"There was no rain Saturday night," Reutimann said in Victory Lane, referring to his previous win, at last year's rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte . "We earned this one. Nobody gave it to us, and that feels really good."
Unlike the past few Sprint races, the Chicagoland event proved to be less exciting, with only a few incidents adding to the suspense. The frustration grew however for both Cup points leader Kevin Harvick and reigning champion Jimmie Johnson, who both had what one might call not a very good night.
Harvick managed to make a mess out of the race after losing 16 laps while trying to get the fuel pump and fuel pump cable in his car changed, while Johnson missed the entrance to pit road while en route to a green-flag stop on Lap 93 and spent the remainder of the race trailing Jamie McMurray.
What remains after Chicagoland is Reutimann's satisfaction that his resume will no longer be tainted by the asterix which came with his Charlotte win last year.
"We earned it, and it's a total team effort," Reutimann added. "Everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing did a phenomenal job. I don't even know what to say. You think about these moments all your life, and you think about all the right things to say."
The LifeLock.com 400 ended with Carl Edwards coming in second, followed by Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray.
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