Channing

Front Changer: Phil Gibson

Front Carrier: Dave Kulak

Jackman: Mitch Lash

Rear Changer: Dwayne Bigger

Rear Carrier: Travis Stock

Gas: Danny Harrington

Catch Can: Keith Koppenal

Spotter: Shawn Reutimann