Cat Racing Event Preview
Bristol Motor Speedway
Food City 500
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee (.533-mile oval)
Race: Food City 500 Date: 03.26.06
Notes:
Bristol’s buggy…The No. 22 Caterpillar car scheduled to compete in the Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway this weekend is chassis No. 83. This is the same car the team finished 30th with after qualifying in the 24th spot at California Speedway earlier this season. It was also run in the second event at Texas Motor Speedway last season and driven to a 27th-place finish.
Atlanta’s action…Rain forced the postponement of the Golden Corral 500 and teams were made to wait until Monday morning to start the event. Dave Blaney and the Cat Racing team lined up 30th on the starting grid and ran into handling issues right from the start. An early pit stop resulted in additional problems when the Nos. 22 and 99 got together causing damage to the left side of the Caterpillar machine. The team was able to repair the damage but not without eventually going a lap down and finishing 32nd.
Blaney’s career stats …Blaney will make his 204th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start when the green flag drops Sunday afternoon. He made his first career NASCAR Cup Series start in October 1992 at [Rockingham] North Carolina Speedway. He competed for the first time in a Cup car at BMS during the spring race in 2002 in a Bill Davis Racing owned car.
Back for more…Blaney has made 10 NEXTEL Cup Series starts on the .533-mile Bristol short track and has earned three top-20 finishes. He has qualified in the top 10 three times, including top-five starts in both events last season. Blaney qualified on the inside of the front row for this race last year. The veteran driver has also run four Busch Series events on the high-banked oval, finishing as high as ninth.
Bristol’s broadcast schedule …Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Food City 500 is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. EST Friday, March 24th and will broadcast LIVE on SPEED (TV), PRN (radio) and XM Satellite Radio Channel 144. The 500-lap event is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. EST Sunday, March 26, and will broadcast LIVE on FOX (TV), PRN and XM Satellite Radio Channel 144.
Stop by and say hi…Blaney is scheduled to make another stop at the Caterpillar merchandise trailer to meet fans and sign autographs following the conclusion of practice Saturday afternoon. Stop by the merchandise trailer or visit www.daveblaney.com for updates and more information.
Dave Blaney on Bristol…
“If you can keep yourself out of trouble and finish the race, you’ll have a head start on most of the field when it comes to short-track racing, especially at Bristol. Half the time you feel like a hero just if you can come out of there with all of your fenders intact. It doesn’t matter where you start, it doesn’t matter where you sit in points, it doesn’t matter if you just won the last six races in a row, Bristol is a great equalizer and that’s part of what makes it a great place to race.”
Crew Chief Kevin Hamlin on Bristol…
“We’re taking the same car that we ran in California and you don’t need to make as many changes to the car as you might think going from a superspeedway to a concrete short track. You’ll change the A frame and suspension and add some blowers and things like that, but as far as adding any kind of reinforcement to the front and rear of the car, you can put all that stuff in and then just get lightly touched and the next thing you know the car’s in the wall. What you really better hope for is a little bit of luck when you’re headed to a place like Bristol Motor Speedway.”
