Saturday, October 27 Memphis Motorsports Park Memphis, Tennessee

David Reutimann celebrates his first career NASCAR Busch Series win.

Reutimann Wins First NASCAR Busch Series Race
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (October 27, 2007) -- David Reutimann's victory Saturday wasn't as much about performance as it was about survival. A race-record 25 caution periods in the Sam's Town 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park made sure of that.

Still, Reutimann's performance was pretty good. He scored the first NASCAR Busch Series win of his career by dominating the race, leading 194 of the 253 laps, though many of those were under yellow.

The only challenge Reutimann faced -- other than dodging the cautions -- was an outside move by Mike Bliss with nine laps left. Reutimann's Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota was more than up to the task, however, and pulled away from Bliss.

Fittingly, the race ended with a green-white-checkered finish. No one was going to touch Reutimann, however, and he beat Bliss by three-quarters of a second. David Ragan was third, with Marcos Ambrose fourth and Jason Leffler fifth.

One of the victims in the caution-flag frenzy was points leader Carl Edwards, who couldn't wrap up the season championship after finishing 25th.

With Reutimann winning and leading the most laps, Edwards needed to finish eighth or better to clinch his first NASCAR title. Driving with damage to his No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in the second half of the race, Edwards was hanging on to a top-10 spot in the closing laps.

On the final lap, however, Landon Cassill spun, and Edwards all but stopped in the smoke. Edwards lost 13 spots in the process and finished 25th.

Edwards can clinch the championship by finishing 36th or better next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti ran well early in his NASCAR Busch Series debut, but brake problems caused him to be involved in two cautions. Franchitti finished three laps down in 32nd.

Tempers flared early in the race between series regulars Bobby Hamilton Jr., Kyle Krisiloff and part-time driver Robert Richardson Jr. On Lap 16, soon after a restart, Richardson and Krisiloff tangled, with Hamilton Jr. getting spun off Turn 2.

Hamilton Jr. drove to the entrance of Turn 1, driving around Richardson's car before turning around to rejoin the field.

On Lap 45, Richardson retaliated by turning left off Turn 2 into Krisiloff's car, which ended up slamming the outside wall.

Richardson was penalized two laps for aggressive driving, while Krisiloff was later parked by NASCAR.

Those were hardly the only caution flags. By Lap 109, the race had tied the season mark for most cautions in a race with 13, and then that mark fell eight laps later. There were 25 cautions in all.

NASCAR penalized three drivers -- Franchitti, Richardson Jr. and Brad Keselowski -- for rough driving, and parked two others, Krisiloff and Steve Wallace.

Complete race results and point standings in the Event Stats section below...

Schedule/Broadcast Times*

Pre-Race Show: Saturday, October 27 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 4 p.m./AT)

Race: Saturday, October 27 (ESPN2 & TSN-HD at 4:30 p.m./AT)

*AT is one hour ahead of ET, i.e. if it's 2 p.m./AT - it's 1 p.m./ET...

Event Stats PDF files unless otherwise noted

Entry List

Race Results

Point Standings

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Sam’s Town 250
The Place: Memphis Motorsports Park
Track Layout: .75-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,302,075
2006 Winner: Kevin Harvick
2006 Pole: Johnny Sauter
Pre-Race Schedule (local track time): Friday–Practice, 2-3 p.m.; Rookie Practice, 3:30-4 p.m.; Final Practice, 4-5 p.m. Saturday–Qualifying, 9:35 a.m. (impound).
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Track Map

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Green Flag Notes

• In the city where blues is king, Memphis Motorsports Park is quickly becoming known as the track where NASCAR Busch Series debuts are all the rage. Led by reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti (No. 42 Target Dodge) and 18-year-old Chase Austin (No. 64 HomeLife Communities Dodge), Saturday’s field at Memphis is again dotted by some high-profile drivers attempting to make their series debuts. Last year, another open-wheel superstar, Juan Pablo Montoya, was in the debut spotlight along with Tim Schendel who was fresh off his victory in the Elite Division at the Toyota All-Star Showdown. Austin, who turned 18 less than a month ago, will attempt to become only the second driver of African-American descent to compete in the NASCAR Busch Series (Bill Lester was the first in 1999). A teammate of Steve Wallace (No. 66 HomeLife Communities Dodge), Austin – a competitor in the NASCAR Grand National Division Busch East Series this year – will have to qualify on time. Additionally, Colin Braun (pronounced “Brown”) looks to make his much-anticipated series debut in the No. 16 3M Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. Like Franchitti, the 19-year-old Braun – a Grand-Am Series “veteran” – made his NASCAR national series debut in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series last weekend at Martinsville Speedway. In all, there are 14 drivers age 23 or under entered at Memphis and along with Austin and Braun, there are three other teenagers in the event: 18-year-old Bryan Clauson (No. 41 Memorex Dodge) who is the experienced series driver on the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team with Franchitti (four starts); 18-year-old Landon Cassill (No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet) and 19-year-old Brad Coleman (No. 18 Carino’s Chevrolet). All three will be making their track debuts at Memphis.
• Five double-duty drivers will venture to and from Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Sam’s Town 250 and Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Pep Boys Auto 500. Each has a substitute driver ready at Memphis who will be available to practice and qualify their car if necessary – Kenny Wallace will sub for Jamie McMurray; Matt McCall is in for Carl Edwards; Auggie Vidovich is on standby for David Ragan (No. 6 Discount Tire Ford); Mark Green is on call for David Reutimann and Casey Atwood will sub for J.J. Yeley.
• Jason Leffler (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota), currently fourth in the series driver standings, looks to make his 150th start in the NASCAR Busch Series at Memphis. Leffler made his series debut at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis in 1999 and has won two races and eight poles in the 148 races since. His car will carry a special decal commemorating his landmark start.
• Brad Coleman returns to the track for the first time since racing at Dover International Speedway last month and will be making his next-to-last appearance for Joe Gibbs Racing since announcing last week he will move to Brewco Motorsports full-time in 2008. His final scheduled race for JGR is at Phoenix International Raceway. Coleman plans on having some fun while in Memphis – in addition to touring Graceland with an advance group of drivers including Scott Wimmer, Bryan Clauson, Jason Keller, Landon Cassill and Chase Austin Thursday – Coleman’s team will have an Elvis impersonator in the pits during the weekend.
• CitiFinancial sponsored a fundraiser Monday, Oct. 22 for Shane “Shakes” Hakes at Victory Lane Karting in Charlotte, N.C. The event raised more than $7,000 for Hakes’ family. Hakes, who most recently served as a tire specialist on the No. 90 crew after also spending time with KHI’s NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams in the same capacity, was critically injured in a motorcycle accident on July 15. As he continues to recover at WakeMed in Raleigh, N.C., the CitiFinancial racing crew and the No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford of Stephen Leicht will continue to carry the special “Racing for Shakes” logo.
• Clint Bowyer will be back with sponsor BB&T for the 2008 season, the debut year for new series sponsor Nationwide Insurance. Bowyer, with two wins, 11 top fives and 16 top-10 finishes in 19 races this year, plans to contend for the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series championship next year. The sponsorship agreement extends through 2009. In his last full-time season in the NASCAR Busch Series in 2005, Bowyer finished second to Martin Truex Jr. in the championship by 68 points.
• Four months ago at Memphis, Brad Keslelowski (No. 88 U.S. NAVY Chevrolet) turned in the performance that set the stage for his career rejuvenation. Subbing for the suspended Ted Musgrave in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on June 30, Keselowski won the pole and led 62 laps – including being in the lead before a spin with eight laps to go. He finished 16th but won a bigger prize when he was named to drive the No. 88 for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports program. Keselowski had been out of a ride prior to that time. “That run turned a lot of heads,” he said. “I had a lot of voicemails to sort through when I landed back in Charlotte after the race and one was from Dale Jr. Now it’s four months later and I’m coming back to Memphis with a full-time ride in the No. 88 Chevy.”

IMPORTANT: All information, schedules and/or scheduled events is/are subject to change without notice. Please check with the source to confirm.