Dave Blaney's Richmond Preview

Race: Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400

Location: Richmond International Raceway

Date: May 3rd, 2008

Richmond International Raceway News and Notes

Richmond’s Ride…The Caterpillar Racing team plans to utilize chassis No. 40 for the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. This car was run earlier this season at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where Dave Blaney qualified in the top 20.
Blaney’s Career Stats…Blaney hopes to make his 277th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when the green flag waves for the 400-lap event Saturday evening. He made his first career Cup Series start in October 1992 at [Rockingham] North Carolina Speedway and finished 34th (qualified 32nd) for his first Cup Series start in Richmond in 2000. Like this weekend, Blaney was aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned machine.
Blaney at RIR…Blaney has made 15 Cup Series starts at the .75-mile track during his career. The veteran driver has started as high as third (2002) and finished as high as fourth in 2006. Blaney has scored two top-10 finishes at the Richmond-area short track in his Cup Series career.
BDR at RIR…Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at Richmond International Raceway since 1993 and have made 39 starts. Those drivers have posted one top-five finish and six top-10 finishes at the track. Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have started from the pole on two occasions.
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.
Practice Makes Perfect…The No. 22 Caterpillar team is testing at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway Tuesday and Wednesday before heading to Richmond. The team will also take part in the two-day test at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Concord, N.C., next week.
Richmond Broadcast Schedule…Qualifying for the Crown Royal 400 is scheduled to start at 5:40 p.m. ET Friday, May 2. The 400-lap event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday, May 3, and will broadcast LIVE on FOX (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Blaney’s Thoughts on Richmond…

“We typically run pretty well at Richmond, and we’re certainly hoping to continue that trend this weekend. It’s a great track to race on, wide enough to find places to pass and small enough to put on a great show for the fans. Everybody loves racing in Richmond.

“Obviously, last weekend was a pretty bad one for this Caterpillar Racing team, and while we have to put it behind us and concentrate on what’s ahead, we can’t forget it. We need to remember what it felt like to load our things up early, and we need to remember that we owe ourselves and our sponsors more than that so that it doesn’t happen again. This next stretch of races has, in the past, been some of our better tracks, but you can’t take anything for granted at this point.”

Dave Blaney - Richmond International Raceway