You’re 41. You’ve got four NASCAR wins. You’ve worked for the same people for the most of the last decade. And now you’re out of a job with just three weeks until the end of the season. What do you do?
This is the question David Reutimann has to to answer right now. What does he do? He’s not young, he doesn’t have money or sponsorship to bring (that we know of) and he’s not miraculously going to be anything more than what he is. What you see is what you get.
Reutimann’s first foray into NASCAR came in 2002 with Joe Nemechek. After sporadic runs through that season and 2003, he was hired by Darrell Waltrip Motorsports. He eventually moved full time to the Cup and Nationwide Series with Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007.
During his time with the Waltrips, Reutimann has four wins, and points finishes of second and third in the Nationwide and Truck Series’. His best Cup season to date came in 2009 when he finished 16th in the points after one win, five top-fives and 1o top-10s.
Only Michael Waltrip has more wins in his equipment than Reutimann – and to date Reutimann can claim all two of the team’s Cup wins.
What’s more, this season he’s only a little worse than teammate Martin Truex Jr. – average of finish of 22.9 compared to 18.4 – and is four spots behind Truex in the points.
Reutimann’s release on Thursday was a stunning turn about. He had been granted a three year contract extension just last year and was a consistent force with the team. To his credit, Reutimann did a lot with sub-par equipment. Apparently it wasn’t good enough though.
The worst part of all of this is that Reutimann faces pretty bleak prospects on the market, especially given the timing. Teams are cutting back, have already filled spots or are only looking at drivers who are bringing something to the table. Like David Ragan, Reutimann will be hard pressed to find anything worth while or competitive, especially at the level he’s at now.
As they say, it’s not show friends, it’s show business. Thank you MWR for making that painfully clear.
TheNASCARInsiders.com Follow the Insiders on Twitter or be a fan on Facebook!
Often times when drivers get one off rides there becomes this serious sense of urgency. They have to do whatever it takes to get a good result now, because they may not get another chance. I believe what we saw today out of Boris Said could somewhat be explained this way. He came in as a ringer for James Finch’s #51, and after winning the Montreal NNS race last season from a similar position, maybe thought he could win again. Instead, he ended up driving over his head, made a lot of enemies, and finished a mediocre 22nd.
After being involved in the horrific crash with David Ragan and David Reutimann, and apparently a dust up earlier in the race, Said and Greg Biffle had a scuffle in the garage area post-race. Said later threatened Biffle in his post scuffle interview, and Biffle responded via Twitter. But Biffle wasn’t the only driver to take exception to Said’s racing. Regan Smith, Jeff Burton, and David Ragan all weighed in post-race against Said. And when guys like that are speaking out against you, something is clearly wrong.
No matter what side of the fence you are on, Said’s move on Ragan was dirty. Hitting a guy in the rear quarter panel like that is about as a low as it gets. With one lap to go, I really question the judgement of flat wrecking a guy so you can finish 22nd instead of 23rd.
I have to say though, Said deserves some props for his comments in the interview following the race. At least he was honest and isn’t afraid to stand up for himself (did anyone else notice the RCR #27 guys enjoying a front row seat to the skirmish?).
Going forward, don’t expect Said to get a lot of respect from his fellow competitors. He used to be a guy other drivers went to for road racing advice, but now he’s going to become the driver they root up 0ut of the way so they can finish 22nd instead of 23rd. What goes around, comes around, and guys like Biffle aren’t going to forget this any time soon.
Michael Waltrip Racing announced Tuesday Pat Tryson would be replaced this weekend as crew chief for Martin Truex Jr. The team’s lead engineer Chad Johnston will take over. The organization said Tryson’s contract would be honored and he would be “redeployed” – what exactly that means, not even Tryson knows.
The #56 team has struggled this season, and last, to be anything but mediocre. In the last 39 races Truex has 1 top-five and 10 top-tens, and is averaging about a 19th place finish. He finished the 2010 season 21st in points. Even with the team’s struggles over the last two seasons, is Tryson really the problem? Truex’s and MWR’s stats suggest otherwise.
After winning two Nationwide Series championships in 2004 and 2005 – his first and second full Nationwide Series seasons – Truex was moved up to the Cup Series full time in 2006. With 202 career Cup Series starts under his belt Truex has one win, 14 top-fives and 47 top-tens. His average start? 19.6.
Through five full seasons his points finish are: 19, 11, 15, 23 and 22. He’s currently 21st in the points. With a career that has spanned stops at three different race teams and two great crew chiefs, there is a very clear trend that emerges – mediocrity.
The other half of the equation is of course Michael Waltrip Racing. Their head of competition, Steve Hallam, is a guy with a stellar open wheel background, but no stock car experience to speak of. The team’s other driver, David Reutimann has shown flashes of brilliance, but has struggled to be consistent.
To his credit Reutimann has been with MWR since the move to the Cup Series which includes a disastrous first full season, and has scored two wins, 11 top-fives and 24 top-tens. Like Truex though, he has average race finishes in the last four full seasons of 30.4, 23.3, 16.4 and 18.1; and points finishes of 39th, 22nd, 16th, and 18th. Again, mediocre.
The fact is there are performance issues at Michael Waltrip Racing. Add to that Martin Truex’s lack of a stunning Cup Series career and you’ve got a tough situation for Pat Tryson. Could he have done more with the team? It’s possible. Is he the sole problem or even the biggest problem? I don’t think so. But he is the easiest one to blame.
“Somebody always has to be that guy,” Tryson told ESPN.com. “I wouldn’t say I was part of the problem. As a company we aren’t running well. It’s a strange deal. I really can’t say much.”
Truex said in the team’s statement about new crew chief Chad Johnston: “The communication between he and I is impressive and we just click.” It’ll be interesting to see how his tune changes if and when performance doesn’t pick up.
Maybe he’ll prove me wrong.
Filed under: David Reutimann, Kyle Busch, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
To anyone not sitting in the #00 pit, what initially transpired between Kyle Busch and David Reutimann was nothing more then a racin’ deal. Reutimann slipped up in the center of the corner, and Busch couldn’t check up fast enough. It was an accident, pure and simple. What followed was a classic overreaction. (In case you missed it, view the whole incident here.)
After getting his car back in racing shape, Reutimann went back on the track and waited for his chance. He would get it on lap 156. The two drivers were side by side out of turn two, and Reutimann took his shot down the backstretch. The #00 would again end up spun around, while Busch’s car sustained serious damage to the rear end and rear suspension. Reutimann would end up 35th, eleven laps down, while Busch soldiered home 21st.
You may agree or disagree with me, but I believe Reutimann overreacted terribly. I understand he and his team were upset by having their day ruined by the #18, but the contact was in no way intentional. So instead of trying to salvage a decent day for his team, Reutimann decided to kill Busch’s day as well.
What I think is interesting to note here is Reutimann’s deficit to 13th in the points. After Dover, Reutimann was only 173 points behind Ryan Newman for 13th (remember there is a big bonus for being the highest finishing non-Chase driver). A few good runs along with some trouble for the 39, and Reutimann could have been right there. Now, following the dustup at Kansas, Reutimann is 253 points out, and has basically eliminted himself from that bonus money. I hope the payback was worth the million dollars that he may have thrown away in the process.
I can understand wanting to get payback if an incident was intentional, or appeared intentional. This was neither. And obviously Busch has a reputation for these sorts of incidents, so I can see that side of the argument. Reutimann was trying to show that he is a driver that is not to be messed with (especially by Kyle), but in this case, his actions were not warranted. If he ended up choosing to not get payback, no driver would have thought less of him. In the end, all he really accomplished was making himself look like an ass.
Besides the unneeded retaliation, I also wanted to throw in my two cents about non-Chasers racing Chasers. I’ve written this before, but those outside have absolutely no obligation to treat the Chasers with kid gloves. If you are on the track, you are fair game. And you are especially fair game if you intentionally wreck somebody. The Chasers should not be given a free pass to rough up whoever they please just because another driver isn’t in the Chase. This isn’t necessarily what happened on Sunday between Reutimann and Busch, but I wanted to make the point anyway.
With big announcements flying this week, the teams are getting geared up to head for Bristol for a little short track Saturday night action. Don’t forget, the Truck Series races tonight at the ”World’s Fastest Half Mile.” If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Michael in SoCal:
Following up on Franq’s question from last week about using the road course at Indy for the Cup Series race, what about using one of the road courses at Pocono? If the Cup Series is going there twice within a span of about seven weeks, it might be a nice change of pace, Your site is a daily read! Thanks.
Thanks Micheal! The Pocono road course is nowhere near ready to handle a NASCAR race – as we saw a couple of weeks ago the main track isn’t either. Even if Pocono were interested in upgrading their road course, I still don’t think NASCAR is all that interested in adding road courses to the schedule. I do agree though seven or eight weeks is a little ridiculous between races, and any change would be welcome. – Journo
2. From Dan:
Hey guys I know you all remain anonymous but what I wonder about is how you get info (outside the technical stuff) without raising suspicions. The answer you gave last week ( Ask the Insiders #87) about the Target sponsorship and the deal they have with EGR/ CGR I would think would be only privy to those associated with that team. Of course that’s not to say you all couldn’t find out. But couldn’t someone connect the dots after seeing an answer to a question? Like hey I was asked that last week by so and so. Hope what I’m saying makes sense. Anyway just curious.
Well we would never ask someone a question that appears on the site for the exact reason you suggest. If we ever don’t know an answer to a question or can’t easily find out through inconspicuous means we’ll tell you we don’t know. As far as last week’s question goes, Ganassi’s program is very well known to those who are familiar with sponsorship in the sport. On top of those at the team that are familiar with the program you’ve got to consider all the people connected with those individual sponsorship deals that are also familiar with it – literally hundreds of people currently and formerly associated with the team and sponsors. – Journo
3. From red8814:
I understand that Sadler’s helmet, seat & HANS were all scheduled to be scanned for fractures following his wreck at Pocono. If a driver is in a far less severe, “moderate” wreck that takes him to infield care b/c the car won’t start up, is there any automatic review of his safety equipment, including the belts/harness?
Not that I am aware of. All over the rule book in the section about safety gear, it is repeated that the drivers are responsible for their own safety equipment and it’s proper usage. NASCAR is in no way responsible for any of it. – T.C.
4. From Michael in SoCal:
Any thoughts on why Robby Gordon put PJ Jones in the # 7 and moved himself into the # 07 last week at Michigan? Thanks.
Robby put PJ in the #7 car because he knew they would be guaranteed to start the race (PJ qualified 41st) – he knew he would be much better positioned to get into the race on speed (he qualifed 35th). And then they both start-and-parked – the double start-and-park, always a classy move. – Journo
5. From Ryan:
T.C.-After reading that Casey Mears will take over the Germain #13 car starting at Atlanta and full-time next year, I’m wondering how well do you think he will do?
I wouldn’t expect much from this move. While Mears is certainly more experienced than Papis, his performances certainly haven’t been stellar over his career. Let’s remember that this is the same Mears who struggled at Ganassi, Hendrick, Childress, and Red Bull. He certainly won’t resurrect his career in an underfunded Cup car for Germain Racing. – T.C.
6. From Denny:
Have been reading a blog which mentions something about Reuti running a non-approved intake supplied by TRD on the engine which won at Chicago. Even one of the announcers stated Reuti showed-up with a different intake for this race. How could they possibly get away with this, with all of the inspections going on, both before and after the race in Chicago. Also, reading that NASCAR will be testing engines after MIS. Does anyone, other than NASCAR officials get to view the actual testing? Will these be a real dyno test…..on a stand-type engine dyno or just a chassis dyno? Thanks for the great info, as always!
Honestly, I don’t know anything about this. If it’s actually true, both MWR and TRD have done a remarkable job keeping it quiet. NASCAR’s inspection process is certainly extensive, and if any other team caught any wind of this, it would have been reported to NASCAR immediately. That fact alone makes me question the validity of what you’ve read. And after Michigan, NASCAR did take 16 engines from various teams. Since they only took the engines, the dyno tests will be done on a standard dyno, not a chassis dyno. Don’t expect NASCAR to make the results public unless a drastic rule change comes about because of the tests. – T.C.
7. From Allen:
Why doesn’t NASCAR consider doing the “side by side” coverage, commercials on the right and the race on the left? If IndyCar can pull it off we can.
It’s all got to do with the way the advertising is structured within NASCAR’s TV deals, and I’ll be honest I really don’t know all the specifics. It’s feasible, we’ve seen them do it with the Coke Zero 400 on TNT, but I don’t know that NASCAR and their broadcast partners are all that interested in doing it. Here is an article from 2006 that answers some of your questions. – Journo
8. From Justin:
I know questions about payouts have been asked before, but none of it really makes sense. Just a few examples from Michigan. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 19th $86,050, David Gilliland 36th $86,148. Brad Keselowski 34th $98, 535, Sam Hornish Jr 32nd $79,950. Clint Bowyer 13th $89,975, Jeff Burton 24th $111,565. The payouts don’t make any sense. Why would one team apart of the same organization take part in different contingency programs? What contingency program could David Gilliland be a part of that Dale Jr isn’t?
It’s not all about what contingency programs a team is involved in. The reason some drivers make more then others depends on what contingency programs a team is involved in AND in what payout plan a team is in. I believe NASCAR has four different plans setup, and each team fits into one of those plans. I don’t know specific details, but the plans award prize money based on not only where you finish, but also past performance and longevity. – T.C.
9. From Newracefan:
I heard several times on Nascar Now about the HMS cars not having speed. I know when I listened to the 48 scanner Sunday on more than one occasion JJ was sayong the car was good but Chad was saying it he wasn’t fast enough. Is there something to this?
It is certainly possible for a car to have a good balance with the chassis setup, but just not be very fast. I’m just speculating, but maybe they were missing something aerodynamically, or they were possibly down on horsepower a bit. Let’s not forget that Johnson still finished 12th, so it must not have been that bad. – T.C.
10. From Lost in Texas:
With Kahne and Ambrose settled for next year, does this make Sadler the top free agent on the market for this year and who is the top ride that will be looking for a driver?
Well, unless a team does something drastic, or a team like Gibbs finally starts a fourth team, there aren’t really any open rides left. If Scott Speed and/or Brian Vickers don’t return to Red Bull, there might be an opening there, but that’s about it. Besides that, RPM is realistically the only team left with openings. Childress, Hendrick, Roush, Gibbs, Stewart Haas, MWR, EGR, and Penske are all full up for 2011. So I guess you could make the argument that Sadler is the top free agent driver, but without any openings, I’m not sure that means much. – T.C.
And that brings yet another “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” to a close. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. And remember, if you’d like to be a part of next week, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send your question in!
The LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway had a feel-good ending this weekend with driver David Reutimann coming away with his second career win on the Sprint Series. At Victory Lane a host of drivers and NASCAR crew member congratulated Reutimann and his team after the #00 car held off Jeff Gordon for the win. The outpouring of congratulations gave racing fans a in-depth look into Reutimann’s popularity within NASCAR circles. Reutimann’s first win on the Sprint Series came with a boatload of scrunity. The 40-year-old got his first career Sprint Cup win at the Coke 600 last year due to weather conditions. The manner at which his won his first race caused critics to question if he deserved the win. Reutimann put all his critics to bed by leading the race Saturday for the last 32 laps and fending off the likes of Gordon and Carl Edwards. Congrats to David!
Filed under: Carl Edwards, David Reutimann, Jeff Gordon, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
This week, we go from the high banks of Talladega to a Saturday night short track shootout in Richmond. The Nationwide cars will kick the racing weekend off on Friday night at RIR, while the Truck Series heads west to Kansas for a rare Sunday race. While we wait for the weekend to arrive, here’s a big batch of reader questions and our answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the ”Ask the Insiders” tab at the top of the page and send one to us. On to the questions…
1. From Don:
How do the teams get cars to tracks in such short times? Does the transporter go back to Charlotte each week or is there more than one transporter and they alternate weeks? The transporter has to be completely restocked each week and some times Charlotte is not on the way.
Most Cup Series teams have two drivers per truck. This allows them to make it back to Charlotte in a timely manner after a race (for races close by this isn’t a problem). In the case of West Coast races organizations will often send extra trucks from Charlotte to run equipment to their teams out West because driving to Charlotte and back just isn’t feasible. Smaller teams will often just turnover the equipment they already have. – Journo
2. From ATS:
Every weekend when I watch the beginning of the race I see the #00 and David Reutimann come to the front and run in the top-5 or top-10. Only to have a failure of MWR equipment ruin his day. Do you think we could see David move teams at the end of 2010?
I don’t see David Reutimann going anywhere. I believe his contract is up this year or next, but I think he’s pretty happy where he’s at. Remember he and Waltrip go back a long ways. And anyway, where would he go? There aren’t too many seats available. – Journo
3. From Marcus:
What happens to Penske Racing’s #12 car now? Will Justin Allgaier drive it or what happens? Just let me know if you get any inside information.
It could be used for Hornish or it could go away. I haven’t heard anything specific, but I don’t think Allgaier will be in it next year (full-time at least). It’s possible he could run a few races, but they won’t be moving him full-time to the Cup Series in 2011. We’ll let you know if we hear anything. – Journo
4. From West Coast Kenny:
T.C. and Journo, It seems like Robbie Gordon causes a yellow during every race. Is it possible he does that just to get TV time for his sponsors?
I’m going to say probably not, but anything is possible. – Journo
5. From Woogeroo:
What is the deal with some races being impound races and some of them are not? It seems to me like Detroit’s love affair with half the autos fasteners being metric and the other in inches… with no rhyme or reason. I can understand Daytona with all it’s goings ons… but what’s the deal with the rest of them?
It is my understanding that only the Talladega races and the Daytona race in July are true impound races. I don’t know for certain what NASCAR’s reasons are for impounding cars at these tracks, but I would imagine it’s because there are so many extra little rules. Impounding the cars allows NASCAR to have more control over what the teams can and can’t do. – T.C.
6. From Cinde:
Kurt to drive the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. Is Pennzoil that much better of a sponsor? Do they provide more sponsor money than Miller Lite? Or just pay the driver more? In your opinion why would Kurt go to Pennzoil? Or, perhaps did he really not have a choice at this time? Finally, do the CC and crew generally stay with the driver, or will that be a change as well? Thanks! Love your weekly writings!
It doesn’t have to do with Shell/Pennzoil being a better sponsor. And Miller is still with the organization. I’m not privy to their negotiations, but I would imagine Shell wanted Kurt Busch and Miller was OK with shifting their focus to Brad K. Wam, bam, Penske had a deal. In my experience drivers, for the most part, don’t really care who’s on the car, as long as they’re able to race. I’m sure Kurt Busch is just as happy hawking oil as he was beer. As far as switching crews, we haven’t heard anything about that and given the success the two teams are having in their current configurations, I don’t see Roger Penske making any major changes. – Journo
I’ve noticed during pit stops the lug nuts sometimes fall under the tires, has a lug nut ever been shot back and hit someone when the driver stomps on the throttle to leave?
It certainly has. The gas man and catch can man are usually the guys in the direct line of fire, but others have been hit. Trust me, it isn’t pleasant. – T.C.
8. From Doug:
You told us that you and Journo are Batman and Robin. Allow me to be just a little bit skeptical, if that’s OK. My question: do regulars in the press box and on pit row know who you are, are you both really in deep cover?
As far as we know our identities are unknown. If someone does know who we are, we haven’t heard about it. – Journo
9. From djones:
Regarding the recent penalties at MWR, are the drivers aware of suspect parts on the car, or other infractions? I’d like to believe they are innocent. Thanks.
I would say in most cases the driver probably doesn’t know. There is really no reason they need to know, plus keeping them in the dark gives the sport’s stars that oh-so-convenient “plausible deniability.” – T.C.
10. From Kim:
Sitting here in Talladega! If the race is an “impound” race and the cars would have been impounded after qualifying, what happens when qualifying is cancelled, as it was today? Are the cars deemed impounded at the moment qualifying is cancelled?
Actually, cars are impounded before qualifying, so the rainout doesn’t really matter. Teams were allowed to make any final adjustments to their cars on Friday evening, and then they were sealed until the race. The cars did go through an inspection on Sunday morning before the race, but teams were not allowed to do their usual race day work. - T.C.
11. From Amy:
While watching Talladega I am noticing that during the draft some of the cars have their hoodflaps popping open…I have never noticed that before- it that a product of the bump draft or the spoiler? Does it hurt anything?
It’s just a product of the aerodynamics and how the air travels over the cars. If I remember correctly, the flaps are coming up because they are in a low pressure area. And I don’t believe the car’s performance is hurt by it. – T.C.
12. From Michael:
A few years ago it seemed Jon Wood was on a path to a great future. Then, poof, he was gone. Any news?
Jon’s last start in any of the top NASCAR series was at the Phoenix truck race in November of 2008. He has not reappeared, I believe, because of his performance and because of his own personal issues (which I will not get into here). Wood made 17 truck starts in 2008, and only managed a best finish of 10th. Once the Wood Brothers team ran out of money to keep their truck program going, Jon was out of a ride. I would be surprised if he returned to competition down the road. It’s a shame too, because he could have been a very solid driver. – T.C.
13. From Kim:
Another question came up while sitting at Talladega: that hat hit the track close to where I was sitting. Why call a caution during practice for a bird, but not call a debris caution for a hat on the track? I’ve seen debris cautions called for a lot less!
Birds and other animals on track can (and have) actually cause significant damage to race cars. A hat on the other hand, especially like the one that ended up on the track at Talladega, is much less of a hazard. Didn’t the hat end up getting hit and destroyed anyway? – T.C.
14. From Dave:
I’m a little surprised you guys haven’t written about Roush’s situation in Nationwide since Colin Braun got ousted. I’m thinking as far as the 6 and 16 go, it looks pretty ugly. Does Roush go back to Erik Darnell at this point, Kenseth for the rest of the season, or does Roush stop running those cars when they’re unsponsored? Colin will run only, what, 10 more races? So I’m just assuming Stenhouse, who’s been equally as disappointing, won’t make it the full season anymore. Just seeing if you’ve heard anything… I don’t mean to sound happy about the situation, but I just don’t think the plan was ever a good one– two rookies in those cars full time. Thanks!
The situation at Roush has more to do with Jack’s frustration with Colin and the situations he puts himself in and the mistakes he continues to make than it does issues with young drivers or even unsponsored teams. Running these teams full time is exactly what Jack needed to do. He needs to see what these guys can do and see if they’re worth keeping (you can’t keep running part time schedules with young drivers and hope to accomplish anything). After three seasons with Colin, I think Jack has seen all he needs to see. With Ricky though, I don’t think he’ll get pulled unless there is some serious trouble down the road. Remember prior to this season Ricky had just one full ARCA season and a couple of Nationwide Series starts. – Journo
15. From David:
2 questions, what is the problem with racing someone hard(Jimmie Johnson – Jeff Gordon) also heard Hamlin complain. Do they think competition should move over for them because of who they are? Also how about a road course in the chase.
I don’t think actually racing each other close is the problem with some of these guys. What bothers them is when that close racing turns into contact and wrecks. Jeff Gordon has been mad the last few weeks because he’s been wrecked while racing hard with someone, not because of the actual racing itself. You have to remember too, some of these guys just need something to complain about. If it isn’t the wing, it’s Toyota has more power, or it’s people racing “too” hard, etc. etc. For your second question, I’m all for adding another road course race. In fact, I wrote a post about it last season. See it here. – T.C.
16. From Rick:
I heard ricky rudd is helping the #23 team in the Nationwide series is that true or is he helping anyone?
I haven’t heard anything about that, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening. Does anyone know anything about this? – Journo