PERSONAL PROFILE
	Hometown: Mexico City, Mexico

Carlos Contreras took a deep breath before tackling the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, then finished a career-best 13th to begin the 2000 season. His top finish of last year, not surprisingly, came on a road course. He finished eighth at Watkins Glen International, where he led his only two laps of the campaign.

A 10th-place finish at Dover Downs International Speedway aided Contreras' runner-up finish in the CTS Rookie of the Year point standings. Contreras, the first Mexico-born driver to start a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race when he took the green flag in the 1999 finale at California Speedway, where he finished 14th, ended the season 17th in points.

Contreras, a two-time Mustang Cup champion in his homeland, competing mostly on road courses, totaled two top-10 finishes last season, in which he missed one race after an accident at Pikes Peak International Raceway. He moves to the Petty Enterprises No. 43 Dodge in 2001 after he also drove in the single-seat, Formula 3 Series.