Dave Blaney and the Caterpillar Racing team posted another top-20 qualifying effort – their fifth in a row – and lined 18th up for the start of the Best Buy 400. Blaney broke into the top 15 early in the event on Sunday and remained near the front of the field for the entire race. The No. 22 Camry held the ninth spot when the checkered flag waved, and the veteran driver scored the second top-10 finish in the past three races for his Bill Davis Racing team.
The No. 22 Bill Davis Racing team was the 28th of 45 teams to take to the track for qualifying Friday afternoon. Blaney posted a speed of 152.259 mph around the one-mile oval, which was fast enough to earn the team the 18th starting position for Sunday’s event. Blaney was set to line up on the outside of row nine.
The green flag waved for the start of the event, and Blaney immediately began his ascent toward the front of the field. Communicating to crew chief Tommy Baldwin early in the race that the car was pretty good, Blaney held the 12th spot when the first caution flag of the day waved after a multi-car incident on lap 18. Extensive damage to several race cars forced NASCAR officials to red flag the race at lap 23. During the red flag condition, Baldwin planned to change right side tires and make a track bar adjustment to help the Toyota Camry turn better in the center of the corners. He accomplished all that during the first pit stop of the day, which came when the race resumed under caution on lap 24.
As one of only a handful of teams that took two tires during the stop, Blaney lined up for the lap 27 restart in eighth place. He was able pick up several positions early in the run, but encountered a tight handling condition and fell to 12th place before a yellow flag waved once again. Baldwin called for additional adjustments to the car during the ensuing pit stop, and the BDR pit crew knocked off a great four tire stop, one of many throughout the day, on lap 69 of the 400-lap event.
The Caterpillar Camry continued to handle somewhat tight throughout the remainder of the first 150 laps. After a quick caution flag on lap 154, Blaney held the 10th position and was one of only 15 cars left on the lead lap. Just past the halfway point of the event, Blaney picked up several positions following another speedy pit stop by the Cat crew and stood in sixth place at the lap 250 mark.
The No. 22 machine became quite tight with fewer than 150 laps remaining in the event, and Baldwin continued to make slight adjustments to the car during every stop. The leader set a blistering pace all afternoon, and Blaney went one lap down to him on lap 323 while running in the 15th spot. Blaney continued to mow down the competition, however, and made his way back into the top 10 on lap 336, eventually taking the checkered flag in the ninth spot.
The team’s four consecutive finishes of 18th or better have resulted in a move into the 30th position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Owners’ point standings. The Caterpillar Racing team now stands only 10 points outside of the 28th place and a mere 114 outside of the top 25.
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