Misfortune struck early for the Caterpillar Racing team during the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Rear axle issues forced the team’s Toyota Camry behind the wall for a while early in the event Sunday, and despite running competitive times after the problem was repaired, very little attrition during the event relegated Dave Blaney to a 39th-place finish.
The No. 22 Bill Davis Racing team was scheduled to be the 16th of 45 teams to take to the track for qualifying Friday afternoon, but Mother Nature had other plans. After the first 12 cars made their two-lap qualifying run, rain showers blanketed the Brooklyn, Mich., area and NASCAR officials were forced to cancel the qualifying session. The field was lined up based on current owners’ points, and the Caterpillar Racing team was set to start Sunday’s event in the 29th position.
The green flag waved for the start of the event, and the team’s hopes for another good finish were dashed almost immediately. On lap two, while on the backstretch of the two-mile track, Blaney’s Toyota Camry suddenly spun. Luckily, no contact was made with another car or the wall, and he was able to drive the car into the pits for service from his awaiting crew. The crew changed all four tires, and Blaney tried to leave the pits, but it was obvious there was something wrong with the car. After spending several laps working on what appeared to be an issue with the left rear axle, the team decided to push the car behind pit wall and into the garage, where it changed the left rear axle and drive plate.
Blaney returned to the track on lap 26 of the 200-lap event, 23 laps down to the leader. While it was obviously not going to be the day for which they were hoping, crew chief Tommy Baldwin and the team made the most of the situation at hand. Blaney communicated to the crew in the early laps that the handling of the Caterpillar machine was loose, and Baldwin called for track bar and air pressure adjustments during the next stop. Blaney held the 41st spot at the halfway point of the race, and during several segments of the race, he ran speeds nearly as quick as those of the leaders.
Baldwin and the crew made minor changes to the handling of the car throughout the event, as Blaney reported to them in the second half of the race that the car didn’t rotate well enough in the center of the corners. There was little attrition during the event, which is what the team needed to pick up additional positions, and when the checkered flag waved, Blaney held 39th place. Despite the day’s misfortune, the BDR team remains in the 29th spot in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Owners’ points.
The Caterpillar Racing team will go road course racing next weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Qualifying for the Toyota Save Mart 350 is scheduled for Friday, June 20. Coverage of the event is scheduled for a 5 p.m. ET start and will broadcast on TNT (television), PRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio. Before heading to the West Coast, Blaney will return home to Hartford, Ohio, to race 360 Sprint cars with Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne in the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 360 Challenge Tuesday evening at Sharon Speedway, the track he co-owns. The event is the first of a three-race challenge.