Dodge Intrepid drivers lead an impressive Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year battle for top honors in the '04 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. With three of the five Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year candidates at the wheel of Dodge Intrepids, it's a good possibility one of these talented young men will accept the trophy in New York in December.
Both Kasey Kahne, who replaced semiretired Bill Elliott as driver of the Evernham Motorsports No. 9 Dodge Dealers Intrepid, and Scott Wimmer, who stepped into the Bill Davis Racing No. 22 CAT-Sponsored Intrepid after the departure of Ward Burton, are currently leading the rookie points (at the Easter break). NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standout Brendan Gaughan also joined the NASCAR rookie battle at the wheel of the Penske South No. 77 Kodak Easy Share Dodge.
In past issues of Mopar Muscle, we've looked into the background of both Kasey Kahne and Brendan Gaughan, but this month we focus on 27-year-old, Wausau, Wisconsin, native Scott Wimmer. Wimmer is the latest in a long line of Wisconsin racers to make their way through the stock car racing ranks to NASCAR's premier series. Wimmer got the attention of Bill Davis and Jack Roush Racing during the '00 American Speed Association (ASA) season when he won his first two races. (The ASA series helped launch the careers of NASCAR veterans Mark Martin, Johnny Benson, and former series champion Rusty Wallace.) Wimmer's family-backed team fielded their own cars, built them in their Wisconsin shop, drove the tow rig to the track, and then defeated other teams with more financing and manpower. That was enough to persuade Davis to start up a NASCAR Busch Series program and get Wimmer under contract to drive. Bill Davis was the team owner that put Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham together, only to lose them to better financed teams. Davis was not letting Wimmer get away!
The talented short-track veteran replaced Ward Burton in Bill Davis Racing's No. 22 Dodge after spending two seasons at the wheel of the team's NASCAR Busch Series program. Showing he was worth a chance in NASCAR's premier series, Wimmer delivered a third place finish to the team in his first run in the season-opening Daytona 500. Wimmer's personality fits the same description as Kahne: soft spoken, almost shy, still getting comfortable with the media, but very easy to talk to one-on-one. Wimmer is teamed in 2004 with veteran crew chief Frank Stoddard, the man who helped Jeff Burton to some of his most productive seasons. Generally not a good qualifier, Wimmer seems to have a knack for getting the most out of his car on long runs during a race, much like legends of old David Person and Richard Petty. Wimmer is not the type of driver prone to rip off six or seven wins a year, but a win or two per season every year is a good possibility for him.
With some luck and his already proven driving talent, Scott Wimmer will likely become another longtime member of Dodge's powerhouse driver lineup.