Coca-Cola 250
Talladega Superspeedway
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012
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RYAN BLANEY – No. 29 Draw-Tite RAM Crew Chief: Doug Randolph
Career Stats: Starts: 4 Wins: 1 Top Fives: 1 Top 10s: 2 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 63
2012 Season Stats: Starts: 4 Wins: 1 Top Fives: 1 Top 10s: 2 Poles: 0 Laps Led: 63
• Will be making his fifth NCWTS start of the season, all in the No. 29 RAM for Brad Keselowski Racing.
• Claimed first NCWTS victory at Iowa Speedway in his third series start. The win was the first for RAM since Dennis Setzer won at Martinsville in March 2008.
• Become the youngest winner in series history at 18 years of age when he won at Iowa, surpassing Kyle Busch.
• All 63 laps led have come in two most recent starts.
• Brad Keselowski Racing is sixth in the NCWTS owner standings, 51 behind leader Richard Childress (No. 3).
• Average finish in four races this season is 7.25 while his average start is 8.75.
• Will be making his first start on a restrictor plate track this weekend at Talladega.
• Started fifth and finished sixth in series debut at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
• Has completed 100 percent of total possible laps this season (all 668 laps).
• In 2011 at Talladega, Parker Kligerman qualified eighth in the No. 29 RAM but was sidelined early with engine problems and was credited with a 28th-place finish. He finished 11th in the only other restrictor-plate race this season (Daytona). Brad Keselowski started fifth at Daytona but was knocked out of the race with 10 laps to go. He finished 27th.
RAM DRIVER QUOTES “This is my first superspeedway race. I’ve talked to Brad (Keselowski, team owner) and my dad (Dave Blaney), two very good restrictor-plate racers and have gotten some good advice from them but there’s only so much advice they can give you until you actually get out there and you have to learn it. Hopefully, we can run well and stay out of trouble. I’ve always thought the safest place to be is up front. I don’t think you want to be back there, that’s where the wrecks usually happen. A top five I think would be great and be a good morale boost for the team.” — Ryan Blaney
THE NUMBERS: TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
• The best finish for RAM in six previous Talladega races is fifth by Dennis Setzer in 2007.
• The best start by a RAM driver at the 2.66-mile track is third by Bobby Hamilton Jr. in 2006.
• Four of the six previous races have been won from a top-six starting position including two from the pole.
RAM IN THE CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
• Bobby Hamilton (2004) and Ted Musgrave (2005) won the season championship driving a RAM.
• RAM has claimed the manufacturer’s title three times in the 17-year history of the series – 2001, 2003 and 2004.
• Tony Raines gave RAM its first win in the series in 1997, winning at I-70 Speedway in Odessa, Mo. There have been 65 trips to victory lane since then.
• RAM won 15 of the 24 NCWTS races during the 2001 season, 13 of 25 in 2003 and 11 of 25 in 2004.
• There have been 434 races in the NCWTS beginning at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 2, 1995. There were three RAM drivers – Joe Bessey, Bob Keselowski and Walker Evans – in the 33-truck starting field
• RAM is seeking its first Talladega victory.
RAM TALK “It’s always a wild card at Talladega. I feel like we’ve got a really good RAM. We were really fast at Daytona. I really hope we can go to Talladega and shine and show what we should have been able to show at Daytona. Since they repaved Daytona, there’s very little difference between there and Talladega.” — Doug Randolph, Crew Chief, No. 29 Draw-Tite RAM
