David Reutimann and the No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry team drove to a 26th-place finish on Sunday afternoon at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. After being involved in an on-track incident while working lap 31, Reutimann fought back from being a lap down to finish in the 26th position at the 1.99-mile road course in northern California.
Qualifying in special road course format where groups of five drivers take the track for a timed session, Reutimann picked up nearly one second from his practice speed to secure the 38th starting position for Sunday’s 110-lap race.
When the green flag waved in the Toyota / Save Mart 350, Reutimann teamed up with BK Racing teammate, Travis Kvapil, and the two began their fight toward the front of the field. Despite being a little loose, Reutimann was able to pick up 10 positions in the opening 30 laps of the race. When traffic backed up in turn eight on lap 31, Reutimann was turned from behind by another competitor sustaining minor damage on his No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry. Reutimann immediately brought his machine down pit road for four fresh tires and repairs, and in the process lost one lap to the leaders. With repairs compete on the No. 83 machine, Reutimann raced hard to become the first car one lap down to ensure that he would regain his lap during the following caution. When the caution flag was displayed on lap 64, Reutimann circled back around the track and rejoined the lead lap of competition.
Just like the beginning of the race, Reutimann immediately began working through traffic to pick up positions. As the field went back to green-flag racing, Reutimann quickly moved into the top 30 and was scored 26th by the time the checkered flag waved after 110 laps of racing.
“The No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry team worked really hard this weekend,” commented Reutimann. “We worked through the setup during practice, but our car was still a little bit too loose when we started the race. The guys worked hard to make adjustments during the race, and still didn’t give up even after we were in an accident and lost a lap. I’m proud of our BK Racing team for being able to fight our way back onto the lead lap and come home with a solid finish. I think we have a really good foundation for when we get to our next road course race at Watkins Glen International in August.”
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