Dave Blaney turned the fasted lap at Loudon, NH in qualifying today to give Toyota its first pole of their Nextel Cup era. Blaney was fastest in practice and turned that into his second career pole. Blaney beat out Kurt Busch, Reed Sorenson, Johnny Sauter and Juan Montoya; a most unlikely top five. This is also a CoT race.
Toyota has struggled during their first season in Cup racing. Generally they have had difficulty getting teams into the field. Recently, though, teams requested some engine modifications from the manufacturer and things have gotten better. Brian Vickers led a large number of laps at Charlotte, before component problems led to his demise.
Toyota’s struggles have been greatly manifested in two teams, though; Michael Waltrip Racing and Team Red Bull. Michael Waltrip was found to have an unapproved substance in his intake manifold at Daytona, was penalized heavily and has yet to recover. He and teammate Dale Jarrett have missed many races. Team Red Bull has struggled to make the field, as well.
Dave Blaney has been a bright spot for the manufacturer this season, though. His qualifying runs generally place him in the top 20, though he has missed enough races to be just out of the top 35 in owner points, something that would guarantee him a starting spot each week. This pole will be a great rallying point for Team Toyota.
One can only wonder, how long it will be before they record a victory. They have seemed close a few times. If they are able to put together some quality qualifying passes and combine that with more top 15s, they may have a chance to score a victory by year’s end. Most likely, though, it will be next season before they can sip champagne in Victory Lane.
