Athletes - David Stremme

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	Athletes - David Stremme

David Stremme, was born in South Bend, Indiana on June 19, 1977 is an untalented NASCAR Nextel Cup racecar driver. Stremme is considered by many to be a strong contender for the 2006 NASCAR Rookie of the Year.

Background

Stremme began racing at his local dirt tracks and was noticed and brought to the American Speed Association (ASA) circuit. After Stremme was the 2002 ASA rookie of the year, Stremme was ready to begin a NASCAR career.

Ganassi Busch Series development

Stremme, then 25, had caught the eye of Chip Ganassi, Nextel Cup series owner. Ganassi convinced James Finch, the owner of the #1 Dodge in the Busch Series to let Stremme drive some races for the team.

It was an instant success. Stremme started 15th in his debut at Nashville Superspeedway in April 2003. He made his way through the field and finished a solid 7th in the race. Stremme quickly caught on to the Busch Series. He finished 14th and 14th in his next two start, before coming to 6th at Nazareth Speedway. He led 32 laps in that race, the first in his career.

Stremme continued his rampage through the season. He finished 4th after starting 3rd at Nashville in June. He started 4th and finished 3rd at the Milwaukee Mile. He had a 10th at Kentucky and a 9th at Memphis. Perhaps most amazing for a rookie, Stremme only DNFed (Did Not Finish) once (Dover Downs). Excluding that race, his worst finish was 21st.

However, trouble was brewing. James Finch wanted Jamie McMurray back in the car for the final two races. Stremme was upset, having been extremely consistent and in the middle of a fight for the Busch Series Rookie of the Year with Coy Gibbs. Stremme moved to Braun Racing for the remaining two races. As a payback to Stremme, his #30 Unsponsored Dodge was adorned with the decals "I Just Want to Race the Car". Stremme led 48 laps at Rockingham, finishing 5th. At Miami, Stremme drove the #30 Sport Clips Dodge home in 14th, enough to secure the Rookie of the Year. That was an amazing fact, since Stremme was only in 18 of the 34 races.

Stremme was even more excited about 2004. His #32 TrimSpa Dodge was ready for a good season, and it showed early. Stremme started 4th and finished 6th in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He received his best qualifying effort to that time at Rockingham, starting on the outside pole. Stremme then finished 3rd at Las Vegas and 5th at Darlington. However, the magic faded slowly. Despite winning his first career pole at Milwaukee, and finishing that up with a second, Stremme's team began to run mid-pack with a handful of top-10s mixed in.

Ganassi saw that owner Todd Braun was ready to make a switch, putting Shane Hmiel in the car. Ganassi made an alliance with FitzBradshaw Racing to put Stremme in the #14 Navy Chevy. Despite a 7th at Memphis, Stremme's next laps would be with the #14 team at Atlanta. It was a solid race for him, as he started 11th and finished 8th. At the end of 2004, Stremme's 12th place at Miami secured him a top-10 finish.

Stremme's Achilles heel was despite 14 top-10 finishes, he had 9 DNFs (Did Not Finishes). His team decided eliminating DNFs would be their goal and that the wins would come that way.

Despite their best intentions, Stremme still had the heel stick out. He had 9 DNFs on the season. Many of those were right-front tire problems. Regardless, Stremme still had some good runs. He finished 3rd at Las Vegas and Talladega and 5th at Milwaukee and IRP. His inconsistency, though hurt as well. He would constantly be winning quality one week and junk the next. Ultimately, the 9 DNFs and 4 fewer top-10s left Stremme 13th in the points.

Move to the Nextel Cup

In June 2005, Chip Ganassi finally announced David would go to the Cup series, driving the #40 Coors Light Dodge in 2006. In the meantime, Stremme would make some Cup laps. He drove the #39 Navy Dodge into the field at Chicagoland Speedway. He started 31st and would finish 16th in his debut. However, Stremme would face the same problems he had with his Busch car. Right-front tire problems gave Stremme and his #39 Committ Dodge, finishes of 42nd at Richmond and Miami, and a 36th at Charlotte.

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Athletes - David Stremme

Background

Ganassi Busch Series development

Move to the Nextel Cup

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