NASCAR Driver Histories by Chris DiCicco

I know it's been a whole lot of NASCAR stuff lately, but I post what I can find (and have permission to use), and this is all I have lately:

NASCAR Driver Histories by Chris DiCicco at CarsAndRacingStuff.com Forum

NASCAR's Denny Hamlin - From boy to Superstar

By Chris Dicicco

James Dennis Hamlin Jr. or better known as Denny Hamlin, was born on November 18, 1980 was born in Tampa, Florida but spent most of his childhood in Chesterfield, Virginia. He started racing go karts when he was 7 years old in 1988. He was burning up the go karting tracks in Richmond, Virginia. By the time he was 16, Hamlin had switched to sturdier racing cars. He was racing stock cars and at his first race at Langley Speedway, saw him winning the pole position and the race. From then on, Hamlin raced in the Grand Stock division in 1998 which then spurred him on to Late Model Stock Cars in the year 2000.

Hamlin’s lucky break came when he was 24 and racing in the Late Model Stock Cars full time. It was there that Hamlin garnered the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing who then decided to sign him up for a driver development program. The same year, Hamlin joined the major-league NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races and the NASCAR Busch Series at Darlington Speedway. He managed to secure an 8th place finish and with that, a stable footing in Joe Gibbs Racing. Even though he started at 27th after an unfortunate qualifying session, Hamlin’s skills took over during the actual race and showed Joe Gibbs Racing that he was indeed a good investment.

Hamlin ended up replacing Mike Bliss in 2005 for the Busch Series and he ended the race with a steady 5th spot in the final championship. He also was able to compete in his first NEXTEL Cup Series after which he made his Cup debut after replacing Jason Leffler. He went on to finish the Cup season with 3 top 10 finishes in seven starts and one pole at Phoenix International Raceway. Hamlin had his first full season in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series in 2006 and he also drover the Busch Series. During the NEXTEL Cup, he managed to beat the previous season’s pole winners in the 2006 Budweiser Shootout and in doing such, he made history as being the first Rookie of the year candidate to win such an honor.

While during a break at the Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Hamlin injured his left hand between the pinkie and wrist which brought about 19 stitches as a result from goofing around with some of his crew members. However, despite the serious injury, he still managed to bag the second spot at the Crown Royal 400. He then went on to win his first career Cup Series at the Pocono 500 and he also managed to bring home his second career pole. His second career win was achieved in the same year in the Pennsylvania 500, Pocono Raceway and again made history for being only the 2nd rookie in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup history to get both trophies during the same season.

During the same Cup series, Hamlin scored the Raybestos Rookie of the year with a third finish in the final cup standings. He was in the NASCAR record books once again for being able to score the highest ever points finish for a rookie which then led to him being the first rookie to qualify for the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup. He has made many important figures in the NASCAR world to sit up and take notice. His excellent performance is also bringing on the heat on his other rival drivers.

Hamlin now lives in Cornelius, North Carolina to be close to the tracks. When he is off track, he spends time with his friends, plays online games and the occasional game of golf.

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NASCAR's David Reutimann - From Boy to Superstar

By Chris Dicicco

Born on the 2nd of March in 1970, David Reutimann grew up in Zephyrhills, Florida with the zeal of driving inborn within him. The Ruetimann family name resounds strongly within the old school races and various fans throughout the east coast. Their family name is notorious on the race tracks of Orlando, Florida. Buzzie and Wayne Reutimann (David’s father and uncle) were legends amongst the old school racers throughout the east coast. Their presence commands respect on and off the tracks and such a tradition was instilled in young David. David was brought up with racing in his blood and he has made sure to continue the bloodline on the tracks.
David’s grandfather and father would tear down the tracks in their early 30s Chevys, trimmed in blue and white with the famous “00” painted on red. They brought their game to the track and had their trophy in tow. Buzzie had the DIRT world in his hands after storm winning events all over the Eastern seaboard. David Reutimann, at the beginning was very much like his father. He was driving modifieds and late models on dirt and paved tracks while building up his own reputation.

Although the transition from weekly tracks to big competitions was extremely hard, David Reutimann proved the critics wrong. He was able to make the change smoothly and after getting noticed by Darrell Waltrip, the pieces fell into place. All of this took place when Reutimann moved up to the Slim Jim all Pro Series in 1997. He won Rookie of the year, finished in the top-ten eight times and had a fifth-place points finish. One would conclude that that was pretty good for such a large change in a short period of time. At the next season’s end, Reutimann grabbed a hold of the Sportsmanship award.

What probably was his biggest win was his daughter’s birth in 2001. Reutimann who now resides in Mooresville, North Carolina, set up house with his wife Lisa and young daughter Emilia with their mini-dachshunds, Roxie and Daisy.

It took him a few years after his debut onto the professional scene before he got his three wins in 2002 and with that, finished second in the overall championship standings. It was also that same year that the Florida native entered his first of four NASCAR Busch Series races. The car he raced in was owned by Joe Nemechek after getting some help from an old friend called Brian Pattie. Reutimann went on to finish at the 16th spot when he debuted at the Richmond International Raceway and later finished in the top 15 twice that same season. The next seasons, Reutimann ran seven Busch races for NEMCO. He also participated in the New England 300 and the Brickyard 400 in the Winston Cup Series in the #04 for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, but unfortunately failed to make the cut to qualify at both times.

Reutimann then signed on with Darrell Waltrip Motorsports in 2004 to race the NTN Bearings truck in the Craftsman Truck series. He won the pole in his second race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, Reutimann had four top-fives and with his finish in 14th place in points, he managed to snatch Rookie of the Year again into his bag. His first career race was won in 2005 at the Nashville Superspeedway. He then went on to make his cup debut at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and continued to make fifteen Busch starts and had four top tens.

Buzzie Reutimann still races till this very day. David Reutimann, though a third generation racer in his family, proved that racing can be strong within one’s genes and that it is possible to go to the big time even if you start out small.

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