Remember last year’s Coca Cola not-quite-600 when some guy named Reutimann won only because the race was called early because of inclement weather? You can be forgiven if you don’t know too much else about Reutimann, even though he did have three top 5 finishes this year.
Well, David Reutimann is no longer the guy who only won because it rained. He won the LifeLock.com 400 for second career victory, but the first without an asterisk.
Of the top three leaders in the Sprint Cup points standings, only Jeff Gordon had a good night, finishing third. Kevin Harvick will maintain his top spot in the standings, but only because he had a comfortable lead. Harvick finished quite a few laps down after mechanical troubles sent him to the garage for something just short of racing eternity.
Perennial champ Jimmie Johnson likewise suffered, although his problems seemed to be of his own making. First, he inexplicably missed the entrance to pit road for a scheduled pit stop, while leading the race. By the time he corrected his course and got back on track, he had lost the lead . Later, he flattened a tire banging against the wall and had to make an unscheduled green flag pit stop that cost him time. He finished a full lap down in 25th place.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s stay in the top 12 was short lived. After finally cracking into the Cup chase last week, he dropped two spots after an unspectacular 23rd place finish at Chicagoland on Saturday night. Clint Boyer reclaimed the final spot in the Sprint Cup Chase with a solid fourth place finish.
