FanHouse DaveBlaney

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.

With 15 laps to go in Sunday's AMP Energy Drink 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, a good portion of the Chase for the Sprint Cup contenders looked ready to challenge for a win in a race known for being a wild card on the Chase schedule.

And with 14 laps to go, they found out why Talladega was such a wild card.

Heading in to turn 3, Carl Edwards was running second in the outside line of cars when he pushed a little too hard on teammate Greg Biffle while the two were bump-drafting. Biffle lost control of his Ford and slid into his other teammate Matt Kenseth.

With all three cars sliding across the track, chaos ensued in the pack behind them.

In the internal combustion process, water doesn't burn too well. Actually, it doesn't burn at all.

Denny Hamlin's Chevrolet engine tried to burn water Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and the result wasn't pretty. Martin Truex Jr. slammed into the No. 11 as it stalled leading the field to a restart, Kyle Busch spun through the grass, and Carl Edwards unbelievably jumped five spots on the start.

Hamlin's car didn't stumble because of a lack of Sunoco racing fuel in the tank, but rather a fuel pump filled with water that had somehow made it into the team's fuel canisters. When Hamlin hit the gas, the pump fired more water than gas, causing Hamlin's engine to sputter.

Dave Blaney and race-winner Jimmie Johnson also found trace amounts of water in their systems during post-race teardowns.

Only Hamlin and Blaney had significant performance problems as a result, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team suspects water caused Junior to fall back at the start of Sunday's race.

NASCAR apparently can't quite figure out where the water came from, mainly because it affected different manufacturers on different teams.

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):

When Brian Vickers finished fifth in the Coca-Cola 600 and I named him Toyota's emerging star, a reader pointed out, "Um, I think the 22's the highest Toyota in points and has made the most races (even without relying on owner points)."

To that I must say, "It's not how you start the race, it's how you finish."

At the beginning of the season, Dave Blaney was the only Toyota driver with a guaranteed starting spot in the first five races. Bill Davis was the only Toyota owner with a returning team with an owner in the top 35 from last year. All the rest were new teams forced to race their way in.

What did Blaney do with such good fortune? Nada. Failed to capitalize. He maintained a top 35 spot for all of one race after finishing 34th in Daytona. Engine trouble plummeted him to 42nd position the second week of the season and he has fought his was back to hover between 36th and 37th since Bristol.

Leader of the Outside the Top 35 Pack
For the second week in a row, Red Bull driver Brian Vickers claimed the top starting spot among those teams outside the Top 35. Vickers' team currently sits in 39th position in owner points. While he sits only less than 200 points back from the 35th spot, he has not yet been able to close the gap because those drivers in between keep making races, too.

Following the Leader
Fellow Toyota driver Dave Blaney scores the second sweet spot for the second consecutive week. He'll start in 17th.

The Wood Brothers/JTG Racing #21 Motorcraft Genuine Auto Parts Ford will start 21st. Bill Elliott qualified on time for the third time in four entries and still has five championship provisionals left. Having Elliott in the car hasn't produced the results they were looking for yet. The team has gone from 39th to 40th since Elliott stepped in at Lowe's.

Scott Riggs, who has only had one DNQ despite having to race in every weekend, will start 22nd.

Paul Menard, David Reutimann and A.J. Allmendinger will bring up the rear starting in 38th, 40th and 43rd respectively.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
Mike Bliss (11), Ward Burton (8), Dale Jarrett (4), Kevin Lepage (12), Jeremy Mayfield (10), Kenny Wallace (7)

Leader of the Outside the Top 35 Pack
Brian Vickers was the top qualifier of all drivers outside the top 35 in owner points.

As predicted, the red bull had no trouble qualifying on the Pocono tri-oval. He'll start in the 9th position, a season best.

For now, Vickers is pleased with his team's progress and the direction in which it is headed:

"We seem to be really good in the races and I'm really proud of Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development). They've been working real hard and it has shown in the last couple races with how well the Toyotas have been running. I'm real proud of our entire Red Bull team that's building these race cars -- our intermediate program has really been improving week after week. We've been doing a good job in the race and Doug (Richert) has been calling great races. I'm just excited to race Sunday and hopefully we can be just as good when we get to Michigan."

Following the Leader
Dave Blaney returns after sitting Dover out. He starts 14th. Ward Burton 20th. Paul Menard starts his first race with a new crew chief in the 21st spot.

David Reutimann will be the sole representative for Michael Waltrip Racing, starting in 23rd. Vickers Red Bull teammate A.J. Allmendinger will pull off 28th. Scott Riggs 31st.

Bill Elliott was forced to used a championship provisional this week and will start 43rd.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
Mike Bliss (10), Dale Jarrett (3), Kevin Lepage (11), Jeremy Mayfield (9), Kenny Wallace (6), Michael Waltrip (12)

Despite having only started six races this season, Brian Vickers has given the manufacturer the most stats to write home to Japan about.

His old ride, the #25 HMS Chevrolet driven by Casey Mears, kept him out of victory lane, but Vickers had the "car to beat" Sunday.

His 5th place finish--with a new engine and a car that lost its power-steering at some point during the race--was a season best for the driver and Toyota. Their second best? Vickers' 10th place finish at California Speedway in February.

Vickers has also led more laps than all of the Toyota drivers put together. Prior to the Coca-Cola 600, Toyota had led a cumulative 14 laps, 8 of them Vickers'. He added a healthy buffer to that lead after tacking on another 76 laps at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The red-headed Red Bull gained two spots in the owner points standings this weekend but still sits four positions and 200+ points out of the top 35.

In his fifth effort, Vickers' Red Rull teammate, A.J. Allmendinger, scored his best finish of 31st and is holding down the 47th position for his owner.

Toyota Teammates
Jeremy Mayfield ran in the top 15 for much of the day, even leading 3 laps. He said the new engine "made all the difference in the world." And so it did. Until it crapped out. Mayfield was relegated to a 25th place finish--he gained one spot for owner Bill Davis Racing and now sits in 45th.

Dave Blaney, who has failed to maintain a position in the top 35 despite being the only Toyota driver fortunate enough to start the season there based on last year's owner points, turned in another lackluster performance for BDR, leading no laps and finishing 18th. He remains 36th in the points.

Michael Waltrip Racing driver Dale Jarrett lost a spot. Ditto for David Reutimann, who failed to qualify. As for Mikey ... Do I really need to go there?

Leader of the Outside the Top 35 Pack
Kenny Wallace raced his Furniture Row #78 Chevrolet into the show for the seventh time this season. He will start 6th tonight at Darlington Raceway, matching his best qualifying effort of the season last week in Richmond.

Good thing, too, because Kenny really wants to race in Charlotte and now he gets another chance to remind fans to vote for him:

"The 'Vote for Kenny' campaign has grown its own legs and developed into a huge deal. I am very appreciative to Furniture Row for being such a supportive sponsor by getting behind the 'Vote For Kenny' campaign. I don't think that many other sponsors, if any at all, would give up the hood of their racecar for a weekend to promote voting their driver into the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge. Being voted into this race would be a huge deal, not just for me, but for my Furniture Row Racing team too!"

Following The Leader
Ken Schrader also starts in the top 10 in the 8th position. David Reuitmann starts 14th.

Both Red Bull racers are on track this weekend for just the second time this season, the first being Bristol. Brian Vickers starts in the 15th spot and A.J. Allmendinger starts 20th.p>Paul Menard starts 23rd in his eighth race of the season, Dave Blaney starts 27th and Ricky Rudd 40th.

Kevin LePage will start his first race of the season after attempting to qualify for 9 of the previous 10 races.

Losers of The Week (DNQs)
Scott Riggs, who has been outside the top 35 since the beginning of the season, failed to qualify for his first race in 2007 in Darlington.

Michael Waltrip (10), Jeremy Mayfield (8), Mike Bliss (7), Dale Jarrett (2), Ward Burton (6)

Scott Riggs will start 3rd Saturday in Richmond, his best start of the season and the best of those drivers sitting outside the top 35 who had to race their way in.

Riggs' qualifying effort for the Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400 marks the fifth consecutive race the 36th points position holder has qualified for on time. With only seven points to gain on Casey Mears, he's likely to move into the top 35 this week.

Dave Blaney, who added his name to the 2007 DNQ list last weekend in Talladega, will start 10th Saturday.

A.J. Allmendinger, the top qualifying rookie, starts 13th in his third race of the season, his first at Richmond International Raceway.

David Reutimann, the only Michael Waltrip Racing driver in the show this weekend, starts 14th for the second consecutive week--his highest for the season.

Ward Burton makes his 5th start and Kenny Wallace his 6th in 25th and 26th positions respectively.

NCTS driver Johnny Benson qualified 31st in his first Cup effort since 2005.

Losers of the Week (DNQs)
Brian Vickers (6), Ken Schrader (3), Michael Waltrip (9), Jeremy Mayfield (7), Dale Jarrett (1), Kevin LePage (9) and Mike Bliss (6).