Reutimann learning to see bright side of successes (cont'd)

But that's not the case any more. For one reason, Reutimann's Michael Waltrip Racing team seems to have finally left behind its growing pains.

"I knew that the work ethic was there and the want-to was there, but sometimes that's just not enough," he said. "You have to have that, along with a lot of other things.

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"There were definitely times when you were wondering if it was going to fly or not and I needed to think about maybe doing something different. I never wanted to do something different with anybody else. I thought there might have come a point when I wouldn't have a choice, but again about mid-point of last year we started to turn a corner and I got more relaxed and I knew it would be OK."

Things seemed to turn around when Reutimann posted back-to-back top-10 finishes starting at California, and leading 104 laps at Richmond. And even though the results failed to show it later in the season, Reutimann's Toyota started running closer and closer to the front.

So will success spoil David Reutimann? Not as long as there are anxious moments to consider.

"I'm pretty good at finding stuff to worry about as a rule," Reutimann said. "You quit worrying about one thing and replace it with another. I constantly worry about things: running well, qualifying well and all those things that come down the pipe there."

At the same time, there's a pretty good chance Reutimann might finally be able to put his worries behind him.

"I think I'm a little more at ease," he said. "I definitely feel better at the race track, I feel better about what's going on. I feel pretty good about what I'm seeing and the product we're producing and I'm having a lot of fun right now.

"Honestly, I can't say since I've been in the Cup Series that I've had much of that. I think when you're having fun and things are clicking, even if you have a bad race, the key is to keep that positive attitude in everything you do and it will carry over to your guys. That is what I'm experiencing right now and I'm enjoying that side of life quite a bit right now."