NASCAR Cup

Rockingham II: Scott Wimmer preview

Scott Wimmer on Rockingham-- "Rockingham is a real challenging racetrack," said Wimmer. "The tires wear out so fast that you really have to manage the wear. It's a difficult racetrack for the crew chief to get a good setup in the car that the ...

Published: Nov 7, 2003, 4:31 PM

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Scott Wimmer on Rockingham--

"Rockingham is a real challenging racetrack," said Wimmer. "The tires wear out so fast that you really have to manage the wear. It's a difficult racetrack for the crew chief to get a good setup in the car that the driver is comfortable with. You really have three grooves to work with. Your goal is to get your car to work on the bottom of the racetrack because as other driver's tires wear out, that is the best place to pass because they can't hold their car on the bottom of the track. But, the track really has three working grooves and as the tires wear out, your car just seems to move up the track more and more. So, it will definitely be a place where, if you can get the bottom working for you longer than others, it will be a good day for sure."

Frank Stoddard on Rockingham--

"It's definitely a tire wear track," said Stoddard. "It's really important to get your car working on the long runs. The guys who do that, are headed for a great finish. I don't think that qualifying is as important here as it is at other places, especially if you have a good race car on the long runs because on the long runs the cars that aren't working that well will fall back and the cars that are working well will move to the front. Our goal will be to have the #22 the best on the long runs."

Scott Wimmer on Phoenix--

"I am excited about how we ran out there," said Wimmer. "The guys in the pits made great adjustments all day and kept getting the car better and better as the race went on. We had a few problems in the pits and that was all that kept us from getting a top five finish."

Frank Stoddard on Phoenix--

"I thought that was a great run for the CAT team," said Stoddard. "I am really pleased with the way it all turned out. The whole weekend went great. We rolled off the truck fast and kept getting faster and faster. By the end of practice on Friday, we had a top-10 car. I made the wrong adjustment just before qualifying and we ended up qualifying 28th. But, we recovered from that and got Scott a good racecar for Sunday. We made great adjustments on Sunday and Scott did a great job. To go out there and get a top 10 in our second race together, I am very pleased."

North Carolina Notables--

Wimmer scored his first top 10 finish in just his second start in the #22 Caterpillar Dodge. He was also the highest finishing rookie for the race at Phoenix International Raceway. Wimmer makes his third start in the #22 this weekend at Rockingham.

This weekend "The Rock" will host the 36th Annual Unocal 76 Pit Crew Challenge. Crew chief Frank Stoddard was the winning crew chief for the 2000 Unocal 76 Pit Crew Challenge Champions. Teams compete for the bragging rights by having the fastest overall pit stop time without penalty. Penalties are given for loose lugnuts, missing lugnuts, fuel infractions and pushing the car to name a few.

Crew chief Frank Stoddard has one Winston Cup win at the one-mile oval, better known as the "Rock." He was the winning crew chief for the 1999 Pop Secret 400 at North Carolina Speedway.

Cat equipment for the Pop Secret 400--

Wimmer and the No. 22 Caterpillar team are taking car #66 to North Carolina Speedway.

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