Scott Wimmer is searching the garages for a new ride following his sudden release from Bill Davis Racing. Credit: Autostock

Wimmer surprised by release from No. 22

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Scott Wimmer says he was very surprised to open a letter saying he wasn't going to drive the No. 22 Dodge in 2006.

Wimmer, 29, had expected to return to Bill Davis Racing for a third Nextel Cup season.

"I didn't think I was going to be getting let go," Wimmer said. "[The team] said a couple of weeks ago I was going to be in the car. Whatever. It's racing. It's how this sport is."

	Scott Wimmer's season got off to a bad start at Daytona. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Scott Wimmer's career stats Category Cup Busch Starts 77 104 Wins 0 5 Top-5 1 17 Top-10 3 37 DNF 16 16 Avg. Start 28.7 21.6 Avg. Finish 25.1 15.2 ALSO •   Bill Davis Racing releases Wimmer from No. 22 •   Silly Season: Keep track of all the driver changes

With no Nextel Cup activity scheduled at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, Wimmer says he will use the time to try to find work for next season.

With just four races to go in the season, Wimmer wishes he had been let go earlier in the year. Since then, several prime jobs have been filled, but Wimmer says he can still find a quality Cup ride.

"There is a lot of stuff going on right now," Wimmer said. "I wasn't concentrating on anything and then as soon as I found out I was getting let go, I started looking on the Internet. Maybe someone else will decide to retire."

Wimmer knows that getting let go by BDR may prove beneficial to his career. The team has operated this year without any manufacturer support, and BDR has been embroiled in legal disputes with Dodge for much of the year.

Those distractions, coupled with the team's single-car status, have helped prevent it from scoring a single top 10 all year.

BDR announced plans for a second car with Michael Waltrip as the driver in 2006, and Wimmer says he was hoping things would improve.

"We had a lot of distractions over here and it's hard to overcome those when you're a single-car team," Wimmer said. "Next year, I thought, getting another car and maybe getting the Dodge lawsuit straightened out, I thought that would help us out a little bit, but I won't see the benefits of that."

Since it is so late in the season, Wimmer knows finding work in the Cup garage won't easy, which might force a return to the Busch Series, where he has five career wins.

"If worse come to worse, go back down in the Busch Series," Wimmer said. "I had a lot of success there. I think we'll find a solid Cup team and work well with them right off the bat."