CONCORD, N.C. -- It isn't often that Rob Kauffman, co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, makes it to the United States -- let alone to the track to see the two MWR Sprint Cup teams perform in a race.

But Kauffman, who lives and works in London, has been making it a habit of trying to attend the Coca-Cola 600 each year at Charlotte Motor Speedway -- no matter how much it costs him.

Last year it cost him two custom cars, in addition to airfare and all the other usual travel expenses. He didn't mind, though, because the two Shelby GT500 Mustangs he doled out after the 600 were for payment of a wager he made with driver David Reutimann and crew chief Rodney Childers of the No. 00 team, one of the two Toyotas that MWR fields.

When Reutimann and Childers arrived for a team meeting that included Kauffman prior to last year's 600, the car Kauffman had driven to the meeting immediately caught their eyes.

"Rob had a '67 GT500 out there in the driver-owner lot that his RK Collections had restored. And it's just a beautiful car," Reutimann said. "So when the team meeting occurred, Rodney asked him, 'If we win the 600, are you going to give me that car?' And Rob's like, 'Well, yeah, absolutely.'

"And I was like, 'Whoa, whoa, what about me? If we win, shouldn't I get something?'"

Kauffman, who also owns the RK Collections car restoration business located not far from Charlotte Motor Speedway, surprised Reutimann with his answer.

"Well, we've got a blue one that we're just finishing up at the shop. You can have the blue one," said Kauffman, grinning.

That, so Reutimann thought, was the end of it. Then a funny thing happened. Reutimann actually won the rain-shortened race the following Monday.

It not only was the first win of Reutimann's Cup career, but also the first -- and so far only -- win by any driver in MWR's three full seasons.

Kauffman wasn't there to see it. He stayed through Sunday, when the race had been scheduled to run, but was sitting on a commercial airplane in New York -- about to taxi down the runway and fly back to England -- when his Blackberry started buzzing late Monday afternoon.

"I actually got word that David won as we were pulling away from the gate. My Blackberry started buzzing and I spoke to [MWR vice president] Cal [Wells]," Kauffman said. "Somewhere between then and the stewardess having a coronary about me being on the phone, I was pretty happy that we had won. It was an interesting way to hear about it, but great nonetheless." (Continued)