Blaney Battled Handling Issues at the Monster Mile to Finish 26th

No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet Held onto 32^nd in Owner Points

DOVER, DEL. (May 16, 2011) – Dave Blaney and the Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) team battled handling issues to finish 26^th in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism at Dover International Speedway. Blaney drove the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet from a 30^th-place starting spot and endured problems with rubber on the track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event. Blaney and the TBR team held their positions of 31^st and 32^nd, respectively, in the NSCS point standings.

The TBR team worked on the handling of the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet in race-trim during both practices. Blaney posted the 43^rd-fastest time of 23.590 seconds in first practice and the 30^th-fastest time of 23.344 seconds in qualifying-trim in final practice. With qualifying cancelled due to rain, the field was set by practice speeds, giving Blaney the 35^th starting position.

Blaney took the green flag from the 35^th position. He worked his way up to 32^nd before radioing that the Golden Corral Chevrolet was loose. A caution on lap 21 allowed the TBR team to change four tires and make a trackbar adjustment to help the handling of the Chevrolet.

Photo credit: Phil Cavali - thehotlap.com

The race restarted on lap 25, and the Hartford, Ohio native drove into 29^th place. Blaney radioed that the car was free in the first part of the corner and too tight in the last part, an issue that would plague the team all day. The competition caution flew on lap 40, and crew chief Tommy Baldwin called the Golden Corral Chevrolet down pit road for four tires, fuel, and trackbar and wedge adjustments.

Blaney restarted 27^th but fell back to 28^th as he explained to the crew that the car began to chatter in the turns. He worked on changing his line but struggled with the tire buildup on the one-mile racetrack. Before falling a lap down on lap 95, he radioed that the Chevrolet was tightening up everywhere. The team made the first green-flag pit stop on lap 109 and changed four tires.

On lap 122, the Buckeye Bullet was up to 27^th, one lap down. He explained to the crew that the car’s handling did not change and he could not put any throttle into the corner while he searched for front grip. On lap 151, the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet fell a second lap down when leader Carl Edwards passed Blaney in turn one.

A small rain shower forced NASCAR officials to call a caution on lap 162. Blaney told Baldwin that they needed to address the tight-off condition through the center more than the loose-in condition. Baldwin called for the TBR crew to make a wedge adjustment. The Golden Corral Chevrolet restarted 30^th, two laps down on lap 169. Eleven laps later, Blaney radioed that the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet was way too tight, loose around the corner and had no front grip.

By lap 211, the team fell a third lap down while in the 30^th spot. Another yellow flag waved on lap 217, and Blaney explained that the car bounced really badly after 20-30 laps into a run. Despite the handling problems, Blaney was running times as fast as the top-10 cars by lap 325. On lap 334, the Golden Corral Chevrolet pulled in for another yellow-flag pit stop, and the team made changes to try to help the handling problem.

The field went green-flag racing for the next 20 laps before the sixth caution was called on lap 363. Blaney told the crew that the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet was worse bouncing in the turns, and Baldwin made another trackbar adjustment to the Chevrolet.

The green flag waved on lap 366 with the Golden Corral Chevrolet in the 27^th position, four laps down. Blaney worked passed the No. 32 of Mike Bliss for the 26^th spot but fell back to 27^th on lap 387. The Ohio native radioed to the crew that the No. 36 started off turning a little better but quickly fell back to the same problems. Blaney held on to finish 26^th, four laps down in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks.

The Golden Corral team is currently 32^nd in NSCS Owner Points, 31 points ahead of Andy Lally in the 36^th spot and 10 points out of 31^st. Blaney still holds the 31^st position in NSCS Driver Points, six points ahead of 32^nd and 28 points out of 30^th.

“It was a rough day,” explained Blaney. “Our car really struggled with the tire buildup on the racetrack. Every turn I had to work to avoid any rubber on the track. If I hit the rubber, the car would loose all grip. The Golden Corral team worked hard to make the car better all day. We gained points on the 36^th spot, so in the end, it was a good day for what we had to work with.”

The TBR team will not compete in the All-Star race next weekend in order to take that time and money to focus on working on the fleet of cars needed to run the rest of the NSCS schedule. Blaney will return to the track in the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 29^th.

About Golden Corral Corporation:

Founded in 1973, privately held Golden Corral Corp. is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. Golden Corral currently has 485 restaurants in 41 states.  The company’s vision is to be the leader in the family restaurant segment by making pleasurable dining affordable for every guest, at every restaurant, every day.  Golden Corral restaurants nationwide have long been strong supporters of the U.S. Military and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).  Golden Corral helped raise more than $1,000,000 for the DAV in 2010 as part of its annual “Military Appreciation Monday” initiative.  For more information on Golden Corral, visit www.goldencorral.com.

About Tommy Baldwin Racing:

Tommy Baldwin Racing was formed in 2009 by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin. Baldwin utilized a slumping economy to open a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team for a fraction of the cost. The team competed in two full seasons with multiple drivers behind the wheel of the No. 36 Chevrolet and improved in the standings each year.

Based in Mooresville, N.C., TBR will compete in the full NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule in 2011 with NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney piloting the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet. Looking to improve on-track performance and increase the number of races they complete, TBR is still seeking partners to support their racing efforts. TBR’s driver development program, Heinke-Baldwin Racing, will also compete in various NASCAR series in 2011.

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.

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Media Contact:

Heather Lumpp – heather@heinkebaldwinracing.com – o: 704.696.0036 – c: 847.302.5509