Friday
Dave Blaney, 2011 NSCS AAA Texas 500 Race Preview
Press ReleaseDave Blaney, Tommy Baldwin Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Advance:
Texas Motor Speedway
Race: AAA Texas 500
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: 34 of 36
Track: Texas Motor Speedway
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Date: November 5, 2011
Dave Blaney will attempt to make his second start this season at Texas Motor Speedway in the AAA Texas 500. He will pilot the Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) No. 35 Big Red Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event.
TEAM SWAP – TBR drivers Blaney and Geoffrey Bodine will swap numbers and crews starting this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway in an effort to continue to build TBR and give the team the best chance to qualify both cars for Sunday’s event. Dave Blaney will drive the No. 35 Big Red Chevrolet and attempt to qualify for the AAA Texas 500. Geoffrey Bodine will pilot the No. 36 Luke & Associates Chevrolet and is guaranteed a starting spot in Sunday’s 501-mile race.
CHASSIS NO. 297 – Blaney will compete in the No. 297 chassis this weekend. TBR purchased the chassis from Richard Childress Racing this season. Paul Menard drove the chassis prior to TBR.
TBR at Richmond:
Two NSCS Starts:
Best Start: 37th | Michael McDowell | November 2010
Best Finish: 30th | Dave Blaney | April 2011
Last TBR Event:
TUMS Fast Relief 500 | Martinsville Speedway:
Blaney recovered from an early race incident to finish 23rd in the TUMS Fast Relief 500 this weekend. The field started by owner points, which gave the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet the 32nd-place starting spot. Blaney quickly drove into the top-20 but was spun on lap 29. The spin resulted in a flat tire, which caused damage to the front, left suspension of the TBR Chevrolet. Blaney held on and finished 23rd in the 500-lap event at Martinsville Speedway.
Dave Blaney at Richmond
17 NSCS Starts:
Top-10 Finishes: 1 (2001)
Best Start: 12th | Richard Childress Racing | April 2005
Best Finish: 6th | Bill Davis Racing | April 2001
Last Race at Texas Motor Speedway: Blaney started from the 38th spot for the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. During an early pit stop, Tony Stewart and Blaney got into each other as Stewart came out of his pit stall. The No. 36 Accell Construction Chevrolet spun on pit road. The TBR team worked on the damage and the tight-handling racecar, and Blaney drove to a hard-fought 30th-place finish.
Two Chances for Kids Eat Free:
Bodine will join Blaney in his season-long effort to tally top-10 finishes. If either driver finishes in the top-10 this weekend in Texas, kids eat free (with an adult purchase) on Monday, November 6th. Golden Corral will also donate $5,000 to the DAV.
Local Golden Corral Locations
1801 South Main Street, Keller, Texas | 15 mi. from TMS
2605 E Grapevine Mills Circle, Grapevine, Texas | 20 mi. from TMS
7660 Grapevine Highway, North Richland Hills, Texas | 21 mi. from TMS
4675 Highway 121, The Colony, Texas | 32 mi. from TMS
In The Points: The finish at Martinsville allowed Blaney and the No. 36 team to hold onto the 32nd spot in both NSCS Driver and Owner Points. The team is now six points ahead of the No. 13, 43 points behind the No. 34 in the 31st position, and locked into the top-35 by 64 points. Blaney is ahead of Andy Lally by 83 points and trailing Casey Mears in 31st by 20 points.
Qualify for the Show: The No. 35 Big Red Chevrolet will have to qualify for the AAA Texas 500. There are 46 entries for the event. Bodine will compete against Trevor Bayne, Travis Kvapil, Michael McDowell, Joe Nemechek, Mike Skinner, Reed Sorenson, Scott Speed, David Starr, David Stremme, Michael Waltrip, and J.J. Yeley for the eight available starting positions.
Dave Blaney Quotes:
On Racing at Texas: “TBR has made some good strides at the intermediate tracks this season. The chassis we are running is new from RCR, so I am really excited to get behind the wheel and see how it drives. We have to qualify for the show, so we will be really focused on that Friday. Hopefully, we make it in and then can continue working on building the intermediate program.”
Tommy Baldwin Quotes:
On the Switch: “With Dave’s experience qualifying these new cars the last few years, we felt like swapping teams was best for our partners and will give us the best opportunity to get both cars in the field. We appreciate all that Dave has done this year to help the team meet our goal of finishing in the top-35 in owner points and that he has been a team player all year. Geoff hasn’t had a lot of seat time in these new Cup cars, which makes qualifying for these races even harder. I have faith in Geoff to get it done on Sunday and being able to focus on race day will reduce his learning curve.”
Lighthouse Mission:
The Lighthouse Mission logo debuted on the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway and will be present for the entire 2011 season. TBR has teamed up to help the Long Island based charity build awareness and raise funds for Lighthouse Mission. For more information on Lighthouse Mission, visit www.lighthousemission.net.
- Tommy Baldwin Racing, Press Release
Article Tags: "No Limits", AAA Texas 500, Chevrolet Impala SS, Chevy Impala SS, Dallas (TX), Dallas/Fort Worth, Dallas/Fort Worth (TX), Dave Blaney, Fort Worth (TX), NASCAR, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, No. 35 Big Red Chevrolet Impala SS, NSCS, TBR, Team Chevy, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway, TMS, Tommy Baldwin Racing
