Top 20 Countdown: No. 16 David Reutimann
(Getty Images)
2009 statistics
Finish | Poles | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
16 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
The countdown
No. 20: Martin Truex Jr. | Career stats
No. 19: Brian Vickers | Career stats
No. 18: Kasey Kahne | Career stats
No. 17: Clint Bowyer | Career stats
No. 16: David Reutimann | Career stats
No. 15: Revealed Jan. 18
Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports is counting down the top 20 drivers of the 2010 season. The order was determined by a survey, which asked five NASCAR journalists – Jay Busbee and Jay Hart (Yahoo! Sports); Jenna Fryer (Associated Press); Dustin Long (Landmark Newspapers); and Nate Ryan (USA Today) – to predict the final standings for the 2010 season. The countdown will conclude on Feb. 5 with the unveiling of the No. 1 driver.
2009 finish: 16th
Our 2010 predictions:
• Jay Busbee: 13th
• Jay Hart: 20th
• Jenna Fryer: 16th
• Dustin Long: 11th
• Nate Ryan: 18th
2010 outlook: What if Denny Hamlin hadn't been so hell-bent on winning at Pocono last August, and what if he hadn't gotten into the back of David Reutimann, and what if instead of spinning out and winding up 29th Reutimann had finished in the top five (where he was running at the time), and what if he'd kept his momentum going – would he have made the Chase?
Considering he went into that race 13th in the standings, 52 points ahead of Brian Vickers, it's not so far-fetched a scenario.
Though Reutimann ultimately faded as the Chase bore down, he proved in 2009 that he can be a player when the circumstances are right – and in 2010 the circumstances should be better than they were a year ago. He and his Michael Waltrip Racing team will have had a year to grow; they should have a confidence knowing they were competitive a year ago; and in Martin Truex Jr. he'll have the benefit of working with a teammate who's also capable of running up front on a weekly basis.
So why isn't Reutimann ranked higher?
Well, he's still a bit of a one-trick pony. Nearly all of Reutimann's success has come on mile-and-a-half tracks. Yes, there are a lot of those, but to make a serious run up to the Chase and then be competitive in it, you have to be better than a 22.4 average everywhere else.
What you need to know: Though he's entering just his third full Cup season, Reutimann will turn 40 in March. Considering that he's in the last year of his contract with MWR, 2010 is a pivotal year for Reutimann to continue to prove he's a better bet than some up-and-comer.
