An Early Present for Blaney, Baldwin

The finish of the Good Sam Club 500 was side-by-side, but third place was "Cinderella." Dave Blaney, driving the underfunded Golden Corral Chevy for owner Tommy Baldwin, took the checkered flag third, matching a career best. Blaney, who just turned 49, was understandably ecstatic. "We have to thank (fourth-place) Brad Keselowski, who stayed with us all day long, every lap," Blaney said. "When you get somebody committed to you, no matter what, it makes it a lot easier. Then it's just timing at the end. "We were in the right place at the right time, squeezed through a couple holes, there you are." The finish was worth $160,833, a tidy sum for Baldwin's struggling team. "It's huge for a race team," Blaney added. "It's a tiny little team. This race car we've got, it was a Bill Davis (owned) car in 2007 and 2008. It's not a killer. It's a big, big accomplishment for us to come out. "This is a track where you can do this. You can hang in all day. With Brad Keselowski's help, we could hang in all day and take advantage of getting a big push at the right time. That's what it comes down to here, having a car that will roll the last couple laps to do that. It all just worked out." The autumn Talladega Superspeedway race was the 393rd of Blaney's career but only his fourth top-five finish. He has two career poles. His best previous finish this season was 13th at Richmond, Va., on April 30. While Bowyer, who won, and second-place Jeff Burton were breaking away from the pack, Blaney and Keselowski were advancing from 14th and 15th in the race's decisive, two-lap finish. "That was odd to see them get that far away that quick," Blaney, from Hartford, Ohio, said. "That is obviously what made it a different kind of race. ... It's exciting racing, whether it's tandem or packs, stressful on the drivers, exciting for the fans."