Daytona 500 - Practice

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 30, 2013)  David Reutimann and the No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota team came home 22nd on Saturday night at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in one of their best performances of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.  The team fought hard all night to move up in the running order, and ultimately gained two positions in the championship owner point standings.

Throughout the race weekend, Reutimann and the No. 83 BK Racing team worked hard making changes to their Camry and picked up nearly two seconds from opening practice to secure the 22nd starting position for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Racing into the night, the team had to leave room to adjust the handling of their No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Camry as the race progressed on Saturday night.  With the race scheduled to include 400 laps and at least seven pit stops, the BK Racing team knew they had plenty of time to work on their car.  When Reutimann called in to report a tight condition early in the race, the team devised a plan to loosen the handling and continued to make adjustments during each pit stop.  With every adjustment the car got better and better, and by the end of the event, the balance of the No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota was the best it had been all weekend.  With a green-white-checkered finish extending the race to 406 laps, Reutimann crossed the finish line in the 22nd position.

“I’m really proud of the effort by our Burger King / Dr. Pepper team this week,” commented Reutimann.  “The guys worked throughout practice to get the car turning and handling the way I needed it to, and we were able to put together our best qualifying effort of the season.  Like I said last week, everyone has been working really hard–to be able to avoid any bad luck and just have a strong finish on the lead lap is the kind of positive momentum that we need.

“I’m ready to get back to superspeedway racing next weekend,” Reutimann continued.  “Our best finish of the season came at Daytona International Speedway.  The guys built a strong car that I think will be capable of running up front, so I’m excited to get to Talladega Superspeedway in just a few days.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will make its return to superspeedway racing at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on Sunday, May 5.  Fans can tune in on SPEED on Friday, May 4 at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. EDT for practice from the 2.66-mile superspeedway.  Qualifying to set the 43-car field will be held on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast on SPEED.  Live coverage of the Aaron’s 499 will air on FOX, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio at 1 p.m. EDT on Sunday, May 5.  As always, fans can visit BKRacing.comtwitter.com/bkracing8393 or facebook.com/bkracing8393for the latest news and updates about David Reutimann and the No. 83 Burger King / Dr. Pepper Toyota Camry team.