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Reutimann’s Breakout Season Promises More in 2010The 39-year-old Floridian broke out in 2009, winning his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. He very nearly earned a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and he’s been the most solid performer in the Michael Waltrip Racing stable of Toyota Camrys this season.
With one race to go, the second-generation racer is 16th in the points. Victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and two Coors Light Pole Awards go along with five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes – the latest coming at Phoenix last weekend. Back in September, he was in the running for a spot in the Chase until the final weekend.
That’s pretty stout, no matter what level of NASCAR you’re in. Especially since Reutimann entered the season with a new crew chief, a “new” sponsor in Aaron’s Rentals and a lot of expectations.
“I’m pretty proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish, especially going into the season with a new crew chief again,” the amiable driver says. “It was a lot of good things for us. He [crew chief Rodney Childers] didn’t really even have a clue as to how things were going to go.
“I’m really happy at the progress we made, but at the same time, we know that more things have to be done to get us to where we need to be in relation to where some of the other teams are.”
Isn’t that just like a driver, right? Have a breakout season and still not be satisfied with where you wound up... Reutimann acknowledges the team effort it took to have the breakout and join the ranks of drivers that have won in NASCAR’s top division.
“It all comes down to the steady work effort at Michael Waltrip Racing and the support we get from Toyota and Toyota Racing Development,” Reutimann says. “They’ve been very instrumental in getting us to where we are now.”
Childers, who came over to Michael Waltrip Racing from Richard Petty Motorsports last season, is the perfect fit for his driver. Where Reutimann is a jokester with a wicked sense of humor, Childers is the studious type.
“If you can’t get along with Rodney, you probably have issues of your own,” Reutimann cracks. “He’s a really soft-spoken guy, doesn’t say a whole lot, but he’s really focused on his job. He’s just what I needed, especially to give us good racecars and get us where we need to go. It’s been a good fit and we’ll continue to get better and learn more about each other.”
Communication between driver and crew chief is just as big a part of a team’s success as a strong engine, great pit work and excellent strategy. Reutimann says that his relationship with Childers is only going to get better.
“There have been some bumps in the road, so to speak,” he says. “It’s not really miscommunications, but sometimes a driver will tell a crew chief that the car is loose, and the longer that crew chief has been with the driver, he starts to know just how loose that car is just by the tone of his voice. That all comes with time, and Rodney is doing a great job. We’ll be together next year and hopefully for years after that. He is the guy I want on my pit box and I’m really proud of the job he’s done.”
In 2010, Reutimann will have a new teammate in Martin Truex Jr., and Childers will have a strong ally on the team’s other pit box in Pat Tryson, who comes to MWR via Penske Racing. That’s a big plus, Reutimann says.
“I hate to lose Michael Waltrip as a teammate, and I hope we can work some things out to where he can run a partial schedule or maybe even a full schedule if we can get the funding. That would be awesome,” he says. “Having Martin Truex come in to drive the NAPA car, that can be a good fit. He’s the guy that Michael picked to come in and run. We’re all really excited about having Pat Tryson come in and see what he can add to the organization. Rodney Childers, my crew chief, likes Pat a lot.”
And as Reutimann notes, a strong NAPA team only helps the No. 00 Aaron’s team in terms of knowledge and potential.
But before 2010 roars into life, Reutimann reflects on the 2009 season and all that he and his team accomplished.
“The first victory, obviously, is pretty big,” he said. “At the same time, the thing I am most proud of is the progress we made as a team with the help of Toyota and the sponsors, whether it’s Aaron’s or NAPA or having the JTG Daugherty Racing team under our roof with the sponsors they have.
“That definitely accelerated our program to where other drivers are looking at coming over to be part of our team. I don’t think last year you could have said the same thing. I was most proud of the people who kept focused on what we need to do to get us to the position we’re in now.”
There’s one more race to run this season, and Speedweeks 2010 at Daytona will be here before you know it. Reutimann and Childers can look back and be very proud of the job they did the first time out together, but then the real focus will be improving on it, one race and one result at a time.
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