Dave Blaney and the Caterpillar Racing team lined up in the 34th spot for Sunday’s Auto Club 500.  Only 87 laps had been run before rain showers forced the postponement of the event to Monday morning.  After working through some handling problems throughout the day, Blaney drove the Cat Pavers Toyota to a 30th-place finish.

Inclement weather blanketed the Fontana area Friday, and a mixture of rain and problems with the track surface forced NASCAR officials to cancel all on-track activities for the day.  Qualifying for the Auto Club 500 was scheduled for that afternoon, so the field was lined up based on the final 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owners’ points standings.  Blaney and the Caterpillar Racing team lined up 34th on the starting grid for Sunday’s event.

The green flag waved for the start of the event, and Blaney let the team know that his Cat Pavers Toyota was not handling as well as he would like.  Crew chief Tommy Baldwin called for a track bar adjustment and the removal of a spring rubber from the right rear during the first pit stop of the day on lap 17.  Blaney returned to the track for the lap 19 restart, but the run was cut short by a multi-car accident several laps later.  NASCAR officials waved the red flag while track workers cleared the track of cars and debris.  The No. 22 Caterpillar Racing team made a second pit stop on lap 24, and Baldwin continued to make adjustments to the handling of the car.

Rain forced officials to display the caution flag 40 laps into the 250-lap event, but the precipitation was light and the race resumed eight laps later.  Blaney was still working with a very tight handling racecar and running in the 34th spot when it began to rain again.  The red flag was again waved, and the 43-car field was parked on pit road.  As the showers began to lighten, NASCAR officials made efforts to dry the track but ran out of time for the evening.  The remainder of the Auto Club 500 was postponed until Monday morning.

Baldwin and the crew put their heads together and decided to make wholesale changes to the Cat Pavers Toyota once the event resumed Monday.  The changes made during the first pit stop of the morning seemed to help, and Blaney drove into the 28th place just before the 100-lap mark.  Unfortunately, the car began to lose grip again, and Blaney fell several positions.  Not one to give up, Baldwin continued in his efforts to help the balance of the car during every pit stop.

Blaney stood in 33rd position on lap 219 and was able to overtake several cars before the end of the race.  The Cat Pavers Toyota took the checkered flag in 30th place.

The Sprint Cup Series will travel to the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway next weekend for the UAW Dodge 400 Sunday, March 2.  Qualifying for the event is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 29.  Coverage of the 267-lap race is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. ET start, and will broadcast on FOX (television), PRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.