Dave Blaney
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Pennsylvania 500 – July 24, 2005
Venue: Pocono Raceway – Pocono, Pa.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Pocono Raceway … Dave Blaney will pilot chassis No. 116 from the Richard Childress Racing stable. This is the same car Blaney raced at Martinsville in April (started 42nd, finished 34th). Since then, the car has been fitted with a new rear clip and a new body.
Stats Facts … In 11 starts at Pocono, Blaney has earned two top-10 and four top-20 finishes. Additionally, the veteran driver has completed 98.7 percent of the laps contested since June 19, 2000.
No DNFs at Pocono for the Bullet … Blaney is in good company with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth being tied for the second-longest streak among active drivers to be running at the end of 11 consecutive races at Pocono. Elliott Sadler leads the way with 13 straight finishes.
Meet the Driver … Blaney will sign autographs at the Jack Daniel’s souvenir trailer Sunday, July 24 from 10-10:45 a.m. A limited number of tickets are available and can be obtained at the trailer.
Up to Speed … The Pennsylvania 500 will be televised live Sunday, July 24 beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on TNT. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio will also carry the race broadcast live. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday, July 23 beginning at 12:10 p.m. EDT. TNT will televise qualifying the same day beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
DAVE BLANEY QUOTES:
Talk about the June race at Pocono.
“We struggled pretty bad at Pocono in June. We got tangled up with (Jason) Leffler and that was a bad break but we weren’t running well at the time anyway. We need to look at doing something different there. We need to be more competitive this time for sure. We learned what not to do so we’ll definitely stay away from that.”
A lot of teams commented after the June race that there were some problems with the rumble strips and there was some repaving and patching on the track. Was that a problem for you?
“We didn’t have any tire issues like some teams did. I don’t really know if it was just an air pressure thing, camber or the rumble strips. We just didn’t have our car very good. We bounced around way too much. Pocono is pretty rough but the way we had our car setup was just way too aggressive. We bounced around all day and couldn’t make any speed so we’ll do something different this time.”
After a long stretch over the last several months, you finally get a weekend off after Pocono. What are your plans for the off week?
“I know I’m going to spend that Saturday off at Sharon Speedway. We’ve got a special Jack Daniel’s night at the race track so that’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m not sure what else we’re going to do but I’m sure we’ll take the kids and do something fun. I know I’m not going to cut the grass or wash the car. I’m going to do something fun.”
With the amount of races on the schedule and the length of time in between weekends off, how much do you look forward to a little break in the schedule?
“I don’t really. When you sign up for this deal, you know what the schedule is and what you’re getting into. In my mind, I don’t look for the weekends off. A weekend off just kind of spoils you. Once we get racing, you’re racing every week. I’m up for that. I don’t really look forward to the weeks off. I look forward to the next race. When I quit racing, I can have all the time off I want.”
So when there is an off week, is your mind still in race mode?
“Pretty much. You have to keep right in it. The crew guys do. We might do some testing or whatever else we have to do during those few days off. Once the schedule starts in February there are only a couple weeks off anyway so you have to bear down and stay in race mode the whole way.”
