Cat Racing Event Preview
Phoenix International Raceway
Checker Auto Parts 500
News and Notes
Breaking out the best. The No. 22 Caterpillar car Dave Blaney is
scheduled to drive this weekend in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix
International Raceway is chassis No. 100.
Texas Rewind. Blaney started the event at Texas Motor Speedway in
30th and finished in the 32nd spot after mid-race contact with another car
resulted in damage to the left front of the Caterpillar machine. The team
spent several laps in the pits making needed repairs and resetting the toe
of the car.
Blaney's Career Stats. Blaney will make his 234th career NASCAR
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 13th after qualifying eighth in his
first Cup Series start at Phoenix in 2000. Like this weekend, Blaney was
aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned machine.
Phoenix Rundown. Phoenix has been kind to Blaney in his seven Cup
Series starts on the one-mile track. He has two top-10 finishes and five
top-25 finishes to his credit. He has fared even better in qualifying,
having started in the top 15 four times. The last time the Cup Series
traveled to Phoenix, Blaney and the Caterpillar Racing team finished several
laps down in the 27th position, after a blown tire resulted in contact with
the turn one wall.
BDR at PIR. Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned Cup cars
have been racing at Phoenix International Raceway since 1993 and have made
20 starts. Bill Davis Racing drivers have earned three top-10 finishes in
competition at the Phoenix area track.
Tune in Monday. Blaney is scheduled to make his first appearance of
the season on "Inside NEXTEL Cup" Monday evening on SPEED TV.
And Make time for this. Blaney will sign autographs at the
Caterpillar merchandise trailer following final practice Saturday afternoon.
Stop by the Cat souvenir trailer or visit www.daveblaney.com
for updates and additional information.
Phoenix Broadcast Schedule. Qualifying for the NASCAR Nextel Cup
Checker Auto Part 500 is scheduled to start at 5:10 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 10.
The 312-lap event is scheduled to start at 3:25 p.m. ET Sunday, Nov. 12, and
will broadcast LIVE on NBC (TV), MRN (radio) and XM Satellite Radio Channel
144.
Dave Blaney on Phoenix International Raceway...
"We were disappointed with the
way things went last weekend in Texas, and we lost a spot in the points
which, of course, doesn't make us all that happy. It's a tight battle back
there for 25th, and we can't afford to have any more problems in the two
remaining races because it seems like everyone back there has really stepped
up their game in the past couple of weeks. We worked really hard to get up
there, and we don't want to lose it now.
"Certainly, we need to qualify better than we have in the past couple of
weeks, with the exception of Martinsville, and not get behind the eight ball
right off the bat, especially at a little mile oval like Phoenix. The good
news is that we're bringing that same Caterpillar car we took to
Martinsville. We know it's a good car, so we think this weekend should be a
good one for us as long as we can stay out of trouble."
