David Reutimann and his team owner Tommy Baldwin insisted the No. 10 car had a problem that caused it to stop on the track with three laps to go in Sunday’s NASCAR race at Martinsville, but other drivers weren’t convinced.
NASCAR At Martinsville 2012: Drivers Upset With David Reutimann
“There should have never been a yellow to begin with,” said Brad Keselowski, who went from fifth to ninth as a result of the caution and ensuing wreck on the restart. “The 10 car stopping on the racetrack was chicken shit. To me, he should get a week off for doing something like that.”
Keselowski said an intentional caution “should be one of the biggest penalties there is.”
“Any caution that affects the outcome of the race intentionally is a really, really bad deal and it’s a black eye for the sport,” he said.
Reutimann stopped on the track and caused a caution that eventually ruined the days of then-leaders Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. After the caution, Clint Bowyer dove three-wide on Johnson and Gordon and took out both.
But Bowyer pointed the finger at Reutimann for triggering the chain of events and said he didn’t know “what the hell the 10 car was doing.”
“He drove around there with no brakes until it finally just come to a halt,” Bowyer said. “It’s unfortunate.”
Third-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t mad at Bowyer for taking out his Hendrick teammates, but was instead upset with Reutimann for stopping on the track.
"It doesn't seem like there could be a logical reason for him to end up stopped on the track," Earnhardt Jr. said. "He was running around slow. You got a problem, you really get down and get on pit road. I don't believe he had any trouble getting down.
“I would like to hear a good excuse to be honest with you, because I’m sure it would be laughable.”
So what was Reutimann’s explanation? He told FOX after the race that the motor “just quit.”
“I would not have stopped on the freaking racetrack,” he said. “I would have limped it around there and come to pit road, which is what I was trying to do. The thing quit going down the back straightaway, and it shut off. I just didn’t stop there intentionally.
“I know it sucks. I hate it for everybody that it affected, but, I mean, I can’t get out and push the thing.”
Several drivers said they saw Reutimann's side of the story and didn't blame him for the caution.
“I saw he couldn’t turn the wheel, so I would think he was afraid to get in the corner and try to steer around and end up wrecking somebody,” said Denny Hamlin, who finished sixth. “I didn’t mind it, personally, because we could have been one of the cars he ran into.”
Michael Waltrip, Reutimann’s former team owner, added via Twitter:
Don't be mad at @DavidReutimannWe are all told to go as far as it will go. Like @kaseykahne did. It's his job.
— Michael Waltrip (@mw55) April 1, 2012
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