RIDING WITH … Dave Blaney

Last week: The Hartford native qualified in the sixth position for the NASCAR Sprint Showdown at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. He finished in 10th place in the non-points race.

This week: NASCAR’s premier series stays at Lowe’s Motor Speedway for another week. Sunday at 5:30 p.m. is the Coca-Cola 600. In last year’s Coca-Cola 600, Blaney qualified 31st and finished 29th and getting as high as 17th in the race. However, in the Bank of America race in October, he started 34th and finished sixth.

Season to date: Blaney has been on somewhat of a roll. In three of his last four points races, the Hartford native has qualified 19th, 17th and 13th. Two weekends ago in Darlington, Blaney finished ninth, his best finish of the season. He’s maintained 35th place in the season standings.

Vindicator, NASCAR.com