No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger Preview - Texas
October 30, 2012
No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger
O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge
Texas Motor Speedway
Saturday, November 3, 2012
TV: ESPN at 7:00 pm ET Radio: PRN/Sirius 90
No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger News and Notes
• This Week's Challenger... Ryan Blaney and the Penske Racing Discount Tire Dodge Challenger team will use chassis PRS-210 during Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway. This chassis raced to a victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier this season with Brad Keselowski behind the wheel.
• The No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger in 2012... Following 30 points-paying events, the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge is currently ranked seventh in the NNS owner point standings following an 11th-place finish two weekends ago at Kansas Speedway with Blaney racing the "Double Deuce."
• New face of Penske Racing... This weekend will mark Blaney's sixth race competing in the No. 22 Dodge Challenger with Penske Racing. He's earned top-10 results at Iowa, Richmond and Kentucky this season for the team. Blaney comes from a long line of racing heritage, following in the footsteps of his father, Dave Blaney, the former World of Outlaws champion and current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver. Blaney has been hailed as one of NASCAR's most promising young talents and he is a welcome addition to the Penske Racing lineup.
• A Family Tradition... The history behind the No. 22 is deeply rooted within the Blaney family. Not many father-son duos can say that they have raced the same car number, but Dave and Ryan Blaney now share that tradition. Dave made a record 104 starts in the No. 22 under Bill Davis Racing before Penske Racing acquired the number at the end of the 2009 season. This weekend Ryan will continue to add to the family tradition and proudly carry on the history of the No. 22 entry.
• First Time for Everything... With a total of 26 NASCAR series career starts, Blaney has yet to compete at Texas Motor Speedway. During the 2012 season, Blaney has produced a total of 14 top-15 starts and 19 top-15 finishes in 23 starts across various NASCAR racing series.
• Double Duty Weekend.... Blaney will also make his first Texas start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday evening at Texas Motor Speedway. Driving the No. 29 Cooper Standard Dodge RAM for Brad Keselowski Racing, Blaney looks to continue his momentum of the 2012 season by attempting to capture his second win of the season with only six series starts under his belt entering this weekend.
• #PenskePride...Penske Racing is asking fans to show their Penske Pride through a unique social media contest that will last for the balance of the 2012 season. Through the #PenskePride contest, each race weekend fans will Tweet @PenskeRacing pictures showing their support of the Penske Racing organization, their favorite Penske Racing driver(s) or teams in unique and creative ways, using the hashtag #PenskePride. The best weekly photo will be named Fan Photo of the Week. At the end of each month, a Fan Photo of the Month will be selected from the weekly winners. The best monthly photos will be voted on by @PenskeRacing followers to be named Fan Photo of the Year. The winner of Photo of the Year will receive the Ultimate Penske Racing Fan Experience including tickets and hot passes to the 2013 NASCAR All-Star Race, autographed items and a tour of the Penske Racing facility with a Penske driver.
Ryan Blaney on his debut at Texas Motor Speedway
"I'm looking forward to this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. It's another track that I have yet to visit but I'm hoping that added track time from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday will help. The Discount Tire Dodge team has been hard at work on our intermediate track program and that will show this weekend. We had a good run two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway (11th place finish) and I'm excited to carry that momentum into this weekend."
Crew chief Jeremy Bullins on this weekend's race at Texas Motor Speedway
"We are excited to have Ryan Blaney back in the Discount Tire Dodge Challenger this weekend as we head to Texas Motor Speedway. After running in the top five during a majority of the race at Kansas Speedway, we certainly did not get the finish that we felt that we deserved. With that being said, we have a great Dodge Challenger and have made a lot of progress in the last few weeks on our set ups for intermediate tracks. I feel we'll be very strong for the remaining of the races as we close out the 2012 season."