Bill Davis Racing Recap
What Happened
Bill Davis started the season with the only Toyota car inside the top 35. Unfortunately the combination of Toyota’s engine package and Dave Blaney’s misfortune, the #22 car quickly fell outside the top 35. Meanwhile teammate Jeremy Mayfield didn’t qualify until the fifth race of the season. It set a miserable tone for the entire season for the #36 car.
Things did improve for Blaney’s ride. He won his 2nd career pole, and Toyota’s first, at Loudon, and also managed four top tens in the second half of the year. Mayfield was ultimately let go to make way for former CART and Formula 1 driver Jacques Villeneuve.
What Went Well
Driving for the only established Cup team, Blaney adjusted best to the new Camry. The results began showing in the final 16 races of the season. In the first 19 races he scored 3 top 20’s compared to 7 in the final 16. Toyota’s progress was also seen in Blaney’s DNF distribution. He had 7 DNF’s in the first 19 races when he was running at the back of the pack where it’s easier to get caught up in other people’s messes. Once he began running better the DNF’s disappeared.
Maybe the biggest positive for Blaney and Bill Davis Racing was ending the season inside the top 35. The Toyota engine package will be much better in 2008, so Blaney can now start working towards improvement rather than survival. Blaney’s primary sponsor Caterpillar also returns for 2008.
What Went Wrong
Like every other Toyota team, the beginning of the year was a major flop. Blaney and Mayfield both struggled to stay on the lead lap. Through the first 18 races, they each had one lead lap finish. With a brand new team and sponsor, Mayfield’s season was completely derailed. That combination ultimately led to Mayfield’s departure.
Poor cars or not, Blaney’s 7 DNF’s to begin the season did not help. He was parked at Daytona for rough driving that incited an accident, and then three weeks later wrecked on lap 17 at Las Vegas. Blaney did an amazing job of avoiding trouble in an underfunded Dodge in 2006, so he is definitely capable of making the most out of bad cars.
For the second Cup car, Villeneuve will not only have to adjust to stock cars on the fly, but try and qualify for at least the first five races on speed. It’s also unknown where the sponsorship will come from. Villeneuve drove two races last year with charity Unicef on the hood, but no announcement has been made for 2008.
Past Team Reviews
- DEI
- Michael Waltrip Racing
- Penske Racing
- Haas-CNC
- Team Red Bull
- Joe Gibbs
- Evernham
- Wood Bros
- Hendrick Motorsports
- Robert Yates Racing
- Chip Ganassi Racing
- Petty Enterprises
- Roush-Fenway Racing
-
Last chance to enter the Trouble in Turn 2 Giveaway! It’s a UPS truck.
So how do you win it? Give me some feedback. I have created a short survey and value your opinions of this blog. Fill out the survey and I will draw a winner at the end of the month. Even if you think the prize is lame and don’t want to win, I would really appreciate your help to improve the site. Be honest, that’s the only way it will work, and no one besides me will see the answers. As always thanks for reading.