Conversation: David and Buzzie Reutimann

Love, respect, pride and commitment are just a few of the labels that top the list when you're talking about a father and son -- and they certainly fit Nextel Cup and Busch driver David Reutimann and his father, short-track racing legend Emil "Buzzie" Reutimann.

To steal a cliché, they say the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree, and that's especially appropriate when talking about the Florida native Reutimanns, with David being a devoted family man and a third-generation racer.

Q: What would you guys consider to be your most nerve-wracking moment in racing?

Buzzie: A nerve-wracking moment in racing? How could there be such a thing?

David: I don't know about him, but for me it was standing on top of the trailer the other day trying to find out if we were in the race [Daytona 500] or not [on the day of the Gatorade Duel qualifying races]. That was by far my worst moment.

Buzzie: I tell you what's going to be worse. It's like when you're leading at Syracuse [New York State Fairgrounds 1-mile dirt track, home of a season ending Modified race that's considered the 'Daytona 500' of that racing genre] with three laps to go.

That's when you hear all kinds of things going wrong with your car.

David: I never led anything at Syracuse so I don't know anything about that. I do know they didn't have mirrors or radios to give them any clue who was catching them or biting on them.

Buzzie: You just never knew who was back there. And whenever you'd get a lead in a race like that -- especially something as big as that was -- you'd always hear something going wrong in the car.

It was either something here, or something there. That reminds me of a time when I was leading the Eastern States 200 [at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y.] and I knew the right-rear was slick -- it was used-up.

I got the white flag and whew, I let out a sigh of relief. And then bam! The right-rear tire went flat. I beat 'em down the backstretch with a flat tire, but coming off the fourth corner I went from first to fifth -- in the last 100 feet.

So I think that could be considered nerve-wracking.

David: Especially when the welfare of your family depends on how you finish in that particular race, because those races were big paying races for an independent guy with no sponsorship. (Continued)