Dave Blaney Gets Solid Finish for Tommy Baldwin Racing at Indy

Dave Blaney drove the Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) No. 36 SealWrap Chevrolet from the 32nd position to finish in 23rd place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Midway through the race, overheating from grass on the grill caused Blaney to fall a lap down pitting under green, but he drove the SealWrap Chevrolet back onto the lead lap for the checkered flag of the Crown Royal presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard.
 
Blaney started in the 32nd position and drove into the 30th spot on lap nine. He radioed the team that the No. 36 SealWrap Chevrolet was loose. By lap 21, he drove into the 28th position and told the crew that the car was getting tight everywhere. He was in the 26th position when Crew Chief Ryan Pemberton called the SealWrap Chevrolet down pit road for the team’s first pit stop. The SealWrap crew changed four tires and made an air pressure and trackbar adjustment.
 
The No. 36 SealWrap Chevrolet returned to the track in the 29th position, one lap down. A single car accident in turn two brought out the caution on lap 42, and the team elected to stay out to get the wave around. Blaney restarted in the 29th position on lap 46. Two laps later, another single car incident brought out the caution. The SealWrap team elected to pit for four tires and a trackbar adjustment and restarted in the 28th spot on lap 52.
 
As he raced into the 24th position by lap 70, Blaney radioed that the SealWrap Chevrolet was tight. On lap 73, Pemberton called for the team to make a green-flag pit stop for four tires and a trackbar adjustment. The No. 36 Chevrolet returned to the track in the 32nd position. By lap 80, Blaney radioed that the car was already tight. Pemberton explained that the trackbar wrench broke during the stop so there was no adjustment made.
 
On lap 95, the No. 13 had an incident in turn two that brought out the caution. The SealWrap team made a four-tire pit stop with a wedge adjustment, and Blaney restarted in 25th place on lap 101. Another car drove into the grass and kicked grass onto the grill of the No. 36 SealWrap Chevrolet forcing Blaney to pit on lap 106. The team cleaned off the grill and topped off the fuel. Blaney returned to the track in the 30th position, one lap down.
 
Blaney drove into the 28th spot, one lap down, and radioed that the Chevrolet started off really loose but was turning better by lap 116. NASCAR Officials called a caution on lap 126 for debris on the track, and the SealWrap Chevrolet received the lucky dog to return to the lead lap. The crew made a four-tire pit stop and restarted in the 24th position on lap 130.
 
A four-car incident in turn one brought out the caution on lap 134 with Blaney in the 26th position. Pemberton called for the No. 36 Chevrolet to stay out. The SealWrap Chevrolet restarted in 20th place on lap 140. Blaney fell to the 25th spot on the restart but drove into the 23rd position by lap 154. He held the position for the final six laps and finished the Crown Royal presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard in 23rd place.
 
“We had a decent finish today,” Blaney said. “The guys worked on the handling, and it got better throughout the race. By the end, I felt like the car was good, and we made up a few positions at the end. It was a good points day for us and good jumping point for the last half of the season.”
 
The No. 36 Chevrolet is in the 35th position in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Owner Points. The team is locked into the top-35 by 86 points and trails the No. 32 by 12 points. Blaney is in 33rd place in NSCS Driver Points. He trails Landon Cassill by 17 points and leads teammate David Reutimann by 13 points.

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