Wimmer has his best showing for a rookie

A few weeks after a DUI charge, he finished third in the Daytona 500.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Scott Wimmer was sitting at home a few weeks ago, worrying about his NASCAR future.
He was charged with drunken driving, the series was considering sanctions, and his sponsor was deciding whether to let him get behind the wheel for the season-opening Daytona 500. He wasn't even allowed to drive to the track.
On Sunday, he nearly drove to Victory Lane.
Wimmer took a chance and then the lead with 30 laps to go before Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. tracked him down, leaving the 28-year-old newcomer to finish third in the Great American Race.
Still, it was the best showing ever for a rookie at NASCAR's premier event.
"It's a big momentum boost," Wimmer said. "I've been through a lot lately and I've kind of been down on myself."
Best of rookies
Wimmer was the lone bright spot for a rookie class touted to be one of the best in recent years. It also was a huge reprieve for the driver whose license was revoked last month following an accident in High Point, N.C.
Wimmer had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit when he hit a rock in a pickup truck registered to his Bill Davis Racing team, flipped and then hit a road sign, police said.
He also was charged with hit and run after the truck was found overturned with three missing tires about a mile from his home. Officers said they later found Wimmer hiding behind a bed in his home.
A hearing is scheduled for March 10, after which NASCAR will decide whether to penalize him.
"You sit at home a couple of days wondering if you're ever going to drive a race car again, the only thing you know how to do," Wimmer said. "I'm very apologetic. I just made a major mistake in my life. I embarrassed a lot of people.
"But I don't make second mistakes."
Crashes
Wimmer started 26th in his No. 22 Caterpillar Dodge, but moved to the front after a series of crashes -- some of them involving his fellow rookies.
On lap 169 of the 200-lap race, Wimmer's crew chief called for a two-tire change on the final pit stop -- most of the other leaders were changing all four -- and that put Wimmer several car lengths in front of Stewart and Earnhardt.
But when he left the pits, he couldn't find anyone to help him draft. So it didn't take long for Stewart and Earnhardt to catch Wimmer, then leave him behind.
"Four tires would have helped, but they were just too strong when they were teamed up together," Wimmer said. "I really could have used a draft partner."
Draft partners
But rookies rarely get draft partners, especially not in races as big as the Daytona 500, where Jeff Gordon had been the highest-finishing rookie when he came home fifth in 1993.
"It's hard to learn what you need to learn to put yourself in all the positions and see what your car's going to do because nobody wants to let you in the group," said rookie Scott Riggs, who finished 34th. "It's the rookie plague. Everyone wants to hold you back as much as they can."
Riggs and Derrick Cope were involved in the first of three accidents. Later in the race, rookies Johnny Sauter and Brian Vickers started a 12-car melee sent defending race champion Michael Waltrip flipping through the infield grass.
"This race is always tough on rookies," said Vickers, who finished 39th. "You can't get any experience for this kind of racing except here. And it's hard to gain that experience because people don't want to work with you because you're a rookie."