Chris Wimmer to Make Thunder Valley Debut

There are certain races on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) circuit both fans and drivers circle on their calendars and one of those races is the O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday evening. NCTS rookie Chris Wimmer is one of those drivers anticipating his debut at Thunder Valley.

“This is one of those races you always make sure you’re home to watch,” said Wimmer, pilot of the #63 MB Motorsports Ford. “There’s always so much action and drama at this race, it’s a favorite for almost everyone who participates. I’ve never driven here, but I’ve been here before to watch (brother) Scott (Wimmer) race and I can’t wait to get out there myself.”

MB Motorsports left Bristol last year with a strong top-20 finish with David Stover behind the wheel. Team owner and crew chief Mike Mittler doesn’t see why the outcome will be any different with Wimmer behind the wheel.

“We’re all really pumped up about Bristol,” Mittler said. “Short-track racing under the lights is what NASCAR is all about and after the finish we had last year, we’re looking forward to Wednesday.”

Wimmer and MB Motorsports has seen an up-and-down season in 2004. On the larger tracks, Wimmer has a string of top-20 finishes; however, he has yet to finish a short-track race thus far. “Believe me, you’re not seeing Chris Wimmer making mistakes behind the wheel,” said Mittler emphatically. “With the new body style Ford gave us this year, getting the setups perfect has been difficult and without that big sponsor to provide us with more testing time, we may have missed a few things.

“But I have complete faith in Chris’s abilities and he knows we’re working hard to put the best possible equipment under him,” he continued. “He’s in the shop with us, 12 hours a day, six days a week, getting dirty with the rest of the team. We’re going to have that breakthrough race this season and we’re planning on it being at Bristol.”

Not having a primary sponsor has provided some concern for the team, but Wimmer said the support shown by their existing sponsors has been exemplary. “If we didn’t have sponsors like Dave Porter Truck Sales and Childs Tires, we probably wouldn’t be able to race in the first place,” he said. “And ENERPAC, Race Fans for a Cure®, Advanced Signs, and Tanner Racing Products have been great. Every little bit counts and I’m fortunate enough to be on a team sponsored by some very dedicated, loyal people.”

MB Motorsports continues to actively pursue new sponsors for the remainder of the 2004 season in an effort to run Wimmer in as many races as possible, but are looking now at getting 2005 fully funded. “We’re starting to focus our efforts on getting that big sponsor for next season,” said Mittler. “We’ve got a great team and a great driver and I know we’d make a potential sponsor glad they signed on with MB Motorsports. Hopefully, we can roll into Daytona for testing in January with the kind of resources that would make us a top-10 team.” Organizations interested in a potential marketing partnership with MB Motorsports should contact Bill Politsch at 1-800-467-2464 or Brandon Mudd at 636-219-9676.

The O’Reilly 200 presented by Valvoline Maxlife will be carried live on television by SPEED Channel at 9 p.m. local time and 8:30 p.m. local time by PRN Radio.