Blaney replaces rookie Sauter

Elwood · June 15, 2004

June 15, 2004

WELCOME, N.C. (AP) -- Dave Blaney will replace rookie Johnny Sauter in Richard Childress Racing's No. 30 in NASCAR's top series.

Blaney finished 29th at Sunday's Nextel Cup Pocono 500 while filling in for Sauter, who raced in Saturday night's Busch series event in Nashville, Tenn.

Sauter, who will remain under contract with RCR and could still drive some races for the team this year, had been racing full-time in the Busch series, for Brewco Motorsports, and Nextel Cup.

``This sport has gotten so tough and complicated, sometimes tough decisions have to be made,'' team owner Richard Childress said Tuesday. ``Our sport is driven by business decisions and that is what this driver change is, a business decision.

``Blaney has a strong, consistent driving style that will fit well with the No. 30 team.''

The 25-year-old Sauter had no top-10 finishes in the first 13 Cup races this season and was 28th in the points standings. Childress said he has not given up on Sauter.

``I still feel very strongly about Johnny's ability as a young driver,'' Childress said. ``That is why I wanted to keep him under contract with RCR to run the additional Cup races for us this season and help us with testing.''

The 41-year-old Blaney is in his seventh season and has 155 starts in NASCAR's top series. He made eight starts for Bill Davis Racing before getting in the RCR entry at Pocono. He is a former World of Outlaws sprint car champion.

``I look forward to getting back to racing every weekend and can't think of a better opportunity for me than with a great team like RCR and a great sponsor like America Online,'' Blaney said.

As announced earlier, Jim Inglebright will drive the No. 30 in the road race June 27 in Sonoma, Calif.

antig24 · June 16, 2004

Sounds good to me, I'm glad this happened. I'm also glad that Sauter wasn't dropped by RCR either, I think he just needed some time to get more experience in BGN.