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CUP: Blaney Winner at I-55 Raceway
Written by: Tom Jensen   
07/24/2008 - 03:27 PM
Pevely, Mo.
 
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dave Blaney won Wednesday night’s M&Ms NASCAR Night of Stars Dirt Late Model race at Ken Schrader’s I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images for NASCAR) » More Photos

Dave Blaney hasn’t had the kind of NASCAR Sprint Cup season that either he or his Bill Davis Racing team were looking for coming into the year. And few consider him one of the favorites heading into this weekend’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

But the Ohio veteran, nicknamed the “Buckeye Bullet,” got a jump start to his weekend by winning Wednesday night’s M&Ms NASCAR Night of Stars Dirt Late Model race at Ken Schrader’s I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo.

Blaney, the 1997 World of Outlaws series champion, Knoxville Nationals and Chili Bowl winner, beat out some tough competition at the high-banked, one-third-mile clay oval. After all was said and done, Blaney took the checkered flag ahead of Brendan Gaughan, Terry Labonte, Tony Stewart, Schrader, Dennis Setzer, Justin Labonte, and Ron Hornaday.

“I love coming out here,” said Blaney, the 1997 World of Outlaws champion. “I’ll do whatever for Kenny. He’s got a great race track here and great fans. Even when I came here and raced with the (World of Outlaws series) in the ‘80s and ‘90s, it was a great place to come. I really enjoyed it.”

So did everyone else, apparently. “All I know is, I came out here two
years ago and I looked awful,” said Gaughan after Wednesday night’s race. “(Tonight) the only guy I lost to is Blaney. I’ll take that any day of the week!”
“It’s always fun to come out here,” added Stewart. “This is one of the best short tracks in the country. It’s so fun to come here. This is something we don’t get to do enough of, that’s for sure. Glad we got to come tonight.”

Tom Jensen is the Senior NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,” and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

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