Baldwin, Reutimann comment on late race caution

Team owner Tommy Baldwin walked through the garage toward the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series hauler, summoned there by officials after one of his cars caused a race-altering caution near the end of Sunday's Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. In his hand, Baldwin carried a broken part wrapped in a white towel, and said driver David Reutimann did nothing wrong when he stopped on the track with three laps to go in the race.

"He didn't have a choice (to stop)," said Baldwin, who owns the #10 car. "The steering broke and he couldn't get on pit road, and about 15 laps before that, he was complaining about the motor. It just happened at the same time. I mean, we just looked at it down there – it won't start, it won't do nothing. There's nothing we could have done." Reutimann's stalled car at the end of the frontstretch forced NASCAR to wave the yellow flag, which set up a late restart. Leaders Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson then spun out when Clint Bowyer made it three-wide into the first corner, and Ryan Newman ultimately won the race instead. SB Nation

Reutimann, meanwhile, blamed circumstances and faulty equipment for his problems that brought out the late caution that in turn led to the restart that became a disaster, in particular, for the Hendrick guys on a day when Gordon and Johnson combined to lead a total of 440 laps.

"Number one, I just hate it," said Reutimann, who was black-flagged by NASCAR and finished 35th, 79 laps down. "I just hate that I was involved in anything that changed the complexion of the race so I've got to apologize to the guys that it affected. It broke a tie-rod or something like that. I was just trying to limp around there. We needed to finish next couple of laps to try to stay in the top 35 in points. "I know it sucks. I hate it for everybody that it affected, but I mean I can't get out and push the thing. You know, it shut off. It's that simple." NASCAR.com