DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- David Reutimann is extremely enthusiastic as he looks ahead to his 2008 NASCAR program, which for the second consecutive season includes full schedules in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series.

At the end of 2007, some people questioned what Michael Waltrip Racing's program for its No. 99 Toyota would be in the first year of Nationwide's sponsorship, but Reutimann wasn't among them.

Rumors had a couple of MWR's development drivers, Michael McDowell and Josh Wise, taking some races in the 99 along with Reutimann.

"There was talk about all of that at one time, but I wanted to run for the championship, and we weren't going to be able to do that splitting stuff up," Reutimann said. "I was adamant about running the car, I stuck to my guns and ultimately Michael [Waltrip] said, 'If that's what you really want to do, let's go ahead and do it.'

"Aaron's was on board for it, so it's the same thing we had last year."

A year ago in their first year together, Reutimann and crew chief Jerry Baxter finished second in the championship to Carl Edwards and won Reutimann's first Busch race, in October at Memphis.

The first third of Reutimann's 2008 Cup season will be marked by building a relationship with new crew chief Ryan Pemberton and adjusting to racing his familiar No. 00 Camry for the first five races before moving over to the No. 44 Toyota being vacated after Bristol by the retiring Dale Jarrett.

But Reutimann's looking forward to continuing to strengthen his relationship with Baxter, based on the consistency they established last season.

"I definitely think we'll get better," Reutimann said. "I was very happy with the way the last half of our season went. I think Jerry and I started communicating better -- and realistically that was my first full year in the Busch Series and Jerry's first full year working with the same driver.

"I really feel like we may be under the radar, but we're definitely a team that's capable of getting it done, I think."

Reutimann got very comfortable working with Baxter last season. "I liked Jerry's demeanor and the way he goes about doing things," Reutimann said. "He's one of the most laid-back guys I've ever been around, but when he's focusing on pit strategy or making his car better, the guy is on top of it and he's really aggressive.

"So to have such a laid-back guy and to watch him be as aggressive as he is on his program and to want to get that much better becomes exciting because I like people that are laid back. I'm not into the yelling -- I want a guy on the radio that keeps you calm.

"We talk about things on the radio, I tell him what's wrong with the car and generally he comes in and makes it better for me -- and that's all you can ask for."

During Cup Series testing at Daytona this week, Pemberton said he's enjoyed his first days with Reutimann and that he holds a similar path as Baxter's.

"You always have to adapt to what the situation might need," Pemberton said. "I prefer to be on the calm side. If we need to address things differently, we will. So far, it's been great -- David's been awesome to work with.

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"It's a different animal here at Daytona because it's all about the aero and the motor. We're going to have a lot more fun when we get to [test at] Las Vegas and California, when we can do more conventional work on the car and get that relationship going."

Before that, Reutimann and Baxter will have tested their Nationwide car at Daytona and will have a chance to see how the 2008 package stacks up. Reutimann is optimistic, considering he and Jason Leffler, the only two drivers who were in full-time Busch Toyotas last season finished second and third in the championship.

"It's a racecar that's pretty balanced, but what's under the hood doesn't hurt any," Reutimann said. "The fact of the matter is the motor makes good horsepower, the torque curve is right where you need it and the things run all day long.

"That's all you can ask for, is a good, drivable motor that makes good horsepower and is there, generally -- unless you do something stupid, run one hot or something like that -- they don't break.

"They just keep doing the same thing, week after week; and that's what you need, something consistent that's always going to be there for you, and that's what we have with that motor."

Reutimann said he'd need every HP number to keep up with Edwards, who won four races and the title by 618 points after a second half slump. Reutimann laughed when asked how many races he'd need to win this season to beat Edwards.

"I have to win more than he does," Reutimann said. "Carl is an extraordinary driver and he's definitely going to be a guy to beat, no matter what he's driving -- whether it's a lawn mower, golf cart, whatever.

"I feel like we learned a lot, and the last half of the year I think our performance was better than his -- I think we were more consistent. Unfortunately for us, the first half of the year he was just on fire; and it just shows that can happen either way.

"The thing is, we just have to be consistent. The days that Carl runs good -- and there are going to be a lot of them -- you have to be right there with him, mirroring his steps. If he wins, you need to run second, and lead some laps, get bonus points and not make any mistakes.

"The first part of the year, we made a lot of mistakes and we weren't consistent -- but Carl's going to be a guy that's tough to contend with."

Reutimann said that thanks to his support staff, the logistics of running two series again was the least of his worries.

"I enjoyed it last year and it was a lot of fun just because I didn't have to do any work," Reutimann said. "When they weren't conjunction races, Jennifer [Chapple, his PR aide] would say 'you've got to be out of the car at a certain time.'

"I'd be out of the car at a certain time, she'd take me in a golf cart to a helicopter and I'd get on it and leave. We'd land, I'd jump on a plane and go to sleep, an hour or so later we're where we're supposed to be and it was fun.

"It made you feel like you were really important for a day or so, so I look forward to that."