Notes: Reutimann, MWR close to contract extension

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- For the second consecutive event, all three Michael Waltrip Racing teams qualified for a Nextel Cup Series event Friday at Kansas Speedway.

And in that upbeat atmosphere, both MWR general manager Ty Norris and rookie driver David Reutimann expressed optimism that Reutimann's multi-year contract extension, which was given to the driver on his way to Dover last weekend, would be acceptable.

"We feel real good about where it is, we just have a few details to work out," Norris said. "There was one detail that was clarified this week as it relates to the Busch car -- everything else seems to be easily worked out. David and I talked Wednesday and I feel like we're in a great place with him."

Norris said Reutimann also wanted to run for a championship next season in what is now the Busch Series, where he currently sits second in the standings.

"He just wants to be racing," Norris said. "We stumbled a little bit out of the box this season with the Busch car, but we've got it to a place where he's consistently one of the top-five or top-seven guys every week. He wants to run for a championship, it's something he doesn't have on his mantle. We discussed it with our sponsor, Aaron's, and we've eliminated that off the table."

"I like the people there and they've done a good job of giving me an opportunity, so we'll get past this weekend and work some stuff out and I think we're in a good spot," Reutimann said. "We're just trying to get everything situated so we can concentrate on racing. I wish it was done a month ago [because] you just want to have everything done as quickly as you can.

One of the sticking points has been sponsorship for Reutimann's No. 00 Cup Toyota, which this season is split between Domino's and Burger King. Norris said he had no updates for either sponsor's decision whether or not to continue with MWR.

One deep breath

Even 10 minutes after the last car had left the racetrack in Bud Pole Qualifying, a run by A.J. Allmendinger that locked Bill Davis Racing driver Dave Blaney into the field for Sunday's LifeLock 400, BDR general manager Mike Brown wasn't looking too comfortable; as like Norris, he's had to get both of his team's Toyotas, driven by Dave Blaney and Jeremy Mayfield, into most races this season based on qualifying speed.

"I haven't taken [that first breath] yet," Brown said, though he was smiling. "I told the guys that if they didn't believe in God, they needed to, now. Going out early like we did [fourth and 21st] and the track being so greasy and you couldn't get a grip on it, and with a couple faster cars going out at the end, it was gonna take some divine intervention [to make the race]."

Mayfield vaulted from next-to-last on the go or go home list in practice to sixth overall; while Blaney survived that fourth out sentence to squeak into the field as the last car to make it.

"Maybe that makes up for some of the bad luck we've had when we've been running good and couldn't finish the deal," Brown said. "Now we can refocus our attention and take a deep breath and fight our way back into the top 35 so we don't have to endure moments like this."

Edwards' busy mind

As much as car set-ups and travel schedules, Roush Fenway Racing dynamo Carl Edwards has also spent a lot of time lately thinking about winning championships in both the Busch Series, where he has a 754-point lead over Reutimann and Nextel Cup, where he's 28 points behind Jeff Gordon.

"Listen," Edwards said. "There's probably not a five-minute window that goes by in the day that I don't think about winning both championships in one year. That would be the ultimate achievement, I think, in American motorsports." (Continued)