Riding with … Dave Blaney

November 11, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

Last week: The Trumbull County native, driving the No. 35 Big Red Chevrolet, finished in 35th place at the AAA Texas 500 in Fort Worth. Blaney finished 15 laps off the pace.

Season to date: Blaney remains in 32nd place in the Sprint Cup standings with 475 points. He’s 30 behind Casey Mears.

This weekend: NASCAR’s top series heads to suburban Phoenix for the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday. Television coverage (ESPN) begins at 1 p.m., with the green flag scheduled to drop around 3:15.

Staff report