David Stremme, was born in South Bend, Indiana on June 19, 1977 is a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racecar driver. Stremme is considered by many to be a strong contender for the 2006 NASCAR Rookie of the Year.
Background
A third-generation driver, David is the eldest son Lou and Cindy Stremme who are both multi-time Track Champions at South Bend area tracks. Stremme began racing at the New Paris (IN) Speedway just before his 16th birthday and won his first Track Championship a few years later. He moved to the NASCAR-sanctioned Kalamazoo (MI) Speedway where he was noticed and brought to the American Speed Association (ASA) circuit. Stremme won the 2002 ASA Rookie Of The Year Award.
Ganassi Busch Series development
2003
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. He finished 14th and 14th in his next two start, before coming to 6th at Nazareth Speedway. He led 32 laps in that race, which were the first in his career.
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. Stremme's rookie season had only one DNF (Did Not Finish) (at Dover International Speedway). Excluding that race, his worst finish was 21st.
James Finch wanted Jamie McMurray back in the car for the final two races. Stremme was upset since he was 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. Stremme won the award after competing in only 18 of the 34 races.
2004
Stremme raced in the #32 TrimSpa Dodge in 2004. 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. 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 in points. Stremme's Achilles heel was despite 14 top-10 finishes, he had 9 DNFs (Did Not Finishes).
2005
Going full time with FBR in 2006. Despite their best intentions, Stremme Achilles' heel stuill stuck 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 announced David would go to the Cup series, driving the #40 Coors Light Dodge in 2006. In the meantime, Stremme some Cup starts. 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 in later races. Right-front tire problems gave Stremme and his #39 Committ Dodge, finishes of 42nd at Richmond and Miami, and a 36th at Charlotte.
Despite being with a solid #40 Coors Light Dodge that nearly won the championship in 2002, the team was in a revamping effort in 2006, with a new driver (Stremme) and a new crew chief (Jeff Vandermoss). The team has struggled to this point. As of 5/10/06, his best finish has been a meager 21st at Texas. The team has been shut out of the top 35 in owners' points, which means Stremme faces a tough task as a rookie: Qualifying for every race. However, Stremme has accomplished that task, and in early May, new crew chief Steven Lane took over, and the team has started to earn some type of consistency.
Craftsman Truck Series Career
Stremme has also made one Craftsman Truck Series start in 2006. Chip Ganassi agreed to a deal with Bobby Hamilton Racing to let Stremme drive the #04 Dodge HEMI Dodge in the spring Martinsville. However, that start went poorly. Stremme only qualified 28th and only four laps into the race was Stremme involved in an accident. After replacing the radiator, Stremme's team made laps and finished 32nd.