CAT RACING EVENT PREVIEW
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
NEIGHBORHOOD EXCELLENCE 400
Track: Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. (one-mile oval)
Race: Neighborhood Excellence 400 Presented by Bank of America Date: 06.04.06
DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY NEWS AND NOTES
Dover Ride…The No. 22 Caterpillar car Dave Blaney is scheduled to drive this weekend in the Neighborhood Excellence 400 Presented by Bank of America at Dover (Del.) International Speedway is chassis No. 84. This is the first time the No. 22 team has utilized this car this season.
Coca-Cola 600 Recap…An ill-timed caution flag left the team two laps down and though the team worked hard to overcome a tight handling condition that plagued Blaney throughout the event the Caterpillar car was relegated to a 32nd-place finish.
Making his Mark…Blaney’s 32nd-place finish in Charlotte adds to his streak of races without a DNF. Blaney has been running at the end of 30 consecutive races, the longest current streak in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. He also sits second in laps completed this season (4,022 out of 4,050).
Blaney’s Career Stats…Blaney will make his 212th career NEXTEL Cup Series start when the green flag waves Sunday afternoon. He made his first career NASCAR Cup Series start in October 1992 at [Rockingham] North Carolina Speedway and after qualifying in the top 25 he finished 27th in his first start at The Monster Mile. Like this weekend, Blaney was aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned machine.
His History in Dover…Blaney has made 11 starts on the one-mile Delaware track in his Cup Series career. He also has nine Dover NASCAR Busch Series starts to his credit, which yielded four top-10 finishes. He also made his only NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Dover in 2004, in which he qualified fifth and finished sixth aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned Toyota.
BDR at The Monster Mile…Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at Dover International Speedway since 1993 and have made 35 starts. Those drivers have posted four top-10 efforts and combined have led a total of 52 laps.
Don’t Forget…Blaney is scheduled to sign autographs at the Caterpillar merchandise trailer beginning at noon Saturday afternoon. Check with the merchandise trailer for updates and more information.
Getting Road Course Ready…The Cat Racing team has scheduled a day of testing at Virginia International Raceway on Monday following the event in Dover to prepare for the upcoming road course races.
And Even More Racing…Blaney is one of several NEXTEL Cup competitors scheduled to run a dirt Late Model car next Wednesday evening in the NEXTEL Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway.
Dover Broadcasts…Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Neighborhood Excellence 400 is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. ET Friday, June 2. The 400-lap (400 miles) event is scheduled to start at 2:10 p.m. ET Sunday, June 4, and will broadcast LIVE on FX (TV), MRN and XM Satellite Radio Channel 144.
Dave Blaney on Dover…
“I’ve not always had the best of luck at Dover. I’ve probably had more DNFs at Dover than I have anywhere else I’ll bet, so obviously we’ll concentrate on finishing the race. In fact, we absolutely have to finish this race ahead of those guys around us in points because we’re in a bit of a perilous position there in 34th in owner points. I don’t know how that happens. We show up every week and work as hard as we can, and we’re still sitting in 34th. It’s frustrating and disheartening because we know we should be better than that, and we have the people and the tools in place to be much better than that. I guess the good thing is that we’re all too busy getting ready for the next race to dwell on it, and there’s no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We’ll get to Dover with our heads held high and with the mindset that it’s just as easy to have a good race as it is a bad race so we won’t let it get us down. We know we can be better than this, and we’ve just got to figure out a way to get there. We’re not going to give up, that’s for sure.”
