Reutimann not getting carried away

Reutimann is in his third year in the Sprint Cup series and is currently among the top-12 in the championship. In the last eight races, counting from the season finale at Homestead last season, he has taken two pole positions and he is currently the leading points scorer for Michael Waltrip Racing.

But despite his good recent runs, topped by a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas, the 39-year-old says results are not necessarily coming easier now than in his two previous seasons with the team.

He says things can turn around quickly so he cannot afford to let down his guard now that results are coming his way.

"I don't know if it's easier, but I do feel like, 'Man, don't enjoy it too much, because it can go the other way really quickly.'" said Reutimann. "You don't want to get too comfortable in your situation.

"There's always somebody that's going to come along that maybe can do it better and maybe can do it faster and maybe do a better job.

"That's kind of what drives me. Don't ever let your guard down, and you just keep going as hard as you can all the time. It's just like there's a bulldozer or something behind you and if you slow down or stop a little bit it's just going to run over you. Never let your guard down, even know sometimes you want to.

"You just want to sit back and look around and enjoy it a little bit because you know how hard it is to do."

Two years ago in his rookie season, Reutimann was unable to qualify at Texas due to the weather conditions and he missed the race as his car was outside the top-35 in the car owner standings. He says he still looks back at those tough times during his early days in the Sprint Cup and appreciates how they've been able to turn things around.

"It's one of those things where I think people tend to forget that it wasn't that long ago when we were struggling to absolutely make races," said Reutimann. "You work so hard to try to get your organisation to where you don't have to worry about just making races to get yourself in the top-35.

"Going out there and getting poles shows that you're doing what you're supposed to do and I think about those times often. I'll think about it again tonight how things have changed in a short amount of time and I'm very grateful for those changes."

Reutimann finished tenth on his most recent visit to Texas Motor Speedway in November last year.