#66-Dave Blaney’s NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been tumultuous, so to speak. The Hartford native, who drives for Prism Motorsports, has competed in 15 of the 18 Cup races. He has a completion percentage of 16.9 percent, starts with an average of 32.2 and finishes with an average of 40.7. He’s accumulated $1,161,200 in winnings heading into this weekend’s race in Chicago. “In my case, all you can do is stay in the car, stay at the racetrack and do all you can do,” Blaney said prior to Tuesday’s Lou Blaney Memorial Classic. “The first few weeks, it was a really hard thing to do. You kind of resign yourself to that’s what it is.” Blaney finished only one race this season, the Coca-Cola 600. In the other races, Blaney and his team dealt with “star and park” status, in which some drivers finish early to preserve their cars at the first sign of mechanical problems, such as vibration or transmission, because they are unable to pit for repairs. It’s a matter of economics. “Hopefully, an opportunity comes along in either of the other series or in the Cup series or my team gathers a little sponsorship along the way and it starts building up,” Blaney said. “It’s hard thing, but at the moment, it was the best option.”(Warren Tribune Chronicle)(7-9-2009)
