David Reutimann and the No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry team drove to a 30th-place finish on Saturday night at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. After racing inside the top 20, the driver was caught in a multi-car pile-up with just 10 laps remaining in the 400-mile event to result in a 30th-place finish.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to Daytona International Speedway this weekend, marking the halfway point in the 2013 race season. At a track where starting position doesn’t matter and being able to run well with other cars can make or break the weekend, Reutimann spent both practice sessions preparing his car for race trim. The No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry topped the leader board during final practice with a 45.561-second lap. Later, Reutimann went on to secure the 41st starting position during his single-car qualifying run.
As soon as the green flag waved, Reutimann began picking up positions on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Moving up 16 positions in just 10 laps, the No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry proved its ability to race through the field.
In a fairly clean race for Daytona International Speedway’s standards, Reutimann was able to avoid any on-track incidents and ran a clean race for the first 375 miles. However, with just 10 laps remaining in the scheduled distance for the Coke Zero 400, one of the front runners turned across the track causing a chain reaction from the other competitors. A car turned down the track and directly into the right front fender of the No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry, leaving Reutimann no way to escape the incident. The driver brought his Toyota down pit road and the BK Racing crew quickly made repairs allowing Reutimann to cross the finish line in the 30th position.
“Things happen on the track so quickly at Daytona International Speedway,” commented Reutimann. “We came so close to having a clean race; it’s just really disappointing to have our day take a downturn so close to the finish. The guys did a great job building us a competitive Toyota Camry. Our No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry was able to run anywhere I needed it to at any point in the race. I feel like we learned some things that we’ll be able to apply later this season when we go to Talladega Superspeedway. Until then, I’m looking forward to getting to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend.”
BK Racing PR
