Late-Race Tangle Ruins Strong Run For Wimmer's Key Motorsports Debut

Daytona February 16, 2009: It was an inspiring run for Scott Wimmer in Saturday's Camping World 300, as the No. 40 CARFAX Chevrolet fought back from a last place starting spot to breach the top-15; Unfortunately, a wreck with four laps to go was too much to recover from, and a probable top-10 turned into a 32nd place finish.

Taking the green from the 43rd position after a nail biting qualifying session which sent seven cars home, Scott Wimmer proved that the No. 40 CARFAX Chevrolet was clearly not meant to run in the back of the pack. Within 16 laps, Wimmer was already pegged as one of the biggest movers of the race after racing into the 27th spot.

On lap 27, a caution was thrown for debris, and Wimmer entered the pits in the 25th position. A lightening fast stop by the pit crew, consisting of members from the No. 33 RCR Cup crew, allowed Wimmer to make up five spots, exiting in the 20th position.

After 26 laps of intense racing, the yellow was dropped once again as a result of a spin in turn 4, and the No. 40 CARFAX machine entered the pits 24th, and once again five spots were gained by the crew.

When an accident on the frontstretch brought out the yellow on lap 90 after only five laps of green flag racing, Wimmer, who was one of the fastest cars on the restart and in early runs, had already raced into the 16th position. Taking the green in the 13th position, Wimmer held steady in the top-15, claiming he "still had some left" to advance even further.

Wimmer was about to break into the top-10 when the No. 34 of Tony Raines cut a tire with four laps remaining, shooting up the track into the Key Motorsports Chevy and pushing him into the outside wall. Contact with the 34 also bent the car's front right fender, which sliced through the tire. With no caution called, the team was unable to get the car back on track before the checkered flag flew, and the No. 40 CARFAX Chevrolet placed 32nd.

Regardless of the end result, Key Motorsports considered the Camping World 300 to be an indication of the team's potential for success in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and heads toward next weekend's race with high hopes.

Scott Wimmer, Driver:

"I feel real good. We went down to Daytona and made the race, which is always tough. They sent 7 cars home, so to make the race was a big deal. We ran really well during the race. We got into the wall with 4 to go running in the top-15, and looked like we could possibly get a top-10. Unfortunately we got in a little tangle and wound up in the wall, but overall I was real happy with the weekend. I felt we worked real well together for the first time, made the race, and ran well, so that was a big boost for our whole team. I'm looking forward to California."

Tommy Morgan, Crew Chief:

"In my opinion we had a very successful weekend. We went through tech without a glitch, we had extra help from RCR, Scott did an awesome job, and the pit crew was good. We had a shot to run in the top-10 or better, then towards the end of the race we got pushed into the wall with 4 to go, but that's just the way things happen."