Bristol, TN (March 14, 2014) – David Reutimann will be making his return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition this weekend in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Reutimann will pilot the No. 35 MDS Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports.
Reutimann, who has 232 career starts, began his Sprint Cup career driving for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2005. Beginning in 2008, Reutimann seemed to be taking the elusive “next step”. During a three year span (2008-2010) he compiled 108 starts, two wins, and 23 top-10’s. He also led 323 laps, and in 2009, he had 28 lead lap finishes.
Reutimann’s stats, however, took a turn for the worse in 2011 where he only managed three top-10’s and led only eight laps. He did, however, score a pole at Richmond International Raceway. He was released from Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the 2011 season.
In 2012, Reutimann used a combination of rides as he tried to piece together a full season. He managed to start 25 of the 36 races, driving for BK Racing, Tommy Baldwin Racing, and James Finch’s Phoenix Racing.
2013 brought renewed hope as Reutimann landed a full time ride with BK Racing. The young team, which was purchased from Red Bull Racing when the team shutdown, struggled to find consistency and reliability as they attempted to build their engines and eventually chassis’ in house. Though, Reutimann started all 36 races, the team had nine DNF’s and several more races where they suffered problems and were significantly off the pace. BK Racing released Reutimann at the end of the season, leaving him without a ride for 2014.
After missing the first three races of the season, Reutimann will now try, once again, to piece together as many races as possible as he searches for a new full-time job. The No. 35 team at Front Row Motorsports has traditionally been a start and park team at many races during the season. The team will, however, attempt to run the entire race this weekend at Bristol. Last fall, the team ran well at the high-banked half-mile, with driver Josh Wise, but fell out early after contact with Kurt Busch. Todd Anderson has returned for 2014 as the crew chief on the No. 35
For Reutimann, who turned 44 earlier this month, this season may be one of his final opportunities for compete in the Sprint Cup Series. Given the influx of young talented drivers working their way up through the ranks of NASCAR’s touring series, open full-time seats will be limited. It is a sad, but true fact, NASCAR is quickly becoming a younger sport. Older, experienced veteran drivers are finding fewer rides with quality teams. Hopefully, for Reutimann, he can break that cycle.
