04.13.2009 6:55 pm
David Reutimann up close
Saint Louis Post-Dispatch
Our pals at the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service have published some quick hits about NASCAR driver David Reutimann …
5 things you should know about … David Reutimann
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(April 14, 2009)
With David Reutimann’s hot start to his third full Cup season—he is 11th in the points standings through seven races—Sporting News asked four people for the lowdown on him. Reutimann’s father, legendary short-track racer Buzzie Reutimann; Dwayne Bigger, a mechanic with Reutimann since 2002; Ty Norris, general manager at Michael Waltrip Racing; and Bobby Kennedy, team manager at MWR, gave us some insight to the driver of the No. 00 Toyota.
1. He grew up on a dairy farm in New Jersey.
(The owners of the dairy farm) had a little apartment (we rented) with three stalls underneath it. That’s where we worked on the cars. It was in the center of where we needed to be, in the middle of all the tracks. David learned some good life lessons there. — Buzzie Reutimann
2. His nickname since high school has been Beak because of his nose.
So we all got together when he did a couple races with us (for Joe Nemechek’s truck team) and made up a shirts with the (truck) he was in, and across the back it just said Beak. — Dwayne Bigger
3. He used to be horrible with the media—the worst I’ve ever seen—but now he’s a lot more polished.
Back when he was in the truck series with Darrell Waltrip, I started counting how many times he said “uh” during an interview. I counted 56 times in 3 minutes. — Bobby Kennedy
4. Around his friends, he’s hysterically funny.
The more success he has, the more that personality tends to come out publicly. We were joking about something one day, and he just stopped me midsentence and said, “I need a parking pass,” or something goofy like that, and then he said, “Well, you know I’m the franchise, so you’d better get on it.” I laughed my (expletive) off because it’s so unlike him to say that. — Ty Norris
5. He’s a professional sleeper.
He could sleep all day if we let him. When he gets on one of Michael Waltrip’s planes, he’ll be asleep before it takes off. — Buzzie Reutimann
–30–
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(April 14, 2009)
With David Reutimann’s hot start to his third full Cup season—he is 11th in the points standings through seven races—Sporting News asked four people for the lowdown on him. Reutimann’s father, legendary short-track racer Buzzie Reutimann; Dwayne Bigger, a mechanic with Reutimann since 2002; Ty Norris, general manager at Michael Waltrip Racing; and Bobby Kennedy, team manager at MWR, gave us some insight to the driver of the No. 00 Toyota.
1. He grew up on a dairy farm in New Jersey.
(The owners of the dairy farm) had a little apartment (we rented) with three stalls underneath it. That’s where we worked on the cars. It was in the center of where we needed to be, in the middle of all the tracks. David learned some good life lessons there. — Buzzie Reutimann
2. His nickname since high school has been Beak because of his nose.
So we all got together when he did a couple races with us (for Joe Nemechek’s truck team) and made up a shirts with the (truck) he was in, and across the back it just said Beak. — Dwayne Bigger
3. He used to be horrible with the media—the worst I’ve ever seen—but now he’s a lot more polished.
Back when he was in the truck series with Darrell Waltrip, I started counting how many times he said “uh” during an interview. I counted 56 times in 3 minutes. — Bobby Kennedy
4. Around his friends, he’s hysterically funny.
The more success he has, the more that personality tends to come out publicly. We were joking about something one day, and he just stopped me midsentence and said, “I need a parking pass,” or something goofy like that, and then he said, “Well, you know I’m the franchise, so you’d better get on it.” I laughed my (expletive) off because it’s so unlike him to say that. — Ty Norris
5. He’s a professional sleeper.
He could sleep all day if we let him. When he gets on one of Michael Waltrip’s planes, he’ll be asleep before it takes off. — Buzzie Reutimann
–30–
