Track: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile oval) in Indianapolis, Ind.
Race: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard Date: 08.07.05
NASCAR Nextel Cup driver points position: 34th Owner points: 35th
Notes:
- The No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Charger at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend is Chassis No. 65. It has not been on track this year, but it has been raced in the past as a Bill Davis Racing Dodge and since been rebuilt to comply with the new 2005 rules.
- Skinner & Wimmer play it again Mike Skinner and Scott Wimmer will team up for the fifth time this year this weekend at IMS. Skinner will again pilot the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge in this weekends NASCAR Nextel Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Skinner most recently raced the No. 23 AUTOMANIAC car in the Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway in June, (started 31st, finished 34th). Skinner was scheduled to race the same car at Dover International Speedway just a couple of weeks before that, but rain forced NASCAR to cancel the Friday afternoon qualifying session, putting the brakes on the No. 23 BDR teams plans to race that weekend. Since Skinner and the No. 23 BDR team do not run a full-time schedule in the Nextel Cup Series, they did not have enough owner points to make it into the show at Dover. This weekends run at IMS is the makeup date for the missed Dover race. Skinner also piloted the No. 23 BDR Dodge in April at Talladega Superspeedway, where he was taken out of contention in the 25-car pileup on lap 132 of the 194-lap event (started 34th, finished 42nd). In May, he piloted the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC car at Lowes Motor Speedway where he qualified 23rd, but engine woes during the race ended his night early and relegated him to a 41st-place finish. In February, he had an impressive performance in the No. 23 during the two weeks of Speedweeks competition, qualifying 13th during the time trials and finishing thirdneck-and-neck with the Dale Earnhardt Inc. carsin 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.
- Preparing for the Brickyard The No. 22 CAT Racing team and the No. 23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Racing team tested at Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 18 and 19. Skinner posted the fastest lap on Mondays speed charts with a speed of 180.692 mph. By the end of the day, Skinner and his No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team had the two fastest cars on the track. Wimmer and his No. 22 CAT Racing crew were 15th fastest, with a top speed of 176.918 mph. Wimmer headed home Monday night to prepare for the birth of his son, Hayden, who was born on Tuesday just before 6 p.m. ET. Skinner also tested at Indianapolis on Tuesday and put up the eighth-fastest lap by the end of the day (180.396 mph).
- Meet Wimmer at The Brickyard Wimmer will stop by his merchandise trailer on souvenir row just outside IMS to meet fans and sign autographs from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 6.
- Davis completes Petty road trip Gail Davis finished the 2005 Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America this past weekend. It was Gails 10th trip with the Petty entourage that embarked on its 11th annual ride across the country to help raise money and awareness for childrens charities Saturday, July 23, in Lake Oswego, Ore. The ride concluded at the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., Saturday, July 31. To learn more about this years ride and to see pictures of the ride, go to www.kylepettycharityride.com.
- Watch and Listen Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is scheduled to start at 11:10 a.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 6, and will broadcast LIVE on TNT (TV), IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channel 144. The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is scheduled to start at 2:40 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 8, and will broadcast LIVE on NBC (TV), IMS Radio Network and XM Radio Channel 144.
Scott, what are your thoughts as you prepare to head to Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
We had a good test at Indy a few weeks ago, and thanks to Mike Skinner and The History Channel, we are not going at it alone this weekend. Skinner had a real good test at Indy, and it helped me and the guys on the CAT Racing team learn more about our car and setting it up. It was good to have this past weekend off as well. The team and I had some good runs in the last few weeks at Chicago and Pocono and had to overcome a lot to get those better runs under our belt. Its all helped us better ourselves in the process. Weve taken a few gambles here and there, but it has really paid off for us. Now, I just want those runs to continue as we zero in on the last part of the season and bettering our points position.
It is great. I knew it was coming and going to happen. I thought I was prepared and knew what it was going to be like, but the last couple of weeks have surpassed most of what I perceived it was going to be like. Time has gone by fast, too. It has been really nice to be able to get this extra time with him and Jody. Everyone was saying to me, You know, you couldve timed this a little better to have the baby during the off-season. Looking at it now, we couldnt have asked for better timing. He came just a little less than a week before our last free weekend of the season, so we couldnt have asked for better timing on his part. I love being a dad, and I just look forward to what is yet to come. I also am very blessed because weve had family in town to help us with everything, so life is definitely good. No question about that.