No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday fully aware of the history and prestige that comes with success at the Brickyard. The Zephyrhills, Fla. native who grew up racing on dirt tracks said driving 200 mph into a flat corner four times a lap for 160 laps at Indianapolis demands as much from the driver as any track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver said success in Saturday’s qualifying is critical to victory on Sunday.
REUTIMANN:
DOES INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE: The 1.5-mile banked racetracks fit my driving style far better than a long, flat racetrack like Indianapolis. That said, Indianapolis is a great racetrack. The history of the racetrack and the prestige that comes with winning there – or even racing there – is a really big deal. Our sport is so much about track position because it’s so difficult to pass with so many great teams out there that it’s tough. It’s tough to qualify well, but if you can qualify well and stay up front you definitely have a shot at winning the deal. Also if you don’t qualify as well as you’d like it can still be possible to win the race, but you definitely have your work cut out for you at that point.”
ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an extremely large racetrack, but very flat and it has kind of a unique shape compared to other racetracks. It’s a big square and the corners have very little banking – they seem completely flat when you go in there. You end up going over 200 miles per hour in the straight-aways – so you’re going 200 mph into a flat turn. It’s something that will keep your attention for the entire race.”
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WEREN’T A PROFESSIONAL RACECAR DRIVER: “I’m not really sure what I’d be doing – I’d probably be cutting somebody’s grass somewhere. I’m not really good at anything else. I can build racecars I guess, so maybe I’d be doing something involved with racing either as a fabricator or building cars, chassis or things of that nature. Thankfully I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to make my living racing the Aaron’s Dream Machine for awhile and I hope I don’t have to stop any time soon.”
By: michael waltrip racing
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