* Loudon’s Ride…The No. 22 Bill Davis Racing team plans to utilize chassis No. 45 for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It will be the first time this season this car has been raced, but the team tested it at The Milwaukee Mile several weeks ago.
* What Happened Last Week…Dave Blaney qualified in the 16th spot for the Toyota Save Mart 350 last weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., and he raced to a 20th place finish. That result increased the Caterpillar Racing team’s top-20 finish count to five in the past seven races. It also helped the team move up one position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Owners’ point standings. The team now holds 28th place, up from 39th a mere seven races ago.
* Blaney’s Career Stats…Blaney will make his 284th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start when the green flag waves for the event Sunday afternoon. He made his first career Cup Series start in October 1992 at [Rockingham] North Carolina Speedway and finished 40th in his first Cup Series start at “The Magic Mile” in 1999. Like this weekend, Blaney was aboard a Bill Davis Racing-owned machine.
* Blaney at NHMS…Blaney has made 16 Cup Series starts on the one-mile oval during his career. The veteran driver has finished as high as ninth (2006). Blaney has scored one top-10 finish and five top-15 finishes at the Loudon, N.H., track in his Cup Series career. In addition, Blaney started from the pole for this event last season.
* BDR at NHMS…Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 1993 and have made 37 starts. BDR drivers have been victorious on one occasion and have also scored four top-10 finishes at the track.
* Bring Your Sharpie…Look for Blaney to stop by the Caterpillar/Toyota Racing merchandise hauler to sign autographs this weekend. Please check with the trailer for exact times.
* Lenox Industrial Tools 301 Broadcast Schedule…Qualifying for the event is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. ET Friday, June 27. The 300-lap event is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, June 29, and will broadcast LIVE on TNT (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.
* The Cat Crew…
Damian Albrecht Shock Specialist
Gordy Arbitter Front Tire Changer
Steve Aspinwall Tire Specialist
Tommy Baldwin Crew Chief
Gabe Barajas Rear Tire Carrier
Mike Brown Spotter
Tim Clancy Gas Man
Rick Garner 2nd Can Gas
Kevin Gately Catch Can
Chris Gerard Pit Support
Craig “Fish” Griffitts Engine Tuner
Allen Hart Engineer
Tom Hubert Rear Tire Changer
Tim Hussey Gas Runner
Phil Moran Car Chief
Kyle Roland Jack Man
Dave Salerno Windshield
Gray Warren Sign Board
Alex Yonchuk Front Tire Carrier
Blaney’s Thoughts on NHMS…“Everyone on this Caterpillar Racing team has been looking forward to getting to Loudon for a while now. We qualified pretty well there last year, and then had every kind of issue you can imagine during the races, so we’re hoping to get in another good qualifying run this time around and have a lot better result come race day. We’ve got more confidence in our program right now, and even though we’ve got room to improve, we know we’re on the right track with this Bill Davis Racing team. [Crew chief] Tommy Baldwin and Gene Nead, our lead race engineer, work really well together, and Gene has made a really big difference to this team. Loudon has always been a place I really enjoyed racing at, so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
