Dave Blaney No. 22
Cat Racing Event Preview
Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nev. (1.5-mile oval)
Race: UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 Date: 03.12.06
NASCAR Nextel Cup Driver points: 26th (dropped four positions from previous race) Owner points: 26th
Notes:
This Week’s Wheels…The No. 22 Caterpillar car scheduled to compete in the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is chassis No. 78. It is one of two cars Dave Blaney and the No. 22 Cat Racing team tested Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in preparation for this weekend’s event.
In Case You’re Keeping Track …Blaney will make his 202nd career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series start when the green flag waves to start the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400. His first NASCAR Cup race start came in October 1992 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham.
Las Vegas Numbers…Blaney has made five NEXTEL Cup Series starts on the 1.5-mile Nevada track and posted his best finish there last season. He drove to a 13th-place finish there in 2005, improving on his 29th-place start. Blaney’s best qualifying effort came in 2002 when he earned 10th-place spot for the event. Blaney has also made three NASCAR Busch Series starts at the track.
Don’t miss any of it …Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 is scheduled to start at 3:40 p.m. EST Friday, March 10 and will broadcast LIVE on SPEED (TV), PRN (radio) and XM Radio Channel 144. The UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. EST Sunday, March 12, and will broadcast LIVE on FOX (TV), PRN and XM Radio Channel 144.
Where’s Dave?…Blaney is scheduled to make a stop at the Caterpillar merchandise trailer to meet fans and sign autographs Saturday afternoon following the conclusion of Cup practice.
Dave Blaney on Las Vegas…
“Like just about everyone else, we spent two days testing in Las Vegas during the off-season, but we got back to the shop and made wholesale changes to our No. 22 Caterpillar car. Obviously, we’ll see what we have when we get back there, but there’s no reason to think we won’t be pretty good right off the truck. The beginning of the season is always weird with the way the schedule is set up. You work so hard to get ready for Daytona while you’re trying to test in a bunch of other places too. Then you go to California, and you’re ready for the season and suddenly, you’ve got a weekend off just when you were getting into the swing of things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about a weekend off; it’s just kind of a letdown after all the time and energy you’ve put into things for the past month or two. We’re rested up, though, and ready to get back to the track.”
