Dave Blaney and the Caterpillar Racing team qualified in the 18th spot for the Goody’s Orange Crush 500 at Martinsville Speedway. After running well for much of the event and leading several laps in the process, a punctured radiator ended the day early for the team.
Fast in the practice session prior to qualifying, the team had to qualify for the race on time because it sat outside the top 35 in owners’ points. Blaney was the 42nd of 47 competitors to take to the track for qualifying Friday afternoon. His speed of 94.874 mph around the half-mile oval was enough to place the team solidly in the field. Blaney was set to line up for Sunday’s event in the 18th position.
The green flag waved for the start of the event, and Blaney patiently made his way past slower traffic. The first of 18 caution flags waved on lap 21 of the 500-lap race, and the Caterpillar Camry held the 14th spot. Blaney let the team know that the car’s handling had become slightly loose off the corners in the early stages of the race, and the team made its first pit stop of the day on lap 46. After the crew secured four fresh tires on the car and filled the tank with fuel, Blaney returned to the track in the 22nd position.
Once again, Blaney worked his way past slower cars, all the while avoiding incidents on the track with the help of spotter Mike Brown. The Cat Camry’s handling became tight in the middle of the corners near the lap-100 mark, and a pit stop during a caution period several laps later enabled crew chief Tommy Baldwin to make a track bar adjustment to the car. After a quick stop by the crew, Blaney returned to the track for the lap 111 restart in 20th place.
Blaney was running in the 16th spot at the halfway point, but he was still fighting a bit of a tight handling condition. Additional changes were made during a lap 263 pit stop, and with 200 laps remaining in the race, the No. 22 Toyota held the 13th place. Another opportunity to pit came during a caution period on lap 330, and because not all the teams opted to make pit stops, Blaney returned to the track in 23rd place. Blaney continued picking off his competitors, and by the time the 16th yellow flag of the day flew on lap 362, he had worked his way into the top 20. Baldwin opted not to pit this time around and the Caterpillar machine led laps 364 to 367.
The green flag waved for the restart with Blaney remaining at the front of the field. Unfortunately, upon the restart, the veteran driver communicated to the crew that he had a problem with the car. Blaney made several laps around the track before bringing his Camry down pit road to the attention of his crew. After diagnosing that the problem was terminal, the disappointed team pushed the car to the garage area. Further investigation revealed that the front bumper bar had somehow punctured the radiator. The team was credited with a 43rd-place finish.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will travel to Texas Motor Speedway next weekend. Qualifying for the Samsung 500 is scheduled for Friday, April 4. Coverage of the 334-lap race is scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET start, April 6 and will broadcast on FOX (television), PRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio. The Caterpillar Racing team is scheduled to spend two days testing at Kentucky Speedway before heading to Texas.