Chris Wimmer Survives Bristol Debut

Despite having run only nine laps of practice before an engine failure, MB Motorsports driver Chris Wimmer finished a strong 25th at the O'Reilly 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway Wednesday night. The Wausau, Wis., native said his brother, NASCAR Nextel Cup Series star, Scott Wimmer, helped him tremendously.

" Scott was a huge help," said the younger Wimmer. "Since the motor let go so early, we didn't have a lot of track time. (Scott) was able to show me where the faster Cup guys were getting in and out of the throttle in the turns and how much to gas it. It's really been helpful this season to have him help me out on the tracks he's run in the Busch and Cup Series."

The race itself was typical Bristol fare: a lot of contact and a lot of wrinkled sheet metal. For Wimmer, it was the first time this season his truck didn't go home in the condition it was brought to the track.

" The guys were ribbing me about finally having to change the sheet metal on the truck," he said with a smile. "I've been pretty fortunate this season in keeping the fenders on it, but Bristol's a little different. We didn't tear it up too bad, but we definitely traded some paint (Wednesday).

" It was pretty crazy out there," continued Wimmer, who had only been to Bristol as a spectator previously. "I've never seen anything like it, but that was probably the most fun I've had behind the wheel all season. We're running Richmond next and hopefully, Bristol was a sign that our short-track program is getting better."

MB Motorsports owner/crew chief Mike Mittler was very pleased with his young driver. "Considering he had almost no practice time and the fact we were running a backup motor, Chris wheeled that truck like a champ," he said. "I couldn't be more pleased with him and the effort he has shown this entire season. We've seen a lot of valleys and not many peaks, but he's extremely patient and knows you can't win every race. He's been running some smart races this season, but we've been off on some setups, but things are coming together and the world is going to see just how good a driver this kid is before the season's over, you can count on it."

The next NASCAR Craftsman Truck race will be the “Kroger 200” September 9, 2004 at Richmond International Raceway.

For more information on Chris Wimmer and MB Motorsports, visit them on the web at www.mbracing.net.