David Reutimann To Reporters: Michael Waltrip Racing Departure Hurts

David Reutimann, unceremoniously dumped from his Michael Waltrip Racing ride this week in favor of Mark Martin, told reporters Friday at Texas Motor Speedway that he’s struggling with his firing.

“It’s hard for me not to take it personal,” Reutimann told several media members, including Landmark Newspapers’ Dustin Long. “I’m an emotional guy anyway, so it’s hard for me not to take everything personal. People telling me it’s just business, really doesn’t make it any better. It’s still a disappointment.”

Reutimann said he has no job prospects for next season at this point, partially because he was fired so late in the year. He said it was an option to try and take someone else’s ride – as he inferred Martin did to him – but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that.

“If there were to be something out there, it’s going to involve you doing the same thing that got done to me,” he told reporters. “I’m not exactly up for that, either. I don’t know what will happen. It may come down to something like that. When one person’s gain is another person’s big loss, you’ve got to weight the pluses and I’m not sure there is a lot.”

Reutimann added: “People looking out for No. 1 is what got me in this situation to begin with. That’s the mentality. I’m no angel, but I’m just struggling a little bit with it.”

For Reutimann’s complete comments (and there were many more), check out Long’s blog over at the Landmark Newspapers site.