Dave Blaney
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: UAW-GM Quality 500 – October 15, 2005
Venue: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway … Dave Blaney will pilot chassis No. 156 from the Richard Childress Racing (RCR) stable. Built new for 2005, this is the same race car Blaney raced to a 25th-place finish last weekend at Kansas Speedway.
Testing One, Two, Three, Testing … Blaney and the Jack Daniel’s Racing Team tested at LMS Tuesday, September 20 in preparation for the UAW-GM Quality 500.
See the “Buckeye BB” … Blaney’s 11-year-old son Ryan will race his Bandolero Thursday night, October 13 on the speedway’s quarter-mile oval located on the front straightaway. The younger Blaney won the Bandolero “Bandit Class” season finale from the pole August 16 at the speedway’s “Summer Shootout.”
Meet the Driver … Blaney will appear at the Jack Daniel’s Experience Friday, October 14 from
3 -3:30 p.m. The Jack Daniel’s Experience will be located outside turn 1 on speedway grounds. Autographs will be available on a first come, first serve basis.
Up to Speed … Live television coverage of the UAW-GM Quality 500 begins Saturday, October 15 at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on NBC. The race will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 31st of 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races is scheduled for Thursday, October 13 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast live on SPEED, PRN and XM Satellite Radio.
DAVE BLANEY QUOTES:
The Speedway has been ground again since the race in May. You tested at Charlotte last month and didn’t have any problems but a lot of other drivers did. Do you foresee the track surface as a potential problem?
“Well, right now the track surface seems smoother than it did before. I don’t think the roughness was a problem in May. What ruined my day was a piece of the race track coming up and going through the radiator. I doubt we’ll see that again this time because obviously they’ve gone back and repaired those places where they had trouble in the spring. The weather will also be a lot cooler so that should keep us from seeing that type of thing. As long as we don’t have any of those issues, everything should be fine.
In the spring, you talked about how big of a difference the extra 100 miles made. What’s the difference for a driver between 500 miles and 600 miles?
“It just feels like a normal race. You definitely feel the extra 100 miles at the 600 in the spring. The worst part of it for me in the spring is all the waiting around to get going. This weekend will feel like a normal night race. They changed the track and I don’t really know what to expect from it under race conditions. We tested last month and it was really fast. Based on the amount of guys who wrecked cars at the test I think there are a few questions about whether or not the tires will be able to hold up so it’s going to be interesting.”
You had a really good test at Charlotte last month. Can you talk a little bit about the car you’re taking this weekend?
“Wind tunnel-wise, this is the best car we’ve had all year. It ran good down there and responded very well to the changes we made during the test. We feel good about it. “
