David Reutimann

He finished 22nd.

Reutimann ran in the top twenty of the Daytona 500 until he was collected in an accident on lap 173; he eventually finished 40th.

The following race, at Fontana, Reutimann was involved in a vicious crash.

With 4 laps left in the race, Greg Biffle tapped his bumper, sending his car head-on into the wall.

Upon impact, the car exploded in flames and slid backwards.

The red flag flew, as Reutimann had instantly fallen unconscious.

Paramedics came to the wreck, extinguished the flames, and helped a sore, dazed Reutimann out of his racecar.

Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver.

A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series.

In 1997, Reutimann moved into the NASCAR regional series before moving to the Busch Series in 2002.

Reutimann, a third-generation racer, began his racing career in dirt-track modifieds and late models before moving up to the Slim Jim All Pro Series in 1997.

He was named Rookie of the Year, finishing in the top-ten eight times and had a fifth-place points finish.

The next season, he dropped to seventh in points, but received the Sportsmanship award at season's end.

After several years, Reutimann got his first three wins in 2002 and finished second in the overall championship standings.

That same year, Reutimann made his Busch Series debut at Richmond International Raceway.

Driving the No. 87 GEICO Chevrolet Monte Carlo for NEMCO Motorsports, Reutimann started thirty-fourth but finished sixteenth.

He led twelve laps at his next race at Memphis Motorsports Park, and finished in the top-fifteen in each of his next two races.

In 2003, Reutimann won a contest named "Hills Bros. Coffee Break of a Lifetime", a contest where Hills Bros. Coffee selected one driver to receive full sponsorship from them for 5 Busch Series races, and if that driver were to score three top 10s in those races, they'd receive a chance to start a Cup race.

He ran those 5 races, along with 2 extra races, for NEMCO Motorsports.

He finished fifth at Nashville Speedway USA and The Milwaukee Mile, as well as qualifying Greg Biffle's car on the pole at Memphis.

He also attempted the New England 300 and the Brickyard 400 in the Winston Cup Series in the No. 04 for Morgan-McClure Motorsports, but failed to qualify both times.

In 2004, he won NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors in the Craftsman Truck Series.

He is the son of Buzzie Reutimann.

He began his racing career in dirt-track modifieds and late models.

In 2004, Reutimann signed on with Darrell Waltrip Motorsports to race the NTN Bearings truck in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Reutimann won his first career race in 2005 at Nashville Superspeedway, and ended the season thirteenth in points.

He also made his Cup debut at Lowe's Motor Speedway, driving the No. 00 State Fair Corn Dogs Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Michael Waltrip.

He went winless in 2006, but had two poles and finished third in the championship standings.

He also made fifteen Busch starts and had four top-tens.

He moved up to the Sprint Cup Series in 2007, driving for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Between the 2007 and 2011 Sprint Cup seasons, Reutimann recorded two wins, 26 top-tens, and four pole positions.

Reutimann lives in Mooresville, North Carolina, with his wife Lisa and daughter Emilia.

They are members of Berea Baptist Church in Mooresville.

Reutimann moved up to the Nextel Cup Series in 2007 with Michael Waltrip Racing, and was a Raybestos Rookie of the Year Candidate.

Reutimann edged Kevin Lepage for a transfer spot during the Gatorade Duels into the Daytona 500.

Before he was a full-time race car driver, Reutimann worked briefly for the United Parcel Service, which in 2008 became his primary sponsor for the rest of that season.

Emilia is current a member of the Equestrian team for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Winning the pole in his second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Reutimann had four top-fives and finished 14th in points, garnering Rookie of the Year honors.

However, despite qualifying 14th, he was started from the rear of the field because before the Duels, NASCAR penalized Waltrip's team including Reutimann's for illegal fuel additives in all MWR cars.

At the same time the No. 00 car suffered an electrical problem during a wind-down lap.