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Soundtrack for the week: Monday, Monday
Notice the constant theme? Yep, rain.
I know there is one guy that absolutely felt a rainy Monday was the best medicine and that was David Reutimann. I met David five years ago when he was still living in Zephyrhills, Fla. I knew about David because of his father Buzzie, who is a legend, but more importantly watching what David was doing on a limited basis with Joe Nemechek's Nationwide car.
I was always impressed with David. I always admired his ability to adapt. I watched him get in and out of different cars and do well at tracks he literally had never been to and go really fast plus do really well. That was impressive to me, so when we were looking for a driver for our truck team, we thought of David.
We were so excited when we found out from crew chief Brian Pattie, David's close friend, that Joe didn't have anything in the works for David and if we were interested in hiring David, well he was available. So I called David. He's told this story many times that when I called him, he thought the guys were playing a joke on him back in the shop. He really didn't believe I was on the other end of the phone.
So we hired David. We naturally had our ups and downs as you will have with any start-up organization. David winning the pole at Atlanta so early in his truck career was a huge boost for his confidence as well as our brand-new team. It took David a little time to adapt to longer races. Plus, once again, we were taking him to places he had literally never been before. I remember taking him around in a Cadillac at Talladega giving him tips because he literally had never set foot in the place.
Once he got some experience under his belt, well it was clear he had a bright future in NASCAR. He ran well, ran up front and was up there in the points. David won his first NASCAR truck race for us here in my backyard of Nashville. Man, what a great day that was. I was the Grand Marshal, Toyota had something like 8,000 plant employees come to watch the race and, man, David won. He got himself a Gibson guitar. It was just one of those days you never wanted to see end.
But what is even better than David the race car driver is David the person. He is a great individual. He's a great father and husband. He is a Godly man. He loves the Lord. He worships his dad, Buzzie. They are almost inseparable. Michael and I miss our Dad dearly, so it warms our heart to see the relationship David has with Buzzie.
I can't stand in the TV booth and have my buddy David, who basically has become part of our Waltrip family, and not have emotions and show my feelings toward him. I just can't do that, folks. All of us have a great deal of respect for what Michael has gone through and endured. Sure, I was pulling for NASCAR to call the race but the thing you have to remember is we had the weather radar screen up in the booth. We could see the weather wasn't going to improve after that last red flag.
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I know the anguish David was going through Monday standing down there in the rain by his race car. I had to do it a couple times in my career and as I have mentioned previously, my last win came at Darlington because of rain in 1992 in the Southern 500. It cost Davey Allison and my dear friend Larry McReynolds $1 million because they were running for the Winston Million. Unfortunately — or fortunately for me — they pitted and I decided to stay out. The rains came and I won the race.
But magnify all that anguish David was going through on Monday particularly, when it was possibly going to be his first Cup win. His best finish to date had been a fourth at Las Vegas. Throw in on top of that, it was the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600, plus that amazing trophy. The Coca-Cola 600 is one of the crown jewels in NASCAR and to win that huge trophy and to know your name is going to be alongside every other winner of the race for eternity is sure a lot to deal with down on pit road with NASCAR on FOX and the NASCAR nation all watching you.
Some folks want to bash this win and try to take away the importance of it for David, his sponsor Aarons and Michael Waltrip Racing. That's unacceptable. Remember this: There were 13 cars in front of him that could have made the same choice he and crew chief Rodney Childers made. Those 13 other cars chose to pit. He, Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon decided to roll the dice and stay out. They had the best strategy, they worked that strategy and it paid off.
David has absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. He has nothing to make excuses for. You have to put yourself in position to win and David did that. Folks, that is why we watch these races every week. It's no different that Brad Kesolowski at Talladega a few weeks ago or Mike Bliss winning the Nationwide race Saturday night at Charlotte. Our sport is unpredictable. If it was predictable, then why would we go to the track every week? There's simply not one driver among the 43 every week that when they drop the green flag he doesn't imagine himself winning the race under some scenario or some circumstances.
I am proud of David and proud of Michael. The overall performance of MWR has gotten better and stronger this year more than ever before. Sure, David and teammate Marcos Ambrose have been carrying the banner so far and Michael has been struggling. But this is the shot in the arm that organization needed. Two years ago, they were having trouble making races and there wasn't any thought of ever winning races.
Before I go, I have to commend NASCAR for stopping the race at 3 p.m. as President Obama had requested the nation to take a moment to honor those who have given so much to keep us safe. The Memorial Day tribute was special and I was proud to be a part of it. Never lose sight that our freedoms come at a cost and sometimes the ultimate high cost.
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