Daytona Beach, FL – David Reutimann will drive the No. 51 car in place of Kurt Busch this weekend at Pocono Raceway following Busch's recent suspension for violating his probation.
Reutimann has been driving the No. 10 car for Tommy Baldwin Racing in races that Danica Patrick is not scheduled to compete. Baldwin and Phoenix Racing team owner James Finch arranged a deal for Reutimann to drive Finch's No. 51 car, while Dave Blaney will be behind the wheel of TBR's No. 10 at Pocono.
Blaney normally drives the No. 36 car for Baldwin, but Tony Raines will be in the seat of that entry this weekend.
"I understand the position James was put in this week," Baldwin said in a statement. "As an owner of a small team, I wanted to help him out. We talked and thought that this lineup would be best for both of our teams."
NASCAR suspended Busch from competition until June 13 after officials determined he violated his probation when he verbally abused a member of the media following last Saturday's 200-mile Nationwide Series race at Dover International Speedway.
Last month, NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 and placed him on probation until July 25 following his actions in the 500-mile race at Darlington Raceway. The sanctioning body penalized Busch for "reckless driving on pit road during the race" and for being "involved in an altercation with another competitor (a crew member with Ryan Newman's team) after the completion of the race."
Busch's probation period has now been extend through the remainder of the year.
Finch said during an interview with Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio on Tuesday morning that he plans to meet with Busch to discuss his future with the team.
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