A third-generation driver, David Reutimann, began his career racing Modifieds and Late Models at dirt and paved tracks until 1997, when he moved up to the NASCAR AutoZone Elite, Southeast Series, where he earned Rookie of the Year honors.
From there, the driver from Zephyrhills, Florida, continued rising through the NASCAR ranks, eventually earning a ride for a number of NASCAR Nationwide Series races for Joe Nemechek’s NEMCO Motorsports in 2002 and 2003.
His continued improvement led Darrell Waltrip to take a chance on Reutimann, signing him to drive for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, one of the first teams to use Toyota’s in NASCAR competition.
Reutimann capped his NASCAR Truck Series 2004 Rookie of the Year season off by starting on the pole and finishing fourth at Homestead, marking the fourth top-five for the newly formed NTN Bearings Toyota team owned by Darrell Waltrip. He ended-up taking Rookie of the Race honors 10 times and finished 14th in the final standings.
Reutimann earned two poles in 2004 with his first career pole coming in the inaugural EasyCare 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway two races in. He also became the second driver for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports to win a pole, joining Rich Bickle who took the top starting spot at Martinsville Speedway in 1997.
In 2005, Reutimann not only showed continued improvement – finishing 13th in the Truck Series standings – but also claimed his first victory in the series, leading 41 laps en route to winning in Nashville.
Due to his continual development, it came as no surprise when 2006 became a breakout campaign for Reutimann as he rose up to finish third in the Truck Series standings behind champion Todd Bodine in his final season driving for Darrell Waltrip Motorsports.
In October of 2006, Reutimann announced that he would be one of seven drivers fielding Toyota Camry’s in the Cup Series beginning in 2007 – signing to drive the No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing machine.
Reutimann's best season so far in NASCAR competition came in 2007 when he finished second in the Nationwide Series standings. That season he also won his first NNS race along with capturing 12 top 10s.
In 2008, Reutimann recorded one pole and four top-10 finishes en route to a 22nd-place finish in the standings in his first full season in Cup.
