Dave Blaney and the No. 7 SANY America team prepared to race the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway.
Qualifying was rained out on Saturday morning, NASCAR set the field by Friday’s practice speeds, putting Blaney and the No. 7 team back in 40th position to start the race.
Fighting from the beginning to gain positions on the track, Blaney had one mission, get to the front. During the first half of the race, reaching a high of ninth, green flag pit stops began. Unfortunately an untimely caution was called for rain, leaving Blaney one lap down in 27th.
After four hours for a rain delay, Blaney and the TBR team were ready to get back to green flag racing. With a late caution and just eight laps to go, the No. 7 SANY Chevy got the lucky dog, and was back on the lead lap. With pending nightfall, NASCAR made just one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, a huge wreck occurred on the last lap and the race was called. Blaney finished out the marathon day in 16th – a net gain of 24 positions from start-to-finish.
“Walking out of Talladega with a 16th place finish is an amazing feeling,” said Blaney. “We worked hard all day and raced clean and made a move when it counts. I am proud of my team for their hard work, we’ll keep fighting at it every week!”
After the race Team Owner and Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin said, “A top 20 at Talladega and not a scratch on the car – we’ll take it. Dave did a great job getting through the accidents today and we’re going to go back to the shop proud of our efforts.”
Dave Blaney is currently 30th in the points standings. TBR will be heading to Darlington Raceway next weekend to the track nicknamed “Too Tough to Tame.”
140 BUZZ PR
