Nemechek tabs Reutimann for Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. -- Racing together in the big leagues was once a dream for Florida youngsters David Reutimann and Brian Pattie. Now, with the help of NASCAR Busch Series team owner Joe Nemechek, it will become reality.

The childhood racing buddies, who paired up as 13-year-olds running dirt cars from their hometown of Zephyrhills, will work on a No. 87 GEICO Direct Chevrolet owned by Reutimann and fielded by NEMCO Motorsports in Friday night’s Hardee’s 250 at Richmond International Raceway.

“We’ve been friends since the mid-1980s,” Pattie, Nemechek’s full-time crew chief, said. “We started out on a dirt car David was driving, racing 60 times a year. We traveled and raced and had a lot of fun -- and learned how to be professional.”

Racing is in Reutimann’s blood and he’s carried it to a high level. After winning the 1997 NASCAR All Pro Rookie of the Year Award, Reutimann leads the Hills Bros All Pro point standings after two races. His Pennzoil Chevrolet won from the Bud Pole at South Boston and finished second at Greenville-Pickens Speedway outside Greenville, S.C.

His father, Buzzie Reutimann, was a dirt track legend in the Northeast, as was uncle Wayne Reutimann. They carried their racing to the West Coast of Florida, where David started driving and dragged cousin Shawn Reutimann into the mix. It’s been a family operation all the way, until this weekend.

“We’re real excited about the whole deal,” Reutimann said. “Obviously, to make your first show with the caliber of team Joe has is a huge benefit. When Brian first started working for me we were just a bunch of kids racing -- we talked about racing together in Winston Cup like kids will do (but) this is a dream come true.”

Pattie has won eight races in the last five years with Nemechek, running partial schedules of no more than 14 races a year. While Reutimann says he can’t risk too much, having only one car, he’s already shown promise.

“I think he’ll do quite well,” Pattie said, citing a test the NEMCO group of Busch teams did at USA International Speedway in Florida. “At Lakeland he was faster than Joe and Randy LaJoie so we think we’ll be all right. If you can get the throttle down at Lakeland you can do well at Richmond.”

Reutimann, who will give the brand new car built last year in the NEMCO shops its first race, deferred much of the credit to Nemechek and Pattie.

“If you’ll listen you will learn and pick up as much as you can from these guys,” he said of past testing experience with NEMCO. “I hope some of it carries over. Lakeland is definitely a long ways from where we’re going.

“Joe had tested and Randy had tested and I had the benefit of their notes -- it was like I had already tested so it was a big benefit for me. Joe’s let me go testing with him once or twice and let me make eight or 10 laps.”

With the change, Nemechek will now run the Busch race at Michigan as part of his 13-race package with Cellular One.

Pattie said the deal might be extended to the fall race at Richmond.

“Right now it’s a one-shot deal,” he said. “But GEICO Direct is based in Richmond and they have talked about possibly coming back for the second Richmond, as well as maybe three or four more races. You just got to get in the door somehow (and) I’m happy GEICO believes in this organization.”