REUTIMANN, NO. 17 NTN BEARINGS TOYOTA TUNDRA,FINISHES EIGHTH AT MARTINSVILLE(Pic)

MARTINSVILLE, VA (April 17, 2004) ¨C Rebounding from going one lap down, David Reutimann finished eighth in his No. 17 NTN Bearings Toyota at Martinsville Speedway in the Kroger 250. ¡°All in all we had a good day,¡± said Reutimann. ¡°It amazes me how good my guys are. Bobby (Kennedy) and Jason (Overstreet) were like bulldogs up there on the pit box. This Darrell Waltrip Motorsports team is what kept me motivated today. Hats off to my guys because I couldn¡¯t have done it without them.¡± Reutimann battled loose handling conditions forcing him to run outside the Top-20 for the first half of the 250-Lap event. ¡°There were times where we were hanging on for dear life,¡± said Reutimann. ¡°I was just trying to hold on. We were stuck at the back of the field for a long time just trying to make something happen or catch a break.¡± With the No. 17 NTN Bearings entry shown in 22nd-place at Lap 146 under caution, Crew Chief Jason Overstreet and Team Manager Bobby Kennedy opted to pit the truck for four tires and adjustments without the front-runners. The strategy paid dividends for the Darrell Waltrip Motorsports team when another caution occurred bringing the front-runners to pit road as Reutimann stayed out sliding into third-place. ¡°Bobby and Jason rolled the dice and prevailed gaining us major track position,¡± said Reutimann. ¡°We just kept coming in to make adjustments. These guys wouldn¡¯t quit and kept after it. They are the ones who kept me pumped up during this race and kept me up on the wheel. They really made a good pit call and we finally got the break we needed.¡± Once in the Top-3, the top finishing Raybestos Rookie held his position until handling problems resurfaced 70 laps later. The Zephyrhills (FL) native maintained a Top-5 run until Lap 227. Reutimann held on for a solid eighth-place finish in the 250-Lap event maintaining fourth-place in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings. Reutimann has accumulated 455 points as well as Dennis Setzer who is shown in third. ¡°We were able to have a solid finish and stay fourth in the standings,¡± said Reutimann. "We were struggling at the end of the race and needed another adjustment. We are really fortunate to collect a Top-10 today and bring home the No. 17 NTN Bearings truck intact. I¡¯m just really proud of the team and thankful for all the help Darrell Waltrip gave me. While I struggled with being loose out there today, DW¡¯s No. 11 Toyota was too tight. He had a good run going until he ran into some problems and then I think he might have been spun out too. He was relegated to a 24th-place finish.¡± Eventual race winner was Rick Crawford and Carl Edwards leads the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings. Next up for Reutimann and his Darrell Waltrip Motorsports team is Mansfield Motorsports Speedway scheduled Sunday, May 16 at 2 PM Eastern. The Ohio 250 will be telecast live on SPEED Channel. MRN Radio will also broadcast the entire NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series schedule.