Caterpillar dropping BDR and Blaney’s No. 22 team

HIGH POINT, N.C. — Bill Davis Racing announced on Wednesday that Caterpillar, the team’s sponsor for the past 10 seasons, will not return as primary sponsor of the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing team following the conclusion of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

The team car, a Toyota Camry, is driven by Hartford native Dave Blaney.

“Caterpillar and Bill Davis Racing have enjoyed a long and successful partnership throughout the last 10 seasons, and we are proud of everything we’ve accomplished together, including wins in both the Daytona 500 and Southern 500,” team owner Bill Davis said. “This is an exciting time for our team, and we are looking forward to the future.”

The No. 22 BDR team continues to impress on the track, and the team remains in the 29th spot in the Sprint Cup Series owners’ point standings. The team, led by veteran crew chief Tommy Baldwin, picked up 10 championship point positions over the course of five events and has posted two top-10 finishes and six finishes of 22nd or better in the past eight races.

Simultaneously, Caterpillar Inc. and Richard Childress Racing announced an agreement to a multi-year partnership for the No. 31 Chevrolet driven by Jeff Burton beginning with the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

An announcement regarding the second Bill Davis Racing car for 2009, the No. 23 Sprint Cup Toyota, will take place in the coming weeks.