rpm.espn.com: Blaney needs better luck

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Sunday, December 16
Blaney needs better luck
ESPN.com

We asked users whether Dave Blaney could crack the top-20 in points with a new team next season. Here are some of the comments:

Dave will finish in the top 20. I think Dave will do better with the Jasper Team because it's a one car team that knows how to prepare a race car and Dave will benefit from being the only driver. Dave Blaney is a great race car driver and this will be evident in the 2002 season.

Jim Roache
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Dave is a great driver and with a little luck could get his first top-five finish and win next year. If the Jasper team can give him some stability with the same pit crew and crew chief for a whole season you will see that he can drive the wheels off a Winston Cup car. With Penske/Jasper engines and an aggressive crew chief I think Dave will surprise a number of people, especially on the 1.5 mile tracks like Atlanta, Texas, Charlotte and Kansas Speedways. Yes, Dave will finish around 12 in the point standings next year.

Bennie Cooper
Lenexa, Kan.

No. Not with Jasper Motorsports.

Amanda Revezzo
Hamburg, N.Y.

Hell, yes he can. Dave drove the wheels off the 93 car all year. If you look at the number of cars he passed this year -- I bet it is in the top 5 of all WC. Bill Davis Racing let Dave down -- Bill Davis says that. Dave has all the talent in the world and is going to be a great driver provided the situation is correct. Would have been real neat to see him go to work for Evernham or Hendrick!

Curt Brooks
West Des Moines, Iowa

Dave Blaney is a much better driver than the situations he has been in. Had he joined a proven team (like Tony Stewart did with Joe Gibbs) his results would be dramatically better ... most likely wins. But, he had to go through a learning curve with a less than established team. The challenge with Jasper will be under funding and under staffing. It's not going to allow Dave to show his true potential.

Ron Sutton
Sacramento, Calif.

If they surround Dave with equipment and personnel, I see no reason for him not to approach a top 15 finish in the points.I don't know how many times Dave would pick up four to five spots on the track only to lose six to seven in the pits. That won't get it done in WC today.

Bob Akey
Marysville Ontario

Yes! Dave will definitely be in the top 20 in points. He was showing a lot more consistency and determination in the end of 2001. He was also getting a lot more aggressive. Dave will get his first win in 2002.

Connie Holder
Pilot Knob, Mo.

Huge mistake for him to leave BDR ... huge. I know they didn't have a sponsor lined up yet, but Davis committed to running the team out of his own pocket. Starting over in Winston Cup is ALWAYS difficult.

Phil Price
Washington, DC

Poor Dave Blaney. Dave has got a ton of talent, there is no doubt about that. It's just a shame that he couldn't stay at Bill Davis Racing since Hut Stricklin bought that ride. Unfortunately, the No. 77 won't allow Dave to showcase his talent. While the 77 does have the "other Pemberton" as their crew chief, they will never run better than when D.K. Ulrich owned the team. When Jasper Engines owns and sponsors the car, yet uses Penske engines, that should tell you something right there. You could start a "Where are they now?" file on former 77 drivers - -Bobby Hillin, Morgan Shepherd, Greg Sacks, Davy Jones, and now Pressley is going to the truck series. Hopefully Dave Blaney can put together some decent runs and get hired away by a better team.

Tully Blanchard
Sanford, Fla.

Seems to like Dave Blaney's biggest problems this year came with problems caused by his crew.. Every time he pitted, he lost five to 10 spots.. At Atlanta he was dominating the race when the crew didn't get a wheel on right and messed him up. I know the Jasper engines deal doesn't have as much money, but they won't need as much since they won't be wrecking as much as they did with Robert Pressley.

Andy Clark
Oskaloosa, Iowa

Dave can drive a Cup car, pressure or no. Check out how many times he passed 40 or 50 cars in a race, just to unlap himself after a bad luck pit call or loose lugnut, spark plug wire, or whatever else happened. Let's hope Dave has the opportunity to get to the front on a level playing field, you know, good, consistent sub-16 sec. pit stops, etc. The list goes on and on ...

Don Cooley
Bellefontaine, Ohio

Jasper could turn out to be a more demanding team because of it's will to succeed. Jasper Engines and Transmissions depend on their own race team for marketing and advertising, thus relying on their Winston cup team to increase sales. They brought Blaney on board for a reason, to take the team to the next level. Not to say that Robert didn't do a great job, he just found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time on the track. You will be surprised with what you see from Jasper Motorsports this next season! Jasper's partnership with Penske Racing in the engine department has helped both teams be a little more reliable on the track throughout the season. I don't think either team lost an engine the entire season due to internal failure. That says something about Jasper's commitment to R&D. They had better be since the company is starting their 60th year and is now the country's largest full line remanufacturer.

Eric Lang
Oklahoma City

I don't think so.

Adrianne Harper
Spiro, Okla.

With this transition, Dave will again have the first part of the year to start getting comfortable with his team. I don't think it will take him long to get there either. I'm predicting that he will get his first win within the first five races of 2002. That momentum will carry him through the rest of the season, and make him a contender for the points battle.

Joe Danyi
Girard Ohio

Robert Pressley was pretty competitive last year (I believe he finished second behind Harvick in Chicago) -- the troubles he had for the most part weren't equipment related. Many of the problems Dave had this past year were related to factors outside his control -- like the two Atlanta races -- one where loose lugnuts caused him to lose a wheel when he was clearly the man early in the race, and the second when an oil line was melted. I don't think the sponsorship will affect much. I think the crew and getting on the good side of lady luck will help push Blaney into the top 15 this year.

David Andrews
Gurnee, Ill.

No sponsorship money, no good. Better hope for a lucky win so he can hunt for a new ride in 2003 too.

Calvin Rowland
Lisle, Ill.

	Driver Spotlight: Dave Blaney Winston Cup off-season driver spotlight index