Dave Blaney
No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 – September 10, 2005
Venue: Richmond International Raceway – Richmond, Va.
NOTES:
This Week’s Race Car at Richmond International Raceway … Dave Blaney will pilot chassis No. 147 from the Richard Childress Racing stable. This is the same Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet Blaney raced last month at Indianapolis (started 30th, finished 30th) and Bristol (started third, finished 23rd.)
The Dirty South … In cooperation with the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 promotion, Blaney’s Jack Daniel’s Chevy will sport a one-time Drive-By Truckers paint scheme this weekend highlighting the band’s current release “The Dirty South.” The Drive-By Truckers are on tour in Europe and will pay in Odda, Norway on Saturday night, Sept. 10.
Double Duty for the Bullet … Blaney is also scheduled to compete in the Sept. 9 Emerson Radio 250 NASCAR Busch Series Race at RIR. Blaney returns to the seat of the No. 31 Whelen Chevrolet for Marsh Racing.
Make that Triple Duty, Make Way for My Segway … Blaney will take part in the first annual “TNT Chevy Make Way for My Segway Challenge.” The event is a first of its kind race partnering TNT NASCAR announcers and Chevy drivers with select local-market DJs from across the country. Each participant will individually race on a NASCAR and TNT branded Segway around an obstacle course of Chevy cars and tires, vying for the fastest time in their heat. Team member scores will be combined to determine the race winners. Following the race, each participant will autograph a Segway that will be donated to the Victory Junction Gang Camp. Blaney will be paired with a DJ from WSIX Radio in Nashville, Tenn.
Meet the Driver … Blaney will sign autographs at the Jack Daniel’s souvenir trailer on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 4 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. A limited number of tickets are available and can be obtained at the trailer the day of the race.
Up to Speed … The Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway will be televised live Saturday, Sept. 10 beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on TNT and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 26th of 36 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series events will take the green flag at 6 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 9 and will be broadcast live on TNT, MRN and XM Satellite Radio.
DAVE BLANEY QUOTES:
Based on how well the Jack Daniel’s Chevy ran at Richmond in May, you must be pretty excited to go back for the second race.
“I’m definitely looking forward to going to Richmond this weekend. We really need a good run to get things going. I think we’re capable of that. We’ve got a good starting point to go off of based on how we ran in May. We had one of the best cars in the spring race until we cut a tire with less than 100 laps to go. Even after that, we were still as fast as the leaders but we lost two laps and never got them back.”
Over the final third of the season, we go back to some race tracks where the team performed very well the first time around. Are you excited about going back to places like Richmond, Dover, Talladega and Atlanta?
“I don’t know if it matters a whole lot if you ran well at some of these race tracks the first time around. Maybe you feel a little better about your starting point for the weekend but that doesn’t guarantee how well you’ll run in the race. Really, I like all the tracks we’ve got coming up. I’m optimistic that we can do well at all of them. I think the engines are getting better. The motor I raced last weekend at California was the best one I’ve had all year so they are making ground in the engine department. If we can get our cars to handle a little better, we’ll be fine.”
RCR’s short track program has been very strong this year. Does that affect your outlook heading into Richmond or do you just go to a short track hoping to run decent and stay out of trouble?
“Some of the variables are taken out of the equation at short track races compared to a two-mile track or some of the other bigger places. The body doesn’t mean as much and horsepower doesn’t play as big of a role. It just cuts down on some of the variables. I’m not saying it’s easier to get going on short tracks but if you’re lacking in a couple of areas it doesn’t show up as much. Like I said, I’m looking forward to going to all the races we have left. If we get our cars handling good, we’re going to run good.”
As the final race heading into the “Chase for the NEXTEL Cup” are you more likely to give extra consideration to the drivers who are still vying for a spot in the Chase?
“It depends on the situation. If we’re running fifth, it’ll be a little different than if we’re running 25th. I don’t know if I’d give them more consideration. They might need to give me more consideration because they are the ones who need to take care of themselves – I don’t. At times, we might be able to use that as an advantage.”
