Conversation: David and Buzzie Reutimann (cont'd)

Q: What's a moment when each of you was most proud of the other?

David: In the early days, like for his big victories at Syracuse and the Eastern States races, I was so young that I don't really hardly remember any of that.

But I think for me it was probably a couple years ago -- not more than two years ago -- down at East Bay Raceway [in Gibsonton, Fla., near Tampa] where he and I were in the same Modified race.

We were all racing in a pack, and I was running fourth or fifth and he was running second, racing hard and having a good time. He's working the guy, and working the guy and I'm watching him do what I've seen him do so many times before.

He was working the bottom of the racetrack and working the bottom of the racetrack and getting the guy to commit, thinking he's going to get passed on the bottom if he gets off the bottom.

And then with one to go, he drops by the guy and blows by him getting into [Turn] 3 and goes on to win the race. And I remember it because I saw him doing it, and I'm out there trying to race and at the same time I'm watching what he's doing.

And to see him still doing it at 65 years old -- the same things I saw him do as I was growing up -- and to do it as good as I've ever seen it done was probably one of the coolest moments for me.

I know I'm proud that he's won all of the big races that he's won, but a lot of them were a little early in my time to really remember all of that stuff.

Buzzie: I've never told David this -- I don't think I've ever told anybody this -- but one of my proudest moments with David was when we were at an All Pro banquet.

Before the banquet, the race director, Les Westerfield came up to David and said, 'The preacher can't be here to say the blessing before the banquet.' So they asked David to do it -- and that was a proud moment for me.

David: That was nerve-wracking. I remember that and I think I was more nervous doing that than I ever was getting into a racecar.

Buzzie: But there have been so many proud moments.

David: It's hard to single out just one, because there have been a lot of good ones.

Buzzie: The first time he ever won with his Mini Stock, at the Florida State Fairgrounds, was another one. And one of my proudest moments was when I first saw him drive his Mini Stock.

We'd finally got this little car done that we built -- a little four-cylinder Pontiac Sunbird -- working on it on Saturdays and Sundays. So we said, 'Here we go,' and we took him down to the Fairgrounds.

The track was all muddy and they were running it in, so my brother Wayne and I said we better walk down to the first corner and see how David does.

So pretty soon they drop the green flag to start practice and here he come down the front straightaway with that little old Pontiac just as wide open as it would go, and he thumped her off there into the first corner with the back end hung out and 'round the corner he went, just like he'd been doing it for a hundred years.

So I looked at Wayne and Wayne looked at me, and we didn't say nothing. We just walked back to our racecars. He knew how to do it and we didn't worry no more. (Continued)