New Hampshire Internat'l Speedway - Camping World 200
RACE WINNER: KEVIN HARVICK
David Reutimann: 8th (started 12th)
- A carburetor issue threatened to make the day miserable for the #99 Aaron’s team, but perseverance and successful adjustments turned a car that was too tight in the beginning to a decent piece that picked up spots at the end. He had a quiet day and still sits 2nd in points, though since ESPN hardly mentions him at all, many would be surprised to know that.
- Quotes:
“The team kept freeing up the car because it was just way too tight to begin with and they made the car really good through the center of the corner. We would get beat off the corners, but we could get back underneath them and make them tight to get the position. The motor ran good all day and I don't know what happened with the carburetor - on one of those last pit stops it started popping and spitting so something went wrong and they'll work to figure that out. All in all our flat track program hasn't been that great this year, but I'm real proud of the call that we made at the end to stay out and not take any tires. It was the right call and that's what got us a top-ten finish today.”
Casey Mears: 10th (started 13th)
- He had a good day despite a shock problem late in the race that held the #24 team up on pit road. A late race charge salvaged another solid top-10.
Scott Wimmer: 11th (started 16th)
- With his streak of near-wins, a finish just outside the top-10 was disappointing for the #29 Holiday Inn group. They were also surprised – the team was certain that the car was even better than the 3rd place one was at Milwaukee.
Todd Kluever: 17th (started 24th)
- A decent finish considering a field full of Cup drivers. A flat, short track is not Todd’s best opportunity for a good showing, but the team kept on working at it.
- Quotes:
“It was just an average day at best. Eddie and all the guys on the 3M car do a great job. Admittedly, these are my worst kind of race tracks. I was just telling the guys that the frustrating thing about it is with the way the testing rules are, you can’t go anywhere to try and improve on it. Everywhere we go that’s flat like this – Phoenix, here, Milwaukee – these are just the tracks I struggle with and I don’t know how to make it any better. It’s frustrating because this isn’t how I want to run at these race tracks the rest of my life, but I appreciate Eddie and all the guys. They did a great job with the car.”
Other Notes:
- Even though Juan Montoya wasn’t a complete weapon during the race, I kind of had to laugh when Clint Bowyer just dumped him. Clint pulled a move that looked shockingly familiar – he dove in way too deep into the corner and slid up into the side of the #42 car. Ironically, that’s exactly what Juan does to his competitors, yet he had the gall to complain about it happening to him. To put a cherry on the cake, Clint’s post-race interview was priceless. He couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face when talking about it and you could tell that he was thinking, “He finally got some of his own medicine.” You’d hope it would teach Juan something, but somehow I don’t think I should hold my breath.
- Poor Eric McClure went rim-riding – literally! For some reason, whether he lost the car or was hit (ESPN, of course, didn’t show why), the #0 car spun until he was facing the wrong way and the hit the wall at just the right angle and speed to flip his car into the air. As it came back down, the left side tires hooked onto the wall and Eric slid backwards for quite a ways before all four tires got back on the track. It was pretty scary but thankfully Eric was okay.
Quotes from Race2Win
David Reutimann: 8th (started 12th)
- A carburetor issue threatened to make the day miserable for the #99 Aaron’s team, but perseverance and successful adjustments turned a car that was too tight in the beginning to a decent piece that picked up spots at the end. He had a quiet day and still sits 2nd in points, though since ESPN hardly mentions him at all, many would be surprised to know that.
- Quotes:
“The team kept freeing up the car because it was just way too tight to begin with and they made the car really good through the center of the corner. We would get beat off the corners, but we could get back underneath them and make them tight to get the position. The motor ran good all day and I don't know what happened with the carburetor - on one of those last pit stops it started popping and spitting so something went wrong and they'll work to figure that out. All in all our flat track program hasn't been that great this year, but I'm real proud of the call that we made at the end to stay out and not take any tires. It was the right call and that's what got us a top-ten finish today.”
Casey Mears: 10th (started 13th)
- He had a good day despite a shock problem late in the race that held the #24 team up on pit road. A late race charge salvaged another solid top-10.
Scott Wimmer: 11th (started 16th)
- With his streak of near-wins, a finish just outside the top-10 was disappointing for the #29 Holiday Inn group. They were also surprised – the team was certain that the car was even better than the 3rd place one was at Milwaukee.
Todd Kluever: 17th (started 24th)
- A decent finish considering a field full of Cup drivers. A flat, short track is not Todd’s best opportunity for a good showing, but the team kept on working at it.
- Quotes:
“It was just an average day at best. Eddie and all the guys on the 3M car do a great job. Admittedly, these are my worst kind of race tracks. I was just telling the guys that the frustrating thing about it is with the way the testing rules are, you can’t go anywhere to try and improve on it. Everywhere we go that’s flat like this – Phoenix, here, Milwaukee – these are just the tracks I struggle with and I don’t know how to make it any better. It’s frustrating because this isn’t how I want to run at these race tracks the rest of my life, but I appreciate Eddie and all the guys. They did a great job with the car.”
Other Notes:
- Even though Juan Montoya wasn’t a complete weapon during the race, I kind of had to laugh when Clint Bowyer just dumped him. Clint pulled a move that looked shockingly familiar – he dove in way too deep into the corner and slid up into the side of the #42 car. Ironically, that’s exactly what Juan does to his competitors, yet he had the gall to complain about it happening to him. To put a cherry on the cake, Clint’s post-race interview was priceless. He couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face when talking about it and you could tell that he was thinking, “He finally got some of his own medicine.” You’d hope it would teach Juan something, but somehow I don’t think I should hold my breath.
- Poor Eric McClure went rim-riding – literally! For some reason, whether he lost the car or was hit (ESPN, of course, didn’t show why), the #0 car spun until he was facing the wrong way and the hit the wall at just the right angle and speed to flip his car into the air. As it came back down, the left side tires hooked onto the wall and Eric slid backwards for quite a ways before all four tires got back on the track. It was pretty scary but thankfully Eric was okay.
Quotes from Race2Win
