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[/media-credit]Race: Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: 1 of 36 Track: Daytona International Speedway
Dave Blaney will return to the Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Depot Chevrolet for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) season. Due to TBR’s collaboration with Stewart-Haas Racing, Blaney will have to qualify for the season-opener Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) Sunday, February 26.
TBR AT DAYTONA – TBR made six starts at DIS in its three years of competition. The team’s best finish came in the 2010 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway when Steve Park drove the No. 36 to a 13th-place finish. TBR’s best start of 17th came in the team’s Daytona 500 in 2009. Last season, Blaney posted TBR’s best super-speedway finish, when he collected a third-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in October.
BLANEY AT DAYTONA – Blaney will attempt to make his 23rd start at DIS. His best start of fourth at the famed superspeedway came in 2000 when he drove the Bill Davis No. 93. He finished a career-best 14th in 2005 while driving the Richard Childress Racing No. 07 Chevrolet. Last season, the Hartford, Ohio native led three laps in the Daytona 500 before a late-race, on-track incident ended his day early.
OLLIE’S BARGAIN OUTLET – Ollie’s Bargain Outlet will join TBR as primary sponsor for the No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Chevrolet and Blaney at the 54th Annual Daytona 500. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts, salvage and surplus merchandise. The Pennsylvania-based company currently operates 114 stores in 12 states and has previously sponsored other drivers in various NASCAR series.
CHASSIS NO. 331 – The No. 36 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet team will compete with the No. 331 chassis. The chassis is a brand new chassis made by Richard Childress Racing. TBR tested the chassis at Daytona International Speedway in January.
ROBIN PEMBERTON – NASCAR veteran Robin Pemberton will head the No. 36 team as they work to qualify into the Daytona 500. Pemberton comes from a family of racers. The Saratoga, N.Y., native started out sweeping floors at Roush Fenway Racing and worked his way up to a NSCS crew chief in 1997. Most recently, he served as crew chief for Brian Vickers at Red Bull Racing. During his career as a NSCS crew chief, he compiled two wins, 21 top-fives, 92 top-10s and 15 poles.
SPRINT CAR RACING – Blaney will race in the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series races at Volusia Speedway Park. The 1995 WoO Champion will compete on Feb. 17-19with races beginning at 7:30 p.m.
KEEPING UP WITH TBR – Keep up with TBR by following twitter.com/TBR_Racing and liking facebook.com/TBR.HBR
Dave Blaney Quotes: ON RACING AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY – “I’m thrilled to get the season started. Our team is in a better place this year than we had ever been. We have Ollie’s supporting our Daytona effort and had some solid performances last year at the super-speedways. We came and tested in January and have worked on getting some more speed in the car. It will be tough making the show, but the team has worked really hard and I think we can do it.”
ON RACING AT VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK – “I’m really excited to get back in a sprint car. I only raced in one sprint car race last year, and I missed it. I haven’t raced at Volusia in a long time. It’s a really tough track. I want to get a bunch of racing in this year, and this week will be a good start.”
Tommy Baldwin Quotes: ON THE 2012 SEASON– “We have worked really hard in the off-season to get ready for this season and set our team up for success in the future. We are running a new car this weekend and have spent time in the wind tunnel and testing to make sure we are competitive. I’m thrilled to have Robin leading the team. Our team was very successful at the super-speedways this year, so we have high expectations this week.”
About Ollie’s Bargain Outlet:
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, founded in 1982, is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts, salvage and surplus merchandise. Famous for its signature catchphrase Good Stuff Cheap, Ollie’s offers a huge variety of famous brand name merchandise at up to 70 percent off the regular retail price, and the assortment is always changing. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet operates 114 stores in Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Visit www.ollies.us for additional information.
About Tommy Baldwin Racing:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin formed Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) in 2009. Baldwin utilized a declining economy to open a NSCS team with a stringent budget. The team worked to build to full-time competition, and by the 2011 season, the team’s third season, TBR competed in every race and locked the No. 36 Chevrolet in the top-35 in NSCS Owner Points. Dave Blaney drove the No. 36 Chevrolet to TBR’s highest finish of third in the October 2011 event at Talladega Superspeedway. TBR also fielded a second car for select races in the past two seasons with multiple drivers.
Based in Mooresville, N.C., TBR will compete in the NSCS in 2012 with NASCAR veterans David Reutimann and Dave Blaney. The team will also compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with Ryan Blaney, Bobby Santos and Ryan Truex.
For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit tommybaldwinracing.com or follow us on Facebook, facebook.com/TBR.HBR, and Twitter, twitter.com/TBR_Racing.
