The son of legendary racer (and DIRT Motorsports Hall of Famer) Emil “Buzzy” Reuitman, David Reutimann is the third generation in his family to take up the sport, sometimes racing with his father at Florida’s East Bay Raceway Park (known as the Clay by the Bay by fans).
He started as a dirt track racer and moved his way up into the ranks of NASCAR racers, being the 1997 Rookie of the Year in the Slim Jim All Pro Series as well as 2004′s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Rookie of the Year. With many top ten finishes, although few wins, Reutimann is a racer to watch.
In 2005, he won the Toyota Tundra 200 in Nashville and in 2007, he moved to the Nextel Cup Series where he won the 2007 Sam’s Town 250 in Memphis for his first win in the Busch Series car. He ran the full Busch Series schedule in 2007 and finished second in the standings.
Since joining the NASCAR Southeast Series in 1997, Reutimann has been the winner of several awards. He spent a long time preparing on Florida’s many short tracks, where he was an avid modified racer.
He now has been racing for Michael Waltrip Racing for the past couple years, in the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series. While he has not enjoyed the overwhelming success of some of the NASCAR greats, he has made strides in top finishes in many important races.
David Reutimann chose an old acquaintance from the racing world as his crew chief in 2009. Rodney Childers is now taking care of the number 00 Toyota; the two have known each other since 1999′s Slim Jim All Pro race. Childers says that he was eager to take on the position, appreciating as he does Reutimann’s personality and lively sense of humor.
While maybe off to a slow start, David Reutimann has burst onto the scene in the past year and he is becoming as comfortable and good as anyone else on the track. They are hoping to build on that and get in some top-10 finishes, so that the top-5 will eventually come and ultimately their first win.
Childers new role as Reutimann’s crew chief may prove to be the winning edge the racer needs. He has four years of experience in Sprint Cup level crew chiefing and Michael Waltrip Racing has established a solid relationship with Toyota, having the necessary commitment to really make waves in NASCAR.
Reutimann is not one of NASCAR’s biggest names yet, but this year Reutimann is going for broke in his quest to achieve racing stardom. Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann will be sharing number 00, also known as Aaron’s Dream Machine, which is sponsored by Aaron Rents. Aaron has been with Michael Waltrip for a decade now and fans are excited to see Waltrip behind the wheel once again.
Reutimanns numerous top 10 finishes in the Nationwide Series and continuing improvement as a Sprint Cup racer is fueling excitement about Michael Waltrip Racing in general and David Reutimann in particular.
