Scott Wimmer Looks To Capitalize On Golden Opportunity

Though not in the title hunt, Scott Wimmer may present the most intriguing storyline to this weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Darlington.

Wimmer (No. 5 Fastenal Motorsports Chevrolet) swaps teams for this race, going from his usual No. 40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet to the No. 5 JR Motorsports entry, a car that has two top fives and four top 10s in the five races it has run.

The success of the No. 5 Chevrolet gives Wimmer a golden opportunity to showcase his talents – but it also adds a heaping helping of pressure.

But Wimmer does have some Darlington success on which to rely. He has one top-10 finish in seven races, and performed well in his last visit to the track in 2006 despite a 26th-place finish.

In that race, Wimmer posted a Driver Rating of 83.0, an Average Running Position of 13.3 and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 82.3.

Wimmer has struggled this season, failing to crack the top 10 in any of his six starts. He also failed to qualify for another three races.

Speaking of pressure, Kyle Busch piled some more on Carl Edwards this weekend. Busch’s points lead grew once again last weekend at Richmond, this time by 20 points. It could’ve been worse had Edwards not finished second and led 71 laps.

The worry for Edwards is now Darlington, the scene of one of just two last-place finishes he has had in his NASCAR Nationwide Series career (he also finished last at Texas Motor Speedway in 2006). Last year, Edwards suffered an accident and completed only three laps.

Otherwise, he has had one top five and two top 10s in his four-race Darlington career. At Darlington, Edwards has a Driver Rating of 7.3, an Average Running Position of 21.0, 13 Fastest Laps Run and a Laps in the Top 15 percentage of 44.2.

Busch, on the other hand, has a Driver Rating of 104.1 and an Average Running Position of 10.2.