Brian Scott, driver of the #2 White Tail Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway on March 23, 2013
Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Brian Scott may have found the home he’s been looking for to get his NASCAR career jump started. In what is now his fourth full Nationwide Series season, 2013 is the year that Scott needs to show he belongs, and so far he’s doing just that. Paying dividends is an off-season move from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing

Scott began driving early on for Braun Racing in 2009 and 2010 and then later the power house Joe Gibbs Racing in 2011 and 2012. While Scott did have limited success along the way, it was never consistent and Scott never seemed able to take advantage of the highly successful program that Gibbs has in place for the Nationwide Series. Crashes have marred many events along the way, which have eliminated potential for higher finishes throughout the course of a given season.

So, entering 2013, Scott made the move to RCR and has partnered with it’s No. 2 team with crew chief Phil Gould atop the pit box. While there are some new faces, it’s in part the same team that propelled Elliott Sadler to multiple wins and a runner-up for the 2012 Nationwide Series championship. The goal entering 2013, is consistency as a  front-runner and simply finish races, something that hasn’t always been the case. Said team owner Richard Childress:

“If you watch how good he ran last year,” Childress said, “he’s got plenty of speed. We’re working with him on getting him to be able to finish these races. He’s got a level of experience and I see speed in him. If you see speed in somebody, it’s easier to …tune them in to the racing side of it than to get them to go faster.”

And Scott has also set realistic expectations as well:

“We’re going to start moderately because it’s a new team,” he said. “You’ve got to establish lines of communication and see how everybody works together. You really have to jell. The crew chief and the driver have to get on the same page; we’re going to have to establish that relationship (and) really work on our communication.

 

“It’s really hard to step into a role without a little bit of experience in that position and just go out there and produce. I think we’re going to have to go out there and start working well together, and then we move our expectations.”

So how exactly have things started out? in the seasons’ first five races, Scott has produced five top-tens. In 2010 alone, Scott had a grand total of five top-tens, in 2011 he had seven, and in 2012 he had 11. So Scott is clearly off to the best start of his Nationwide career and if this team continues to grow and get even better, Brian Scott may very well be battling for a championship when it’s all said and done.