- Bristol’s Machine…The Caterpillar Racing team plans to utilize chassis No. 19 for the Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. This is the same car the team won the pole with at [Loudon] New Hampshire International Speedway last July.
- Atlanta Recap…The Caterpillar Toyota lined up in the 16th spot for the event at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dave Blaney, who had battled illness last week, wrestled a loose handling condition with the No. 22 Camry all day. He took the checkered flag in the 34th position.
- Blaney’s Career Stats…Blaney will make his 273rd career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when the green flag waves for the 500-lap event Sunday afternoon. He made his first career Cup Series start in October 1992 at [Rockingham] North Carolina Speedway and finished 35th (qualified 26th) for his first Cup Series start at Bristol in 2000. Like this weekend, Blaney was aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned machine.
- Blaney at BMS…Blaney has made 14 Cup Series starts at the .533-mile high-banked oval during his career. He has had quite a bit of qualifying success at the track, having qualified inside the top 10 on five occasions, including both races last season. Blaney has started as high as second (2005) and finished as high as 14th (2006). He has also scored two top-20 finishes in Cup Series competition at the speedway.
- BDR at BMS…Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at Bristol Motor Speedway since 1993 and have made 42 starts. Those drivers have posted two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes.
- Where to Find Dave…Look for Blaney to stop by the Caterpillar/Toyota Racing merchandise hauler to sign autographs this weekend. Please check with the trailer for exact times.
- Bristol Broadcast Schedule…Qualifying for the Food City 500 is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. ET Friday, March 14. The 500-lap event is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, March 16, and will broadcast LIVE on FOX (TV), PRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.
- Practice Makes Perfect…The Caterpillar Racing team has several tests planned in the upcoming weeks. The team will spend next Tuesday and Wednesday at Kentucky Speedway and the following week will be at both Nashville Superspeedway and Caraway (Asheboro, N.C.) Speedway.
Race: Food City 500
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway
Date: March 16th, 2008
Blaney’s Thoughts on Bristol…
“Obviously, our main goal again this week will be to get ourselves a finish that will get this Caterpillar Racing team back into the top 35 in owners’ points. We never thought we would be in this position at this point in the season, but it is what it is, and now it’s our job get things figured out and get this team locked safely within the top 35. Everyone involved with this Bill Davis team worked really hard in the off season, and I’m not sure how we got ourselves into such a hole. We’re a better team than we’ve shown, and we owe it to Caterpillar, Toyota and everyone that supports our race team -- not to mention ourselves -- to turn this season around. We’re not going to give up, just the same as we didn’t give up when the chips were down last year. But it sure adds a tremendous amount of pressure to the weekend when you don’t have a spot in the top 35 to fall back on. We don’t want to have to go through that again.”