At Martinsville in April, David Reutimann finished ahead of his team owner, Darrell Waltrip. Credit: Autostock

Reutimann aiming to beat owner Waltrip

CONCORD, N.C. -- Owners and their drivers have raced each other plenty of times in NASCAR's history.

But these days, it's a rarity. The sport has gotten too big and too complex for an owner to be able to get behind the wheel.

This weekend, though, an owner and driver will go at it. Darrell Waltrip, the owner, will compete against David Reutimann, his driver, in Friday night's Power Stroke Diesel 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

ALSO •   Reutimann's Driver Page •   D. Waltrip's Driver Page •   Entry List: Power Stroke 200 •   Recap: Last year's race

That leads to some interesting questions. Let's say there is a green-white-checkered finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park, that tough .686-mile short track, with Waltrip leading and Reutimann in second.

Does the driver move the owner?

"If he likes to get a regular paycheck, I wouldn't expect him to," Waltrip said.

Reutimann, a rookie in the Craftsman Truck Series, wasn't sure he could even make a bump-and-run on the wily veteran.

"That's a tough one," Reutimann said. "No. 1, he's not the type of guy who's going to fall for a whole lot. Guys from the old school who have had that stuff done to them, they're a little bit more difficult to move."

But if Reutimann can get to DW, who knows?

"We have to run it off in there and see what happens," Reutimann said. "I want to win a race, and I want him to feel like he's made the right move hiring a driver."

That's fine and dandy, Waltrip said. But who signs the paychecks?

"I know he wants to win. I know I want to win," Waltrip said. "But put your name on the line."

Reutimann, though, is smart enough to realize who the boss is.

Darrell Waltrip finished 24th at Martinsville in April. Credit: Autostock

"I wouldn't put myself in the position where there's a possibility of taking him out," Reutimann said. "Or him and I both out. That would be probably one of my worst career moves I could think of."

No, that wouldn't be a banner day on the ol' Reutimann household.

"I think it's safe to say he wouldn't be re-upping his membership to the David Reutimann fan club, for sure," Reutimann said.

But what of the shoe were on the other foot? Would Reutimann expect Waltrip to be knocking on the door?

"Yeah, absolutely," Reutimann said.

He's wrong, the boss said.

"There was always an unwritten code of ethics where you didn't take out the leader," Waltrip said of the days when he was winning three NASCAR championships. "This bumping-and-running stuff and knocking guys out on the last lap and, 'Oh, that's just racing.' That's just BS is what I say."

Reutimann isn't buying it. Would the owner want to suffer the embarrassment of losing to his young driver?

"He doesn't want to have to hear the fallout for the next month from me outrunning him, you know?" Reutimann said.

But Reutimann could tell Waltrip the only way for the owner to win would be to move the driver.

"His answer would be, 'Well, that's OK because I'm the boss,'" Reutimann said.

Waltrip keeps it straight. He'll race you hard, but he won't move you.

"If I can get a fender up alongside of you, hang on," Waltrip said. "But I'm not going to boot you in the rear end and get you sideways and go by waving."

Especially not his driver, for Waltrip has too much respect for Reutimann. The relationship between an owner and a driver can be difficult, even complex. The owner is usually paying the driver a lot of money and expects results.

But the owner also realizes it's not always the driver's fault. And since Waltrip is a driver himself, he understands exactly what Reutimann may go through.

2004 CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES •   Results •   Standings •   Schedule •   Best 25 Over Last Six Races •   Best Starts •   Best Finishes

"I can always see both sides," Waltrip said. "I can always look at it from a driver's perspective. I can always look at it from an owner's perspective. I can also look at it from an analytical perspective, where I'm standing up there watching (on TV)."

Waltrip said he talks with Reutimann a lot, but not about driving. The discussions are more about how to handle certain situations in a given race weekend.

"He's smart enough to know what to do with it," Waltrip said.

But simply because Waltrip was a driver doesn't make him more patient as an owner, Reutimann said.

"They're very competitive," Reutimann said. "They want their team to win just like they want to win. ... They know racing inside and out, and they know all the little subtle stuff that happens out there."

A former driver as an owner might be more understanding.

"If you have a driver (as an owner), you know why you're not winning," Reutimann said. "It's not going to be your day every time."

This year, Reutimann hasn't had many days that belong to him. He won the pole and finished third at Atlanta and finished third at Texas, but it's otherwise been a season of struggles.

Still, Waltrip has been impressed.

"He's exceeded my expectations," Waltrip said. "I knew he was a good racecar driver. Not only that, the thing I love about David is a good person. He's a Christian guy, he's a good family man. I love his dad, Buzzy, who I've known for years and years. He's the right kind of guy for me.

"I love the way he races. He races hard. He's a rookie, and I remind him about that all the time. He gets frustrated with himself because he doesn't think he's accomplished what we expected of him."

But nothing could be farther from the truth, Waltrip said. Having to learn a new team and a new crew chief while driving at new tracks would be tough for anyone.

Reutimann has been just fine, Waltrip said.

But can he beat his owner?