ESPN Sprint Cup

ESPN.com preseason rank: No. 23

2009 Outlook

Entering its third season, Michael Waltrip Racing has a legitimate contender in David Reutimann, NASCAR's king of self-deprecation. Having concluded the '08 campaign as a driver for a team that was among the sport's most improved from the outset of the year, Reutimann is primed for a breakthrough year.

"This team just kept getting better and better each race all season last year," Reutimann said. "You could see the increased performance each week and feel the confidence from the guys at the track and back in the shop. That confidence built momentum, and that added up to performance on the track."

He'll switch numbers, sending the No. 44 to AJ Allmendinger over at Richard Petty Motorsports in favor of his father's racing number, 00. He will, however, retain the owner's points from the No. 44, guaranteeing his position in the first five races of the year.

Crew chief Rodney Childers is a key addition. Childers brings a wealth of knowledge from his days at the former Gillett Evernham Motorsports, where he worked with Scott Riggs and Elliott Sadler. He and Reutimann have history.

"It was looking like David was going to win his first-ever NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series pole at Kingsport, Tennessee, in 1999, but as fate would have it, I was the last one to qualify," Childers said. "David didn't win the pole that day, and he hasn't forgiven me since. He reminded me just the other day at breakfast. He's a good guy with a great sense of humor, and we have always got along. I think it will be a good fit."

2008 Review

By the season finale at Homestead in November, Reutimann had established himself as a top-10 threat, an inconceivable thought at the beginning of the season. He finished strong, earning his first career pole in the season's final race. Of his four top-10 finishes of the year, three came in the final 12 races.

Has a shot at the title if: His team continues to build on its considerable improvement and shocks the world.

He won't win the title because: Improved, yes. But not that improved.

-- Marty Smith