Scott Wimmer No. 22 CAT Racing Event Preview

Scott Wimmer No

Scott Wimmer No. 22 CAT Racing Event Preview

Track:  Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile triangle) in Long Pond, Penn.

Race:  Pennsylvania 500 Date: 07.24.05   

NASCAR Nextel Cup driver points position: 34th

Owner points: 35th

Notes:

• The No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge Charger at Pocono Raceway this weekend is Chassis No. 86. It was last run at Pocono Raceway in June when Wimmer and his CAT Racing crew put up their best qualifying effort of the season (11^th place) and then were well on their way to at least a top-15 finish in the Pocono 500, when a broken left-front control arm led them to a disheartening 36^th-place finish.
• Baby Wimmer … Scott and Jody Wimmer had a healthy baby boy Tuesday, July 19 around 6 p.m. ET.  His name is Hayden Philip and he weighed in at eight pounds, six ounces and was 21 inches long.  The mother and baby are doing fine and it is understood the father is on cloud nine.

• Preparing for the Brickyard … The No. 22 CAT Racing team and the No. 23 History Channel AutoManiac Racing team tested at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Indianapolis, Ind.) this past Monday and Tuesday (July 18 and 19).  On Monday, Mike Skinner—driver of the No. 23 AutoManiac Dodge—posted the fastest lap on the speed charts running at 180.692 miles per hour.  By the end of the day, Skinner and his No. 23 Bill Davis Racing team walked away with the two fastest cars on the track.  Wimmer and his No. 22 CAT Racing crew were 15^th fastest, running at 176.918 miles per hour.  Wimmer headed home Monday night to prepare for the birth of his baby boy.  Skinner stayed to test on Tuesday and went on to put up the eighth fastest lap of the day at 180.396 miles per hour.
• Wimmer on Trackside … Don’t miss Scott Wimmer’s visit with the Trackside folks and NASCAR fans at Pocono Raceway this Friday, July 22, on SPEED TV.  The show is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. ET.
• Meet Wimmer at Pocono Raceway … Before Wimmer climbs into the No. 22 Caterpillar car to race in the Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday afternoon, he is going to make a couple of stops in the morning to meet fans and sign a few autographs.  First, he will stop by the Nextel Experience, located in the mobile marketing display lot just outside the raceway, at 9:45 a.m. ET to greet race fans and talk about his race day ahead.  Then, he will stop by his merchandise trailer on souvenir row just outside Pocono Raceway to meet more fans and sign autographs from 10 to 11 a.m. ET.
• Gail Davis to ride with Petty & Friends … This weekend, Gail Davis is taking to the open road to join the 2005 Chick-fil-A Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America.  This will be Gail’s 10^th trip with the Petty entourage that is embarking on its 11^th annual ride across the country to help raise money and awareness for children’s charities.  The ride is scheduled to start in Lake Oswego, Ore., this Saturday, July 23, and will conclude at The Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C. on July 31.  To learn more, go to www.kylepettycharityride.com.
• Younger brother takes on Memphis … Chris Wimmer and Green Light Racing are joining forces again to run the No. 07 Chevrolet Silverado in the O’Reilly 200 Craftsman Truck Series race at Memphis Motorsports Park (Memphis, Tenn.) this Saturday, July 23.  It will be the second time this year Wimmer and Green Light Racing’s

Bobby Dotter and Gene Christensen have teamed up to run in a 2005 Craftsman Truck Series event.  They first teamed up at The Milwaukee Mile (Milwaukee, Wis.) in June when the younger Wimmer qualified the No. 07 Midwest Energy Solutions Chevrolet Silverado in the 17^th-starting position and went on to post a top-25 finish (22^nd place).  This Saturday’s run will be Wimmer’s second Craftsman Truck Series start at the Memphis Motorsports Park.  Last year, he drove at the Tennessee track for the MB Motorsports team.  He started 24^th but engine problems ended his day early.  In 2002, Wimmer also ran in an American Speed Association (ASA) race at Memphis.  Although he crossed the finish line on his roof after being involved in a last lap crash, he had a solid run, starting seventh and finishing ninth.  Qualifying for the O’Reilly 200 is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday, July 23.  The O’Reilly 200 race is scheduled to start later that same day at 8:15 p.m. ET.  It will broadcast LIVE on Speed (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Radio channel 144. To learn more about this weekend’s run and future updates on Chris Wimmer’s racing career, go to www.wimmerracing.com

• Get in on the action … Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Pennsylvania 500 is scheduled to start at 12:10 p.m. ET Saturday, July 23, and will broadcast LIVE on MRN (radio) and XM Radio.  Qualifying will also be broadcast on TNT (TV) starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.  The Pennsylvania 500 is scheduled to start at 1:40 p.m. ET Sunday, July 24, and will broadcast LIVE on TNT (TV), MRN and XM Radio.

“The CAT Racing team put out a great car in Pocono earlier this year.  We had a great qualifying run.  In fact, it is the best start we’ve had so far this year.  We just ran real competitive the entire weekend in practice, qualifying and during the race.  I look forward to returning there to see what we can do.  In June, the car was a little tight during the race, but was great right off pit road.  The longer runs definitely didn’t help us, but the guys worked real hard to get the car to come around to me and it did.  We really started making up ground halfway through the race and were on our way to at least a top-15 finish when we ran into problems with the left-front control arm, which broke and that ended our day earlier than we had expected.  The guys did a real good job getting the car back together and getting me back on track for a few more lap.  I think the guys are really looking forward to getting back there because we all feel like we have some unfinished business.”