Race 2 Win: Aaron's 499 - Scott Wimmer Notes

Nextel Cup Series

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Aaron's 499 - Scott Wimmer Notes

Scott Wimmer CAT Racing Event Preview

Track: Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile tri-oval) in Talladega, Ala.
Race: Aaron’s 499 Date: 05.01.05

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

Notes:

The No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Charger at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend is Chassis No. 55. It was run as the No. 23 Dodge last year, but has since been rebuilt to comply with the new 2005 rules.

Teammates at Talladega … Mike Skinner is teaming up with Scott Wimmer for the second time this season by driving the No. 23 Bad Boy Mowers Dodge at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Skinner also raced the No. 23 car at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February, where he qualified 13th during time trials for the Daytona 500 and went on to finish third—neck-and-neck with the Dale Earnhardt Inc. cars—in the first Gatorade 150 Duel, which lined him up seventh to start the 47th running of the Daytona 500. With barely 13 laps left to run in the 500, Skinner was collected in the ninth and final caution of the race, relegating him from a top-10 run to a 30th-place finish. This weekend will mark Skinner’s 14th start at Talladega. To learn more about Bad Boy Mowers, go to www.badboymowers.com.

Burger to carry for 22 … Along with Skinner’s double duty this weekend, Chris “Goose” Burger will also work both NASCAR events this week. Burger will carry the rear tires for Skinner’s No. 5 Toyota Tundra team Saturday in the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway. Like Skinner, he will head to Alabama Sunday to assume the same role on the No. 22 CAT Racing team. Burger is originally from Tazwell, Tenn.

Meet Wimmer in Talladega … Wimmer will stop by his merchandise trailer on souvenir row just outside Talladega Superspeedway to meet fans and sign autographs from 12:30 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. CT Saturday, April 30.

Catch it … Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Aaron’s 499 is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. ET Friday, April 29, and will broadcast LIVE on SPEED (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio. The Aaron’s 499 is scheduled to start at 1:20 p.m. ET Sunday, May 1, and will broadcast LIVE on FOX (TV), MRN and XM Radio.

S. Wimmer on heading to Talladega Superspeedway:
“I am looking forward to going to Talladega because it is going to be like a second chance situation for the CAT Racing team and me. It will be our second restrictor plate track of the season. Earlier this year, although our finish didn’t show it, Bill Davis Racing put out some great race cars at the first superspeedway race of the year in Daytona. We ran competitively the entire time we were in Florida and were on our way to at least a top-10 finish when we got taken out in that late-race accident.

“We are taking a different car to Talladega, because as you probably guessed, the one we took to Daytona was a good one but isn’t anymore thanks to its tumbling act there toward the end of the race in February. Skinner also got caught up in a wreck after that, so both cars suffered so much damage neither will see any on-track action for a long time and probably never again. So we are both bringing new cars to Talladega this weekend.

“Another reason I look to this upcoming weekend as a second chance is because the No. 22 CAT Racing team isn’t heading to Alabama alone, and that makes returning to a superspeedway track twice as nice. Mike Skinner was a great teammate in Daytona and will be this weekend as well. Having a teammate does make a positive impact on a team. It is like that old saying, ‘two heads are better than one.’ Two cars are better than one. So it is nice to see Bad Boy Mowers come on board and hope we can show our gratitude by bringing home a strong finish for them, as well as Caterpillar.

“I really thought we were going to shake this bad streak in Phoenix, and it was looking that way until we got caught up in someone else’s mess again. I know we were just outside the top 10 when we were hit for the second weekend in a row. I think that is the hardest part to understand about what we are going through, because it isn’t like we are bringing this stuff on ourselves. We were inside the top 15 Saturday night, and my spotter and I were on our toes, but I just had nowhere to escape the hit. It was the same story in Texas. We’re definitely looking for a rebound performance this weekend. “

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