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Sunday, July 13, 2003

By Chris Dolack, Special to the Post-Gazette

JOLIET, Ill. -- His Jasper Motorsports team went through a massive remodeling before the season, finally putting Dave Blaney in position to win a Winston Cup race. Yes, he has a crew chief, Bootie Barker, still learning the ropes in NASCAR's top division. Yes, he's still racing a Ford, but engine supplier Penske Racing switched to Dodge before the season. And, yes, his team's fabrication shop went through an overhaul.

What did he have to lose? Blaney, a Hartford, Ohio, native and the 1991 Lernerville Speedway sprint car champion, has not won a race in Winston Cup. Don't be surprised, though, if this team finds victory lane before too long. After barely making the season-opening Daytona 500, Blaney won a pole and raced to three top-10 finishes in the next four races.

As the second half of the season begins today in the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Blaney, 40, ranks 26th in points. In two previous Winston Cup races here, Blaney, also the co-owner of Sharon Speedway, has finished 12th and 17th.

"We started out real good," Blaney said. "The first six, seven races we had some real good races in there, but the flatter tracks we seemed to struggle on. We've done a lot of testing lately and hopefully we're going to come on to stuff that will help us. ... It's been harder because we started off so good and then we've kind of slumped. Expectations got so high after we ran so well the first half-dozen races that it hurts when you don't run well."

Blaney and his team made strides in qualifying for the race today. He waited out a rain delay Friday to qualify ninth with a fast lap of 29.439 seconds at 183.430 mph. In addition, he raced in the Busch Series event yesterday, running as high as third before finishing 13th.

"If we come out of here with a top-10 [finish] and a smooth weekend," he said, "we're going to be happy so we can start building some confidence back in me and the team."

A modified approach

A week before the World of Outlaws circuit returns to Lernerville Speedway, the big-block modifieds will take center stage Friday night. The BRP Modified Tour will race in conjunction with the track's regular four divisions.

There has not been a two-time winner of the BRP event at Lernerville, where Brian Swartzlander (1998), Jim Weller Jr. (1999), Rodney Beltz (2000) and Ron Smoker (2002) each has a BRP victory. Smoker's victory last season helped him win the season championship.

Back on top of the modified division at Lernerville, Swartzlander has his sights set on another BRP victory. After a disappointing 2002 in which he won only twice, he already had four wins going into this weekend. He also led Gary Risch by 17 points in the race for the track title. Swartzlander, a three-time Lernerville champion, was the BRP Modified Tour champion in 1998 and 1999.

Pack the track

For those who complain about the cost of attending local racing events, Jennerstown Speedway is doing something about it for one night. Admission to the Laurel Highlands NASCAR track will be free Saturday.

The regular divisions, as well as the Pennsylvania Legacy Series, will be racing.

Looking ahead

Friday night, Motordrome Speedway will return to its regular format for all its divisions except the street stocks, which will compete in an extra-lap feature. It also will be driver autograph night and children under 12 will receive a free checkered flag. ... Saturday at Pittsburgh's Pennsylvania Motor Speedway will be a regular show. In late models at PPMS, Al Atallah led Jim Zarin by 29 points going into the Penn National 100 last night. ... Also Saturday, Mercer Raceway Park has winged and wingless features for sprints and ARDC midgets. ... All weekend at Pittsburgh Raceway Park will be the Hot Rod Magazine Power Festival with a regular show Saturday. There will be no junior drag racing.

Chris Dolack is the senior writer for Auto Racing Digest magazine. He can be contacted at cdolack@chrisdolack.com.