RIDING WITH … Dave Blaney


October 6, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

RIDING WITH … Dave Blaney

Sunday: The Hartford native started 29th and for a while was flirting with a top 10 finish in the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway before he got caught up in the “big one,” a huge multi-car wreck on lap 174 that sent him to the pits for repairs. Blaney ended up 22nd, 14 laps short of the finish, when his engine stopped.

Season to date: “The Buckeye Bullet” stayed in 31st place in the Sprint Cup series standings. He’s now 20 points behind Reed Sorenson and 54 behind Michael Waltrip, who sits 29th.

Next: NASCAR’s top series runs its final Saturday night race of the season for the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in suburban Charlotte, N.C. Qualifying starts Friday at 3 p.m. with race scheduled for a 7:25 p.m. start Saturday.

Staff report