FanHouse Dave Blaney

Finally, the NASCAR world is feeling a little bit of good news amidst a backdrop of nothing but bad for both the sport's and the rest of a world's business climate.

Earlier this week, Tommy Baldwin, Jr. -- the Daytona 500-winning crew chief from 2002 with Bill Davis Racing's Ward Burton -- announced he was putting plans in place to field a new race single-car race team for the 2008 season starting with next month's Daytona 500.

The team, Tommy Baldwin Racing, said in its PR that "With tough economic times upon us, the timing for starting this team is right. Our overhead is low and we have a great group of talented mechanics and specialists to choose from. We can offer sponsors the chance to get into Sprint Cup racing at a fraction of the costs [...]."

It sure seems odd that "tough economic times" and "timing [...] is right" go together, but there's a vast amount of resources available in the Sprint Cup market place in terms of mechanics and other crew members who have been laid off, in addition to teams that are probably selling off inventory to gain back some capital.

With the right amount of sponsors and a little bit of help from Toyota, this team could be an interesting low-budget venture. Jayski says the driver could be Dave Blaney from the unsponsored No. 22 BDR team.

Additionally, JR Motorsports, General Motors and Dodge all had a small bit of good news this week.

Most people aren't shocked to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. near the top of the speed chart at Daytona.

But when a second glance at the speed charts from the first day of the second round of Sprint Cup Series Daytona testing showed eight Toyotas in the top ten, more than a few people had to be somewhat surprised.

Dave Blaney's No. 22B Toyota took the top time Monday at 185.445 mph. Blaney set the fastest single-lap time of the both last week's session and the two from Monday.

Weather in Daytona was roughly 8-10 degrees cooler Monday than any day last week which could easily contribute to faster speeds.

There were no reported incidents during the first day despite 53 different cars finding the track in the second session at some point.

The rest of the Top-5 include Earnhardt Jr. (185.426mph), No. 83 Brian Vickers (185.307mph), No. 44 Dale Jarrett (185.292mph), and No. 55 Michael Waltrip (185.227mph).

Tony Stewart, Michael Waltip's No. 55M, Dale Jarrett's No. 44B, Vickers' No. 83B, and Dario Franchitti rounded out the Top-10. Last year's Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick reached just 39th in the afternoon speed chart with a lap of 181.939mph.

Dave Blaney received a new distinction after yesterday's race Talladega ... that of a closer.

Blaney, who started 2nd but had fallen back by the end of the race, was one of three drivers who dramatically improved their positions over the last 19 laps of the UAW-Ford 500.

• Denny Hamlin closed 17 places, from 21st to 4th;
• Jimmie Johnson closed 14 places, from 16th to 2nd;
• Casey Mears closed 12 places, from 18th to 6th;
• Clint Bowyer closed 11 places, from 22nd to 11th;
• Dave Blaney closed 10 places, from 13th to 3rd.

Blaney's finish--and Ken Schrader's misfortune--put the #22 back in the coveted 35th spot in owner points.

Well whaddaya know ... Victory Junction Gang Camp might get some money out of me yet.

In 2006, Dave Blaney closed the season with an average finishing spot of 24.4 and the #22 Caterpillar Dodge finished in the 27th position in owner points. So far this season, Blaney's lowered his finishing average in the #22 Caterpillar Toyota to 29.0 and is likely to finish the season outside the top 35 in owner points, which means the team will already be starting 2008 at a disadvantage.

Still, Blaney managed to get his option picked up by Bill Davis Racing to drive for at least one more season. By now, everyone reading the NASCAR Fanhouse can probably guess my thoughts on that, so I'll spare you--and my inbox from the "Why are you bashing Blaney?" emails. Unfamiliar? Here's the Blaney category link.

The talent pool isn't really that shallow for next season, is it? Let's have a look ... here's a partial list of current, experienced Cup drivers available for a Cup ride in 2008 (partially compiled from Jayski):

Ok ... I am officially starting to feel for the #22 Caterpillar Toyota Team. If The Blaniac Challenge has served any purpose--besides getting Dave Blaney a lot more coverage in the Fanhouse than he would have had--it's been to make me pay more attention to the teams outside the top 35.

So, Blaney failed to qualify for the Dodge Dealers 400--his third DNQ of this season. It's going to be much harder to come back now after taking home zero points when those above and below him in the standings will be racing Sunday.

The timing couldn't be worse with the season winding down and teams looking for guaranteed starting spots in the first five races of 2008, including the always-overflowing field at Daytona.

Blaney Confused, But We Know
Dave Blaney can't believe his team is still struggling for a spot in the top 35:

"Honestly, with 10 races left, I can't believe we're sitting here fighting for a spot in the top 35 because this Caterpillar team has run so much better than that so many times. Tommy has done a great job of bringing good cars to the track every week, but we've just had so many problems either finishing races at all or finishing them in one piece."

Um .. yeah. I think that's what I said. I'll be rooting for Ken Schrader this weekend.

Ragan 14, Montoya 11
I meant to include Lead Lap Finishes in my rookie chart the other day, but forgot. I was reminded today when I read The Juan Pablo "Crash" Montoya Running Incident Report on The Black Flag Blog.

He gets what in his contract?
The Nemechek//Marlin suits against Ginn/DEI provide a rare inside glimpse into the structure of drivers' contracts.

DEI Engines Blow
Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn't the only one who gets bad engines at DEI. Martin Truex Jr. blew one in testing at Talladega on Monday ... and another last month at Iowa. Those are the engines they give Junior on race day.

I don't think I could ever pick Kasey Kahne to win at Bristol after seeing him crash out of his first Nextel Cup race at the track during his rookie season. Needless to say, Kahne was so shook up from the experience that he was literally shaking on camera.

Friday night, though, he apparently found a good way to calm down.

Kahne won the pole for Saturday night's Sharpie 500 at the half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway with a lap of 16.016 seconds, or 119.805 mph.

Juan Pablo Montoya will line up on his outside with Jamie McMurray, David Ragan and Dave Blaney rounding out the top-5. Virginia-native Ward Burton dropped a nice lap and will start 14th.

Bristol just got a facelift over the summer with a brand-new concrete repaving job, and it really set back the lap times at the track. Jeff Gordon won the pole at BMS in April with a lap 125.453 mph in the first Car of Tomorrow race, obviously much quicker than Kahne's lap.

Slower speeds, though, could add up to better race Saturday night with more side-by-side racing because cars are more even.

As if Bristol really needs to get any better though.

Bill Davis Racing announced today that driver Jeremy Mayfield has decided not to return to the #36 team next year and wants to explore other opportunities.

Mayfield:

"I've been in this sport long enough to know that it takes time to bring a brand new car up to speed in what is probably the most competitive racing series in the world.

"When I made the decision to move here to BDR with an untested car and a sponsor completely unfamiliar with NASCAR, I knew it would be somewhat of a gamble. I believed then, and I believe now, that Toyota has a bright future in the Cup Series and is making progress every weekend. You only have to look at their success in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and now in the Busch Series to see where it can go.

"I think Bill will be successful in resolving the issues that have hampered the #36 team this year. But I think I have delivered what I can to the effort and looking at the total picture-what's best for me, what's best for the team-I believe this is the right time for me to consider other opportunities. I can assure you, we will do our best to build on the first half of this season and put the #36 in front in this second half of the 2007 season."

I can't be the only one wondering if Mayfield decided on his own that now was the right time to consider other opportunities or this is PR speak for, "You're outta here at the end of the season. If you want to save face, we're willing to say it was your decision."

I really have nothing against Dave Blaney. Really, I don't. He just happens to be that guy sitting in the hot seat right now. Nothing personal ... except that I personally have never been impressed by him.

No, I haven't followed his whole career--my only frame of reference is the Nextel Cup Series. No, I've never met him personally so I don't know what a great guy he is, or how nice his parents are ... but even if I did I might still feel the same about his driving.

Some fans are taking this personally.

The Blaniacs have taken me to task for my criticism of Blaney's inability to close and for questioning his ability to take advantage of recent situations he's found himself in.

For daring to doubt his talent, I've been issued a challenge:

"If you are so sure he has no talent, let's make a friendly wager of $100.00, if he finishes the season outside of the top 35, you get my hundred bucks, if he finishes inside the top 35, you make a check out to VJGC....and in the memo put, "KTF Blaniacs."

For the record, I never said he had no talent, I just said his talent hasn't impressed me. The passion of his fans, however, has.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his first pole in five years ... on the third day of the eighth month. 8-3=5 Is it a sign he should drive the #5? I don't know, but a reader told me the fans were discussing it on the The Pit Board.

On the Pocono Racway tri-oval no less, where he's only had only one top 5 starting spot in 15 races and has never had a win.

Unfortunately, right after qualifying, the #8 team managed to push the Budweiser Chevrolet off the scales smack into a Gator vehicle smashing the front end in--nothing they could have done to stop it. Hmmm. Just what we need ... more fuel for the conspiracy theorists.

Nonetheless, I'm sure Junior celebrated with a few Buds tonight and is totally stoked about winning another Bud Pole Award before he passes the Bud (Light) sponsor torch to Kasey Kahne at the end of the season.

Kahne's teammate, Scott Riggs, was once again the highest qualifier of those racing in on time.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
#49 Mike Bliss (12), #84 AJ Allmendinger (13), # 37 Kevin Lepage (16), # 78 Kenny Wallace (12)

Pennsylvania 500 Race Lineup