Scott Wimmer: GNC 250 preview

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Racing at Milwaukee is very special for driver, Scott Wimmer. Although he hails from Wausau, Wimmer

considers the Milwaukee Mile his hometown track.

"I lived in Milwaukee for two years when I was racing in the Hooters series and I really loved that town," said Wimmer. "I thought I might live there for a while but I ended up having to move to North Carolina instead. I actually have a lot of family, aunts and uncles that live in Milwaukee, so it does feel like a homecoming of sorts.

"Plus my fiancée went to school there, so between the both of us, we have a lot of friends and family in the area. If I win this weekend, I can promise you it will be a very big victory lane celebration.

"Because I consider Milwaukee my hometown track, everyone thinks I have a lot of laps logged there. Truth is, this will only be my fifth time racing there.

"The first time I competed there was in a late model race in 1997 where I finished eighth. I ran the ASA race in 2000 and the Busch event in 2001, and both of those events, my car broke. In last year's Busch event I finished third, so I feel really confident that we'll be able to contend for the win this year."

Wimmer knows his No. 23 Stacker 2 team has a very good chance at winning at Milwaukee this weekend, despite being one of the toughest tracks on the Busch circuit.

"I think we have a great shot at winning this weekend at Milwaukee," said Wimmer. "We're bringing a brand new car there this weekend and I know we've got a strong package for the race. I also seem to run well at flat tracks, like the wins at Phoenix and Homestead we logged last year.

"I really like racing at Milwaukee even though it is a tough track to get around, "said Wimmer. "Since there isn't a lot of racing done there all year long, it can take awhile to get your car adjusted as the line moves around a lot. "The track gets really greasy and your car loses grip throughout the race, but I feel our team can get the cars handling better than others when the conditions are really tough."

The Stacker 2 team has been on an upswing lately, posting a 15th, eighth and fifth-place finishes in the last three races and feel a win at Milwaukee can put them back into the thick of the points race.

"Right now we are less than 300 points out of first, so I don't think it is impossible to win the championship with that deficit," said Wimmer. "Obviously, it has to do with how well we do and how the other teams fare, but it isn't like it is entirely improbable either. I'll just continue to think positively and see where we end up at the end of the season.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say I think the whole team is surprised that we haven't logged our first win this year," said Wimmer. "Everyone in this sport has their up and down seasons, but I just feel that we had such great momentum at the end of the season and am really disappointed that we couldn't carry that into 2003.

"I think switching from Pontiacs to Chevrolets hurt us more than we thought it would. We couldn't use the notes we had in the past to go by, so it we had to start from scratch. We have been working on a lot of different areas and feel we've gotten a great baseline now so we

can be strong right off the truck each weekend.

"We've got all the pieces in place now and I know everyone on this Stacker 2 team is real hungry for a win this weekend at Milwaukee," said Wimmer. "All I know is the fans in Wisconsin are the best and I'd love to be able to win in front of them."