Catchfence

Driver Makes Front Row Debut at Favorite Track

Statesville, N.C. (August 31, 2010) - NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney will make his driving debut with Front Row Motorsports this weekend at one of his favorite tracks. The 47-year-old Hartford, Ohio, native will strap in to the No. 38 A&W All American Food Ford at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Blaney has the opportunity to qualify the No. 38 Fusion to run the full Emory Healthcare 500 on Sunday night.

The 1.54-mile track in Hampton, Ga., is a favorite of Blaney’s. He has two top-10 finishes there and has qualified in the top-10 six times. He earned a career-best finish of eighth at the track in 2005.

Comments from A&W All American Food Ford team driver Dave Blaney on joining Front Row Motorsports and Atlanta Motor Speedway:

“I think this is a great opportunity. I haven’t gotten the chance to race a lot this year. So, with one of the cars coming open here, it’s a good chance for me to get in and race. It seems like they’ve got a pretty good group here – three teams and two really good drivers in David (Gilliland) and Travis (Kvapil). So, I’m looking forward to it.

“Before the (August 15) Michigan race, I left the No. 66 car because we never got to race an entire race. It was just time to give up on that. I honestly don’t remember if I called (Front Row Motorsports owner) Bob Jenkins or if he called me. But I’ve talked to Bob a lot in the last year or two, and we finally got together.

“Front Row has had a few different guys and lots of different cars plugged into their program, so I think they’re pretty set on what they do setup-wise and how to approach a track. So, I’ve just got to go and fit in. There may be some little details to help me go faster, but I’ll just try to fit in with what they’ve got and hopefully we can run hard.

“Atlanta was a favorite of mine for a long time. We had some years there that were really good, and I had a chance to win a couple races there. I’ve always liked the shape, the layout of the place.

“It’s difficult to practice and qualify during the day for a race that will be run at night. But, you just look back on past experiences and say, ‘OK, the temperature changes this much,’ and you know how much the track changes along with it. Obviously, since we’re kind of new together that might be a little more difficult, but we’ll just rely on the team’s experience and go from there.

“Even though I’m new to the team, I don’t think we’ll skip too much of a beat. With the Car of Tomorrow, I know what I need to feel if a car is going to qualify good or if it will race well in a long run. So, that ‘feel’ part of it, I hopefully have a handle on, and that will help things along.”

About Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing:

Front Row Motorsports was formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Since that time the team has entered a car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2010, Front Row Motorsports will partner with Ford and Roush/Yates Engines to field a three-car operation based in Statesville, N.C. The team fields the Long John Silver’s Ford driven by Travis Kvapil, the Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland and the A&W All American Food Ford driven by Dave Blaney.

- Breaking Limits Marketing for Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing, Press Release