Dave Blaney and the Caterpillar Racing qualified in the 16th spot for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.  Despite battling an illness all week long, Blaney was able to complete the entire race Sunday and drove the No. 22 machine to a 34th-place finish after battling a loose handling racecar for most of the day.

Blaney was the 27th of 48 competitors to take to the track for his qualifying run Friday evening, and the ailing veteran stepped up to the plate during his two-lap qualifying effort.  Blaney posted a speed of 181.776 mph on his first lap around the 1.54-mile oval, which was quick enough to earn the Caterpillar Racing team the 16th spot on the starting grid.  The team’s qualifying effort was its best of the season thus far.

A morning snow shower altered Saturday’s practice schedule, and the Cat team’s plans were changed a bit too.  After practicing during the first part of the session, Blaney turned the wheel of the Caterpillar Toyota over to 2002 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Mike Bliss for the remainder of practice.  The team also asked Bliss to remain in Atlanta until Sunday in case Blaney needed a relief driver during the race.

The green flag waved for the start of the Kobalt Tools 500 and Blaney, who was feeling much improved from the previous day, drove into the top 12 by the seventh lap of the 325-lap event.  Unfortunately, the car became a bit of handful not long after, and Blaney communicated to crew chief Tommy Baldwin that he could not believe how loose the car had become.  Blaney asked Baldwin to make a big change during the first pit stop of the day.  In addition, leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. was setting a blistering pace in the early laps.  He overtook the No. 22 car on lap 35, putting the Cat team one lap down.

Debris on the track resulted in the first caution flag of the race on lap 38.  Baldwin called for four fresh tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment when the car entered the pit stall several laps later.  Blaney lined up in the 24th place for the lap-43 restart was able to pass Casey Mears to put himself in position for the Lucky Dog award.  Throughout the day, the car seemed to perform pretty well during the first laps after a restart, and this was no exception.  Unfortunately, the Cat Camry’s handling once again became extremely loose.  A caution and subsequent pit stop before the 100-lap mark enabled Baldwin to make additional adjustments to the car in an effort to tighten the handling.

Blaney, like much of the field, fell several more laps down to the leader throughout the race, and the Caterpillar Racing team worked diligently to help the balance of the car.  Changes with just under 50 laps to go made the machine slightly better, but it wasn’t enough to enable Blaney to move through traffic like he needed.  The checkered flag waved with Blaney sitting in 34th place.  There were only 13 cars remaining on the lead lap at the conclusion of the race.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will travel to the high banks of Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway next weekend for the Food City 500 Sunday, March 16.  Qualifying for the event is scheduled for Friday, March 14.  Coverage of the 500-lap race is scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET start, and will broadcast on FOX (television), PRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.