Wimmer making the most of his second opportunity

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Scott Wimmer might take issue with the old cliche that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression."

Left without a ride after scoring three top-10 finishes in 105 Nextel Cup starts, Wimmer has made the most of his second chance with Richard Childress Racing in the Busch Series this season. His 11th-place finish at New Hampshire last weekend snapped a streak of seven consecutive top-10s, including a third at Dover, fourth at Nashville, third at Kentucky and second at Milwaukee.

"I've been really happy with the way we've been running the last month," Wimmer said after climbing from the car following his qualifying effort Friday at Daytona International Speedway. "I'm disappointed we don't have any wins but we've been in the top five and scoring a lot of points. Eventually, we'll hopefully get to the winner's circle."

Wimmer went out first Friday and wound up eighth, giving him good reason to smile heading into Friday night's Winn-Dixie 250.

Wimmer rarely found a reason to smile in 2006, when he failed to crack the top 10 with Morgan-McClure, parting ways with that team after a 36th-place finish at Dover.

"I'm really competitive," Wimmer said. "I've been really competitive my whole life. When you struggle, you just want to quit. You want to find something else to do but I've been fortunate Richard's giving me this opportunity.

"I'm trying to make the best of it. We've been running well and I think we can run even better. I think that's just years of struggling. You think you can always do better. I'm optimistic we'll get there and we'll get wins and run in the top five each and every week."

Running a car from Richard Childress' stable has been a huge confidence boost for Wimmer.

"That's kind of why I stepped back down to the Busch Series and decided to drive for Richard," he said. "I knew his equipment was great and they were competitive each and every week.

"I think Richard had a lot more confidence in me than I did. He said we were going to go out and run well and compete for wins. So far, we've been able to do all that except win."

Wimmer said the flexibility he's been allowed as part of RCR has contributed to his more relaxed attitude in 2007.

"If I want to test the Cup car with the Cup guys, I can go test," Wimmer said. "Or if I just want to sit at a Busch race that I'm not running in, I can sit at a Busch race. He really gives me a lot of freedom and it's just a pleasure to drive for him and everybody at RCR."

Obviously, the equipment is part of the equation, but Wimmer believes some of his new-found success is partly due to his maturing as a driver.

"I think I've got a lot of good years left in racing," Wimmer said. "I think I finally hit the point where I'm racing smart, I'm giving good information and really am thinking a lot on the racetrack. I'm excited about the next few years. I think some interesting things are going to pop up here in the next few weeks, and hopefully they'll be good for me."

With eight top-10s in his 12 starts this season, Wimmer said he's hoping other owners are taking notice, which would mean this opportunity turns into something more lucrative, perhaps as a full-time Cup ride.

"You always hear rumors and things like that," Wimmer said. "It's kind of early for me. I'm not a Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Kyle Busch or anything like that, that has a real strong resume to go with him in the Cup Series.

"What I'm doing in the Busch Series, I think owners are taking notice. I don't tear up a lot of racecars and I can run up in the top 10 pretty much any racetrack we go to."