Dave Blaney and the Caterpillar Racing team looked to the weekend at Dover International Speedway as an opportunity to get back on track after several tough weekends in a row. Though disappointed with its qualifying effort Friday afternoon, the team rebounded Sunday to score a 12th-place finish in the Camping World RV 400 at “The Monster Mile.”
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 153.289 mph around the one-mile oval, which earned the team the 37th starting position for Sunday’s event. Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin, and Lead Engineer Gene Nead put their heads together during the two practice sessions Saturday in an effort to find a race setup that would work, and by the end of final practice, Baldwin and the crew felt they had found something on which to build.
The green flag waved for the start of the Camping World RV 400, and Blaney began working his way toward the front of the field. The veteran driver communicated to his crew chief that the car handled tight in the center of the corners early in the event, but as the run wore on, the No. 22 machine was consistently running lap times faster than those of the leader.
The team made its first pit stop of the day during a caution period on lap 66. After a four tire change, Blaney returned to the track in the 20th position and remained there through the next routine stop under caution on lap 145. During that stop, Baldwin called for track bar and air pressure adjustments, and the team returned the car to the track in 20th place for the lap 149 restart.
Blaney continued his charge to the front and made his way into the 13th spot before the caution flag waved on lap 187. Opting for track position over fresh tires, Baldwin left his driver out on the track, and when the green flag waved once again, the No. 22 Caterpillar Camry held the third place. Blaney was able to hold that position until the car became quite loose and he fell several spots, though he was able to remain in the top 10 through much of the remainder of the event. Blaney stayed within sight of the leader while battling a tight handling racecar in the last 50 laps of the event. When the checkered flag waved, he held the 12th position. The solid effort was the team’s fourth top-15 finish of the season and its second consecutive top-12 result at Dover International Speedway.
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