It was announced Tuesday that David Reutimann might not return to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012, despite having a contract that ran through 2013. His sponsors were also signed through 2012 as well. He has won a race in each of the last two seasons, the only two victories MWR owns, and has also contended for the Chase the last two years. Not too shabby.
But apparently this was not enough for Reutimann to keep his ride because MWR confirmed in a press conference Saturday that Mark Martin will run 25 races in the No. 00 car Reutimann called his since his rookie year in 2007. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip will also return to driving, running both race at Talladega, the race at Kentucky and Daytona's July event. All 30 of these races will be backed by the team's current sponsor, Aaron's. A driver and sponsor to run the final six races in the car will be named later.
So apparently, winning races and contending for the Chase don't mean much when you're mired in one bad season.
This has not been the season MWR had hoped for after such strong runs last season. Reutimann has a best finish of second at Kentucky (which could've been a win if he had one more lap) and Martin Truex, Jr's best finish is second at Bristol. Both driver's have been close to wins, but neither has had the luck or equipment reliable enough to break back into victory lane.
Reutimann will finish the season in the No. 00, the number his family has run since they began racing and that his 70-year-old father Emil "Buzzie" Reutimann wins dirt races in today, and try to get one more win to help his cause and land a ride next year. But unfortunately, not a whole lot is open right now.
The most disgusting part of this is how Waltrip went about it. Aaron's does have a clause in their contract that stipulates Reutimann must finish in the top 25 in points to keep the ride, so when he fell to 28th recently, they began to shop around.
Waltrip said he left the decision to can David up to Aaron's CEO Ken Butler, who said at the announcement he was looking for "the next big deal." At no point did Waltrip mention sticking up for the driver who had stuck by him and his team through their disastrous first season together in 2007. He never said he fought for David to keep his ride. He only said that Butler "picked a future Hall of Famer to drive the Aaron's Dream Machine."
The deal was apparently signed on Wedneday of this week, after just three weeks of discussion. Both Aaron's and Waltrip also knew damn well there wasn't a competitive ride available in the garage for Reutimann to move to.
Waltrip didn't even have the stones to tell Reutimann in person. He called David Tuesday night to tell him the news, while he was out at the SEMA show in California promoting Toyota and MWR. Despicable is the only word that comes to mind to describe the way these events went down. And even that doesn't do it justice.
When asked about his thoughts in Texas on Friday, Reutimann said "I'm just disappointed. Overall, just disappointed, bummed out... to put it mildly. But it happened and it is what it is." He went on to say that "It's been an awful season for us for sure. We haven't run up to our expectations or our standards. But I thought we would have a chance to make up for it."
Reutimann also acknowledged the fact that their isn't much out there and "if there were to be something out there, it's going to involve you doing the same thing that just got done to me.I'm not exactly up for that either."
When asked if he needs to start looking out for No. 1, Reutimann laughed and replied "People looking out for No. 1 is what got me in this situation. So, yeah, that's a mentality. I'm no angel, but I'm just struggling a little bit with that."
But despite some bleak prospects, David is keeping his hopes up. "I still want it as bad as anybody in the garage Just because I don;t get out of the car after a bad race and yell at my crew and throw my helmet and stuff like that, just because you guys can't visibly see how bad I want it, it doesn't mean I don't. I want it worse than anybody whose ever set foot in the garage area. I still do."
He went on to say that "I can still win races and I can still get the job done. Let's not forget that last year we were able to win and actually had a shot at making it into the Chase.That's only been a year ago. I can still do that if I get in the right situation. It's just unfortunate that things worked out like they did."
The MWR driver also said that his quiet personality may work against him and not allow car owners and sponsors to see what he's "all about." "But in the end, I still want to do this awfully bad, and I still feel like I can contribute in the right situation."
While Waltrip told him that this was strictly a business move, Reutimann told the press that "It's only business if it doesn't happen to you. It's hard for me not to take it personal." So I'm sure that MWR, Aaron's and NAPA will understand that it won't be personal when angry Reutimann fans take their business elsewhere. It'll just be business.
But apparently this was not enough for Reutimann to keep his ride because MWR confirmed in a press conference Saturday that Mark Martin will run 25 races in the No. 00 car Reutimann called his since his rookie year in 2007. Team co-owner Michael Waltrip will also return to driving, running both race at Talladega, the race at Kentucky and Daytona's July event. All 30 of these races will be backed by the team's current sponsor, Aaron's. A driver and sponsor to run the final six races in the car will be named later.
So apparently, winning races and contending for the Chase don't mean much when you're mired in one bad season.
This has not been the season MWR had hoped for after such strong runs last season. Reutimann has a best finish of second at Kentucky (which could've been a win if he had one more lap) and Martin Truex, Jr's best finish is second at Bristol. Both driver's have been close to wins, but neither has had the luck or equipment reliable enough to break back into victory lane.
Reutimann will finish the season in the No. 00, the number his family has run since they began racing and that his 70-year-old father Emil "Buzzie" Reutimann wins dirt races in today, and try to get one more win to help his cause and land a ride next year. But unfortunately, not a whole lot is open right now.
The most disgusting part of this is how Waltrip went about it. Aaron's does have a clause in their contract that stipulates Reutimann must finish in the top 25 in points to keep the ride, so when he fell to 28th recently, they began to shop around.
Waltrip said he left the decision to can David up to Aaron's CEO Ken Butler, who said at the announcement he was looking for "the next big deal." At no point did Waltrip mention sticking up for the driver who had stuck by him and his team through their disastrous first season together in 2007. He never said he fought for David to keep his ride. He only said that Butler "picked a future Hall of Famer to drive the Aaron's Dream Machine."
The deal was apparently signed on Wedneday of this week, after just three weeks of discussion. Both Aaron's and Waltrip also knew damn well there wasn't a competitive ride available in the garage for Reutimann to move to.
Waltrip didn't even have the stones to tell Reutimann in person. He called David Tuesday night to tell him the news, while he was out at the SEMA show in California promoting Toyota and MWR. Despicable is the only word that comes to mind to describe the way these events went down. And even that doesn't do it justice.
When asked about his thoughts in Texas on Friday, Reutimann said "I'm just disappointed. Overall, just disappointed, bummed out... to put it mildly. But it happened and it is what it is." He went on to say that "It's been an awful season for us for sure. We haven't run up to our expectations or our standards. But I thought we would have a chance to make up for it."
Reutimann also acknowledged the fact that their isn't much out there and "if there were to be something out there, it's going to involve you doing the same thing that just got done to me.I'm not exactly up for that either."
When asked if he needs to start looking out for No. 1, Reutimann laughed and replied "People looking out for No. 1 is what got me in this situation. So, yeah, that's a mentality. I'm no angel, but I'm just struggling a little bit with that."
But despite some bleak prospects, David is keeping his hopes up. "I still want it as bad as anybody in the garage Just because I don;t get out of the car after a bad race and yell at my crew and throw my helmet and stuff like that, just because you guys can't visibly see how bad I want it, it doesn't mean I don't. I want it worse than anybody whose ever set foot in the garage area. I still do."
He went on to say that "I can still win races and I can still get the job done. Let's not forget that last year we were able to win and actually had a shot at making it into the Chase.That's only been a year ago. I can still do that if I get in the right situation. It's just unfortunate that things worked out like they did."
The MWR driver also said that his quiet personality may work against him and not allow car owners and sponsors to see what he's "all about." "But in the end, I still want to do this awfully bad, and I still feel like I can contribute in the right situation."
While Waltrip told him that this was strictly a business move, Reutimann told the press that "It's only business if it doesn't happen to you. It's hard for me not to take it personal." So I'm sure that MWR, Aaron's and NAPA will understand that it won't be personal when angry Reutimann fans take their business elsewhere. It'll just be business.
But in the end, Reutimann must face a very cold, very harsh reality. "In the end, Michael Waltrip gave me an opportunity to go Cup racing when no one else would and I appreciate that. And Aaron's as well. But that ship has sailed and I've got to figure out something to do now."
The sport of Nascar racing has become very sponsor driven since the economic downturn. A quiet, low key wheelman like Reutimann, who has raced cars his entire life, is more likely to be looking for a job than a driver who is better suited to be the next Billy Mays than a racecar driver. As unfair as that is, that is the reality that these teams face.
But this situation could have been handled so much differently. Waltrip could have given his driver a clue before there were three races left in the year and given him permission to seek other opportunities, but he and Aaron's chose to wait and yank his ride out from under him at the last minute and tell him about it over the phone. Reutimann is a class act and has been nothing but loyal to MWR deserved so much better than what he got. No one deserves that kind of treatment.
Those quotes Reutimann gave to the media Friday afternoon were of a driver who can only do one thing really well: race. He and his father have been racing dirt cars for most of his life. He still spends his spare time working on his dad's dirt cars in his shop. He is a racer, and a damn good one at that. He may be quiet, but he would be an asset to any team that signs him.
This weekend, Reutimann qualified sixth. His teammate Truex qualified 19th and his replacement qualified 30th. Texas has always been a favorite of Reutimann and he seems to still have a handle on it. He's fast, he's hungry and he has a chip on his shoulder the size of the "Lone Star State." What better way to audition and tell his old team where to stick it than to score the win Sunday afternoon?
Reut will definitely be a driver to watch these next three weeks. With nothing to lose, he'll be driving like he's never driven before.
Best of luck for next season David! There is a much better opportunity out there for you somewhere.
The sport of Nascar racing has become very sponsor driven since the economic downturn. A quiet, low key wheelman like Reutimann, who has raced cars his entire life, is more likely to be looking for a job than a driver who is better suited to be the next Billy Mays than a racecar driver. As unfair as that is, that is the reality that these teams face.
But this situation could have been handled so much differently. Waltrip could have given his driver a clue before there were three races left in the year and given him permission to seek other opportunities, but he and Aaron's chose to wait and yank his ride out from under him at the last minute and tell him about it over the phone. Reutimann is a class act and has been nothing but loyal to MWR deserved so much better than what he got. No one deserves that kind of treatment.
Those quotes Reutimann gave to the media Friday afternoon were of a driver who can only do one thing really well: race. He and his father have been racing dirt cars for most of his life. He still spends his spare time working on his dad's dirt cars in his shop. He is a racer, and a damn good one at that. He may be quiet, but he would be an asset to any team that signs him.
This weekend, Reutimann qualified sixth. His teammate Truex qualified 19th and his replacement qualified 30th. Texas has always been a favorite of Reutimann and he seems to still have a handle on it. He's fast, he's hungry and he has a chip on his shoulder the size of the "Lone Star State." What better way to audition and tell his old team where to stick it than to score the win Sunday afternoon?
Reut will definitely be a driver to watch these next three weeks. With nothing to lose, he'll be driving like he's never driven before.
Best of luck for next season David! There is a much better opportunity out there for you somewhere.
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