Dave Blaney
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Banquet 400 – October 9, 2005
Venue: Kansas Speedway – Kansas City, Ks.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Kansas Speedway … Dave Blaney will pilot chassis No. 156 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. This is a brand new race car that Blaney tested two weeks ago at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in preparation for not only the Banquet 500 this weekend but for the UAW-GM 500 at LMS October 15.
Good Run for the Bullet and Company… Blaney’s 15th-place finish last week at Talladega was the Jack Daniel’s Racing Team’s best effort since finishing eighth at Atlanta in March.
Happy Birthday to You … Jack Daniel’s Racing Team scorer Tina Yocono will celebrate her 33rd birthday on Friday, October 7. Yocono not only scores the No. 07 Chevy but helps cook for all five RCR teams as well.
Up to Speed … The Banquet 400 at Kansas speedway will be televised live Sunday, October 9 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on NBC and be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 30th of 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events will air live on SPEED Saturday, October 8 at 11:30 a.m. EDT and will also be broadcast live on MRN and XM Satellite Radio.
DAVE BLANEY QUOTES:
A lot of work has been going on at RCR to improve the mile-and-a half package. How do you feel about that part of the program heading into Kansas?
“There has been a lot of work put into those types of cars. We tested this car at Charlotte two weeks ago and I feel really good about it. We’ve been doing a ton of work on our bodies and this will be the first time we get to run a car built this way. The motors have been getting better every week so those two things combined are what will help us at these types of tracks. Are we there yet? I don’t know. But they are making gains – that’s for sure.”
Will Kansas be the litmus test for that part of the program? Will a good run a Kansas tell you if you are on the right track?
“For sure but the test at Charlotte proved we are on the right track. It’s going to be a little different at Kansas because while those two tracks are about the same distance wise, they don’t race nearly the same. Obviously Charlotte is high-banked and really, really fast. Kansas doesn’t have as step of banking as Charlotte to hold you in the corners but the same principles will apply. You need lots of motor and a good aerodynamic balance. We’ve run decent on tracks like Kansas but not great. Once we race this car we’ll have a better idea.”
Considering those types of track have been your strength in the past, are you frustrated by your lack of results at the mile-and-a-half tracks this year?
“Well, we’ve run decent a couple times at those tracks this year but we haven’t set the world on fire by any means. There’s only so much you can do. There are tons of good cars and drivers out here. If someone is driving a car that is a little better than yours there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. All you can do is try and get the most out of yours and that’s about it. We’re gaining. We know we’ve got better engines than we’ve had and I think we’re getting some better bodies built, for my team especially, so we’ll go and throw it out there and see what we’ve got.
Is it frustrating to know that you’re really not that far off and that there’s not that much difference between a guy who is running fifth to a guy who is running 15th or even 25th?
“That’s the nature of the sport. You have 30 cars that are really close. Two-tenths of a second can get you from the top five to 30th. You hear everybody talk about track position and that’s big – being able to get yourself in position but then your car has to run good enough to stay there or advance. You’re not talking much and that’s frustrating when you’re only needing to gain a tenth or two.”
