Dave Blaney's Michigan Preview
Location: Michigan International Speedway
Date: Sunday, August 17th, 2008
Michigan International Speedway Notes
- Michigan’s Machine…The No. 22 Bill Davis Racing team plans to run chassis No. 34 for the 3M Performance 400 this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. This is the same car the team utilized for the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
- Blaney’s Career Stats…Dave Blaney will make his 290th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when the green flag waves for the event Sunday afternoon. He made his first career Cup Series start in October 1992 at [Rockingham] North Carolina Speedway and finished 33rd in his first Cup Series start in Michigan in 1999. Like this weekend, Blaney was aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned machine.
- Blaney at Michigan…Blaney has made 17 Cup Series starts at two-mile track during his career. The veteran driver has started as high as fourth (2001) and has finished as high as sixth (2001, 2007). Blaney has scored three top-10 finishes and five top-15 finishes at the Brooklyn area track in his Cup Series career.
- BDR at Michigan…Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at Michigan International Speedway since 1993 and have made 42 starts. BDR drivers have two pole positions, two top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes at the track.
- Bring Your Sharpie…Look for Blaney to stop by the Caterpillar/Toyota Racing merchandise hauler to sign autographs on Sunday. Please check the trailer for exact times. Blaney is also scheduled to make an appearance at Toyota PitPass Sunday morning.
- More Dirt Tracking…Blaney will return to his hometown Tuesday to compete at Sharon Speedway, the track he co-owns, for a night of autographs and E-Mod racing on the 3/8-mile dirt track. Blaney will be joined by Kevin Harvick and Kenny Schrader for that event. Blaney will also spend Tuesday and Wednesday testing the No. 22 Camry at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis. Next Tuesday, Blaney will head to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., for the third and final event in the Ollie’s 360 Challenge. Blaney, along with Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart, will race against the region’s top 360/358 drivers.
- Watch and Listen…Qualifying for the event is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. ET Friday, Aug. 15. The 200-lap event is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 17, and will broadcast LIVE on ESPN (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.
Blaney’s Thoughts on the 3M Performance 400…
“We ran pretty well last time we were in Michigan, but we had rear axle problems, and that got us a bunch of laps down right from the start. After we got that problem taken care of, the Caterpillar Camry was pretty good, so we’re looking forward to getting back there. We haven’t been very happy with our performance of late, and we have run pretty well at MIS in the past, so Michigan has the potential to be the place where we get this team back on track. Just a couple of weeks ago, we were solidly inside the top 35 in owners’ points, but we’ve had a couple of less than stellar performances, and now we’ve lost a lot of the cushion that we worked so hard to get. There are a couple of teams that have really stepped up their programs behind us in points, so we need to get back to running the way we know we are capable for the remainder of the season.”
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