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CAT RACING EVENT PREVIEW
INFINEON RACEWAY
DODGE/SAVE MART 350
Track: Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. (1.99-mile road course)
Race: Dodge/Save Mart 350 Date: 06.25.06
INFINEON RACEWAY NEWS AND NOTES
Road Course Ride…The No. 22 Caterpillar car Dave Blaney is scheduled to drive this weekend in the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway is chassis No. 90. The Cat team tested this car at Virginia International Raceway several weeks ago in preparation for this weekend’s event.
3M Performance 400 Recap…Rain showers delayed and ultimately shortened last weekend’s event at Michigan International Speedway. The No. 22 team qualified 30th and finished in 33rd place.
32 and Counting…Blaney’s 33rd-place finish in Michigan adds to his streak of races without a DNF. Blaney has been running at the end of 32 consecutive races, the longest current streak in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, which started in Pocono in June last season. He also remains in second in laps completed this season with 4,748 out of 4,779 laps run (99.4 percent).
Blaney’s Career Stats…Blaney will make his 215th 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 finished 29th in his first start in Sonoma. Like this weekend, Blaney was aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned machine.
Sonoma Stats…During his Cup Series career, Blaney has made five starts on the 1.99-mile road course settled in the Napa Valley. He has started as high as 15th, finished as high as 19th and has scored two top-20 finishes at the track.
BDR at Infineon…Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at Infineon Raceway since 1993 and have made 17 starts. Those drivers have posted three top-10 efforts and have completed 1,640 of 1,702 possible laps (96.4 percent).
Hubert’s High Hopes…Caterpillar Racing team member Tom Hubert hopes to spend Saturday afternoon racing in the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series event at Infineon Raceway. Additionally, for the third consecutive year, Hubert will attempt to qualify Kirk Shelmerdine’s No. 27 ride for Sunday’s Cup race at the track. Hubert has made 10 NEXTEL Cup Series starts and has competed at Infineon Raceway in the Cup Series on five occasions, finishing as high as 28th. Chris Beeson, who works for Bill Davis Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, will be standing by to take over Hubert’s rear tire changing duties on the No. 22 Caterpillar car.
Infineon TV and Radio…Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Dodge/Save Mart 350 is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. ET Friday, June 23. The 110-lap (218.9 miles) event is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. ET Sunday, June 25, and will broadcast LIVE on FOX (TV), PRN and XM Satellite Radio Channel 144.
Dave Blaney on Infineon…
“Racing at Sonoma is a nice change of pace, and road course racing is something I have really come to enjoy in the last couple of years. Obviously, qualifying takes on a whole new meaning at a road course, especially one as hard to pass on as Infineon. I think teams will spend a lot more time in qualifying trim during the first practice than they do during a normal weekend. On a road course, you’ve got to be able to see the front of the field in order to get there.
“We tested the Cat car we’re taking a couple of weeks ago, and we were pretty happy with what we had, so we’re looking forward to getting there. We’ve struggled this year, and we’re all pretty frustrated, but everyone on this team has been doing this too long to let it get us down. We’ll keep plugging away at it and eventually we’ll hit on something that will help us turn the corner and make some improvement. Like I said, going to a road course will be something different, and I think that gives us a little hope that we can put together a decent finish this weekend.”
