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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