(Photo by DB3 Imaging)
Inside Line Promotions – WILMOT, Wis. (July 28, 2015) – Dale Blaney had the performance every racer dreams about last week.
Blaney and the Mainstream Holdings, Inc., sponsored CH Motorsports team earned three feature victories and the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup championship.
“It was probably the best week I’ve had,” he said. “It was pretty good.”
Blaney kicked off the week last Tuesday at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., by qualifying fourth quickest in his group during the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event. He then finished second in a heat race to lock himself into the 10th starting position for the first of twin 30-lap main events at the high-banked track.
“When you have (Donny) Schatz on the front row and you’re starting 10th you’re thinking it’s going to be tough to win,” he said. “I knew if we were operating good we could get to the top three. You put Donny on the front row and he’s tough to beat. But I’ve seen that track get that way, really slick. You have to run all over it and our car was really good.”
Blaney capitalized on his experience by quickly powering into the top three. He then maneuvered around Daryn Pittman for the runner-up position before sliding Schatz for the lead on Lap 17.
“It’s a momentum place and you just keep your speed up,” he said. “Before I knew it was I was running third and we had an opportunity. I knew Donny and Daryn were running the bottom in turns one and two and I was working the middle. I had an opportunity because Schatz didn’t know where I was running. I made it stick up there and got enough of a run to slide him in turns three and four. To pass Donny to win an Outlaw race is pretty special.”
Blaney led Laps 17 through 19 before Schatz nipped him at the line on Lap 20. Blaney reclaimed the lead on the ensuing lap and held on for the final 10 circuits to earn his second World of Outlaws victory of the season.
That lined him up on the inside of the 10th row for the second feature, which inverted the lead lap cars.
“It’s tough starting 19th with everybody in front of you,” he said. “You’re fighting so hard with Pittman and Schatz and (Kerry) Madsen and (Shane) Stewart. You’re fighting tooth and nail for real estate. I think they had a yellow about halfway through and we were running 15th. I knew I had to get in the top 10 to have an opportunity to win the overall title. We found a lane on the bottom of turn two and I got a couple of runs on guys. We started running really good the last 10 laps.”
Blaney rallied to post an eighth-place result, which earned him the Hard Charger Award as well as his first Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup title.
The Mainstream Holdings, Inc., backed team continued its success into last weekend by sweeping the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions doubleheader in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Blaney timed in third quickest during qualifying last Friday at Hartford Motor Speedway in Hartford, Mich. He then won the first of two heat races and advanced from seventh to third place during the second heat to lock himself into the dash.
“It was really hard to pass all night,” he said. “Track position was huge there. We were fortunate to draw the No. 1 (during the dash redraw) and won the dash. There were only 13 or 14 cars that started the A Main so we knew there wouldn’t be much traffic. Where you were coming off turn two on the start was probably where you’d finish. The motor took off really good in the A Main and that probably won us the race.”
Blaney led the distance of the dash and the feature to score his first career win at Hartford Motor Speedway.
The weekend concluded on Saturday at Wilmot Raceway, where Blaney qualified second quickest, finished second in a heat race and won the dash. He then led throughout the entire main event to post his fourth straight victory at the track.
“We were fortunate to draw the No. 2 (in the dash redraw) and get us in clean air to win the dash,” he said. “The feature was tough. I felt like the track was going to stay heavier than it did. Our car wasn’t the best, but track position was key. (Cody) Darrah was all over me. I was able to plug some holes in traffic. We had a yellow with seven laps to go. He drove by me after that and I turned it back underneath of him. It was nip and tuck. We were both going at it pretty hard.”
Blaney, who leads the All Star championship standings by 169 points, returns to action this Friday and Saturday at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, for the Open Wheel Championship and Sunday at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, Pa., for the 2nd annual Sprint Monster with the series.
QUICK RESULTS –
July 21 – Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 2 (3); Feature #1: 1 (10); Feature #2: 8 (19).
July 24 – Hartford Motor Speedway in Hartford, Mich. – Qualifying: 3; Heat race #1: 1 (2); Heat race #2: 3 (7); Dash: 1 (1); Feature: 1 (1).
July 25 – Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, Wis. – Qualifying: 2; Heat race: 2 (4); Dash: 1 (2); Feature: 1 (1).
SEASON STATS –
49 races, 11 wins, 25 top fives, 38 top 10s, 39 top 15s, 43 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday and Saturday at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, for the Open Wheel Championship and Sunday at Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway in Imperial, Pa., for the 2nd annual Sprint Monster with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.BigGameTreestands.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Game-Treestands/251832101535076?fref=ts
VIDEO –
Here is a link to highlights of Blaney’s World of Outlaws victory at Attica Raceway Park on May 29: https://youtu.be/ZZ0DlkA5T1c.
Here’s a link to highlights of Blaney’s World of Outlaws win during the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville Speedway on July 21: https://youtu.be/J9wpd7i6uDA
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INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
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- Shawn Miller on Jul 28, 2015
- Article Date: 7/28/2015 by Inside Line Promotions