Cussed Out, Rained Out, But Still a Winner

He was cussed out by Tony Stewart and washed out by rainfall, but in the end, a win is a win.

And David Reutimann will take it.

Although a Cup victory for Reutimann in 2009 isn't a big surprise, the fact that he won this particular race is. Listening to pre-race coverage, Hendrick Motorsports was supposed to dominate, Ryan Newman was pegged to give Stewart-Haas its first points win, or Kasey Kahne was a shoe-in to repeat last year's victory. And early on, it looked like The House of Gibbs had the whole shebang locked up as Kyle Busch quickly drove away from the field.

Tony Stewart clearly thought Reutimann didn't have a shot. During one of the rain delays, he walked over to the #00 Toyota and accused Reutimann of racing like a Nationwide driver. It was a re-emergence of the Stewart we all know and love. And things got even more heated when one of Rudy's crew decided to take Smoke on mid-tirade.

But racing fortunes can turn on a dime, and the fates do not always favor the fastest car, the quickest pit crew or the most aggressive driver. Sometimes, a victory boils down to a gutsy strategy and a little bit of weather.

And that's fine by Reutimann.

"When you envision yourself winning your first Sprint Cup race, you envision it different," Reutimann said. "But it's so hard to win these deals, we'll take it any way we can."

Not only is this a career milestone for Reutimann, it's also the first victory for Michael Waltrip Racing. To put it politely, until the first few races of 2009, nobody would have given MWR a snowball's chance in hell of winning a Cup race.

My, oh my, what a difference a year makes! Wonder what Stewart thinks about that?

Note From NASCAR-ista: For all you Tweeps in the NASCAR universe, David Reutimann does not have a Twitter account, per the communications office at Michael Waltrip Racing. Yes, there is a guy who claims to be Reutimann on Twitter, but he's a phony.

Associated Press Photo