For Dave Blaney, all the elements are in place. Now it's time to ... 'Put it
'Put it together'
By RICK MINTER Cox News Service T
The most steady driver in the seven-car Toyota camp has been Dave Blaney, the popular driver of Bill Davis' No. 22 Caterpillar-sponsored Camry.

Blaney has qualified for every race, unlike most of his fellow Toyota drivers, but his best finish has been a 21st in last week's Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Largely because he failed to finish the first three races of the season, he's mired in 37th place in the standings heading into this weekend's race at Phoenix International Raceway.

Blaney said his Nextel Cup runs, as well as his efforts in the Busch Series, haven't had the consistency that NASCAR teams need to be successful.

"It's been hot and cold," Blaney said. "We've had good runs in the Busch car, finished good at Daytona and got the pole at California and ran good in most of the races.We did struggle at Atlanta and Bristol.

"The Cup car's the same way. It ran really good a few times, but at California and Las Vegas, we didn't finish. We didn't finish at Daytona either."

His failure to finish the Daytona 500 wasn't his car's fault. He was parked by NASCAR officials for speeding down pit road to avoid a wreck then driving back onto the track and into the side of Ken Schrader's Ford.

He said his car isn't to blame for most of his setbacks.

"I'm happy with the equipment," he said. "The Toyota stuff has been good.We've run good on both the Cup and Busch sides. I'm happy with everything.We just need to put it together better."

He acknowledged that his efforts this year may have been hampered by the fact that many of his Toyota teammates have missed races. His Bill Davis Racing teammate Jeremy Mayfield has started just two of seven races this season. When drivers don't run, they don't have information to share, leaving Blaney and his crew to figure out things for themselves.

"It is information we don't gain, but not finishing races is what has really put a crimp in it for us as far as points," he said.

Another factor is that Toyota picked a tough year to come into Nextel Cup with mostly new teams. The oversupply of race teams this season means that several are sent home after qualifying each week.

"It's hard to make races this year," he said. "Take Brian Vickers; when he has run, he's run good, but a lot of times he can't get past Friday. It's been hard to show what you've got this year."

Blaney said that his loyal fans, who call themselves "Blaniacs," seem to have accepted Toyota's entry into Nextel Cup.

"I really haven't seen or heard really much of anything about that," he said. "After a few years in the Craftsman Truck Series, Toyota's been accepted and become part of the sport."

And he predicts that one day soon, Toyota drivers will be racing for victories, instead

of simply trying to

make races.

"It'll be a little bit, but they'll run good," he

said.

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