RIDING WITH … Dave Blaney

Last weekend: The Hartford native qualified 19th but suffered balancing issues and finished 30th in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Avondale, Ariz., Saturday night Blaney stayed on the lead lap the first 86 laps, but finished three laps off the pace of winner Jimmie Johnson. He was named winner of the Allstate “Good Hands Driver of the Race” award by the FOX network broadcasters after narrowly avoiding the slowing car driven by Elliott Sadler on lap 163.

Season to date: Blaney moved up one spot in the Sprint Cup series standings, to 36th, with 546 points. He is 369 points behind 12th-place Ryan Newman in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Next: NASCAR’s premier series takes a week off and will return to the superspeedway in Talladega, Ala., April 27, for the Aaron’s 499.

Vindicator, nascar.com, daveblaney.com