Wimmer gets new crew chief.

Scott Wimmer will have a new crew chief for his sophomore NASCAR Nextel Cup season in 2005 with the news that Bill Davis Racing has named Derrick Finley as the crew chief for the #22 Caterpillar Dodge.

Finley, who earned his mechanical engineering degree from the University of New Mexico in 1995, has served as the team's Race Engineer since August of 2003 and replaces Frank Stoddard, who left the #22 CAT team after the 34th round of the series at Phoenix International Raceway in November.

Prior to joining Bill Davis Racing, Finley has also had spells with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Travis Carter Racing.

"We're very pleased to have Derrick step up to this role," said team boss Davis. "He's been a part of the team for quite some time now, so he is familiar with our operation as well as what Scott needs in a car. Originally, we had planned on bringing a new crew chief on during the off-season but when we saw the chemistry that Derrick, Scott and the team enjoyed during the final races of the season we knew it would be shame to ignore that".

"We are all working really well together, Derrick has a great attitude," added Wimmer, who finished 22nd and 13th in his two races with Finely as his crew chief. "Everyone on the team is excited to move into our second year together. I'm looking forward to going back to tracks with some more experience under my belt and having Derrick's engineering background is a real plus."

As the sole full-time BDR team in 2004 and without the factory support from Dodge, Wimmer finished 3rd in the season-opening Daytona 500 but then scored just one other top ten finish all season. Qualifying for 35 of 36 points paying races, Wimmer finished 27th in the final Nextel Cup points table.