Race 2 Win: Sharpie 500 - Scott Wimmer Notes

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Sharpie 500 - Scott Wimmer Notes

Scott Wimmer No. 22 CAT Racing Event Preview

Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval) in Bristol, Tenn.
Race: Sharpie 500 Date: 08.27.05

NASCAR Nextel Cup driver points position: 33rd (same as last week) Owner points: 33rd (same as last week)

Notes:

The No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Charger at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend is Chassis No. 82. This will be its second visit to Bristol this year. Scott Wimmer and team were strong contenders in April when they moved up from 32nd to 18th place less than 50 laps into the race, but their charge to the front was interrupted when a failed radiator took them behind the wall and into an unrecoverable 62-lap deficit. Chassis No. 82 also stills holds one of the best finishes for the No. 22 CAT Racing team so far this year, a 16th-place finish at California Speedway (The other 16th-place finish was at Michigan in June). The chassis also helped Wimmer jump up seven positions in the overall standings after the California event. Its most recent run was at Dover in June, when another car’s spin in front of the No. 22 BDR car forced Wimmer to check up to avoid the wrecking cars ahead of him. His quick reflexes were right on, and for a second it seemed he would avoid the cluster. Unfortunately, some of his fellow competitors didn’t react fast enough and one ran into the back of the No. 22, tossing it into another car. The team worked to recover from the hit and managed to finish the race (started 35th, finished 31st).

Team 22 testing ahead … Wimmer and the No. 22 Caterpillar team will have a one-day test at Richmond International Raceway Wednesday, Aug. 31, in preparation for the upcoming Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at RIR in September.

Sweet Bristol Busch Series stats … In six Busch Series starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Wimmer scored two top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish in the March 2002 race (started 17th) and a second in the August 2002 race (started ninth). He also finished sixth in the August 2001 race (started 12th).

Wimmer will be part of launch … Wimmer will be part of the driver lineup for the EA Sports NASCAR 2006: Chase for the Cup Launch Event to be held in conjunction with the Food City Race Fest in downtown Bristol, Tenn., Thursday, Aug. 25, starting tentatively around 6 p.m. ET. This will be the first time EA Sports has launched the game before the public. The launch event will pit NASCAR drivers against each other in a single-elimination, head-to-head competition of the new 2006 game. The winning driver will receive the priceless power of bragging rights. Along with Wimmer, other drivers scheduled to attend include Elliott Sadler, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears.

Meet Wimmer in Bristol … Wimmer will stop by his merchandise trailer on souvenir row just outside Bristol Motor Speedway to meet fans and sign autographs from 2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, Aug. 26.

Younger Wimmer races Wednesday … Chris Wimmer and Green Light Racing are joining forces for the fourth time this year to run the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado in the O’Reilly 200 Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday, Aug. 24. Wimmer teamed up with Green Light Racing’s Bobby Dotter and Gene Christensen to run at Nashville Superspeedway earlier this month, where he started 27th but fell out of the race early due to suspension problems and was forced to accept a 34th-place finish. Wimmer first teamed up with Green Light Racing this year at The Milwaukee Mile in June when he qualified the No. 07 Midwest Energy Solutions Chevrolet Silverado in the 17th-starting position and went on to post a 22nd-place finish. They teamed up a second time in July at Memphis Motorsports Park and scored a top-20 finish (started 24th, finished 17th). Qualifying for the O’Reilly 200 is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, Aug. 24. The O’Reilly 200 race is scheduled to start later that same day at 9:15 p.m. ET and will broadcast LIVE on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144. To learn more about this week’s run and future updates on Chris Wimmer’s racing career, go to www.wimmerracing.com.

Don’t miss the excitement … Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Sharpie 500 is scheduled to start at 6:10 p.m. EST Friday, Aug. 26, and will broadcast LIVE on TNT (TV), PRN (radio) and XM Radio. The Sharpie 500 is scheduled to start at 7:40 p.m. EST Saturday, Aug. 27, and will broadcast LIVE on TNT, PRN and XM Radio.

Quotes:
S. Wimmer on his last run at Bristol Motor Speedway:
“Although the numbers may not really show it, we really did have a great car the last time we raced at Bristol. In fact, it was so great that we’re taking it back there. We didn’t have the best practice with it earlier in the weekend, but come race time, I was surprised with how well it was handling.

“We just had the problem with the radiator early on in the race, and that sidelined us a good bit and unfortunately put us into an unrecoverable lap deficit. I thought we were going to have a pretty decent day before that happened with the radiator. I know we lined up just outside of the top 30, but as the race got going, the No. 22 Caterpillar car helped me get all the way up to 18th place less than 50 laps into the show.

“After the radiator fell out, the guys worked real hard to get us back out on the track and did a good job. It was our typical luck that racing went green for an unusually long period at Bristol and put us more than 60 laps off the lead lap. From that point on, it turned into more of a recovering process of what we had left to gain in regard to getting as many points as possible.

“I believe we also qualified in our race trim when we were there in April because rain clouds hung around the speedway a good portion of the day, and it was an impound event, so we were not sure if we would get qualifying in. So we just decided to get ready to race instead.

“The ironic thing was even after we had the incident with radiator and the guys fixed it, the car actually felt really well. Unfortunately, when you fall behind as far as we did so early in the race, especially at Bristol, it is really hard to rebound, so we used a good portion of the rest of the day to learn as much as we could to get ready for upcoming short tracks and to gather notes for our return there this weekend."

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