Buzzie Reutimann [son David run’s the #87 Hill Bros car for NEMCO in a limited basis] will miss son David’s NASCAR Southeast series race tonight in South Boston, Va., but he’s on the mend after a crash put him in Tampa General Hospital. “`I’ve got to get rested up and feeling better by next week, because we’re going to Nashville with the All-Pro [Southeast series] car,” Buzzie said Friday from his garage in Zephyrhills. “`We’ve never won on a superspeedway, but we’ve done some things to the car to make it faster, so we’re looking forward to it.” One of the area’s best known short-track racers, Buzzie suffered a broken and badly cut right leg May 22 at East Bay Raceway when a piece holding the driveshaft in place on his IMCA open-wheel modified car snapped, causing part of the universal joint to penetrate the driver’s compartment. He was released from the hospital Wednesday but has since experienced pain in his ribs and difficulty breathing. He’s taking antibiotics for fluid in his lungs, although he believes the main problem is a rib fracture that didn’t show up on X-rays. Buzzie says the IMCA car is brand new and the accident was caused either by a defective part or the driveshaft bottoming out on the dirt track. (Tampa Tribune)(5-31-2003)
