Honoring Davey

The Havoline team racked up another top-10 run last weekend at Dover with a sixth-place finish. We had a great car, and one that I felt could have won the race, but we had a tire go flat during a pit stop and had to come back down pit road and lost a lot of track position.

But our Havoline Dodge was so strong we were able to come back up through the field and finished sixth. It was another good day for us, and I think we're showing that we've got a team that can run up front each week.

I feel like we're finally reaching our goal of running consistently each week. With the exception of Richmond, we've had four top-10 finishes in the last five races. We've regained some ground in the point standings and I feel like we can easily get a top-15 finish in the point standings by the end of the season. We also gained some points in the Raybestos Rookie battle, so Dover was a very good weekend for us.

This week we head to Talladega and it's a very busy weekend for the Havoline team. As everyone knows by now, we're running the "BattleStar" paint scheme made famous by the late Davey Allison during his rookie year in the Havoline car in 1987. We've got several special events planned with Liz Allison and her children, along with Davey's parents, Bobby and Judy.

I think as this weekend gets closer, I'm starting to realize and truly appreciate the honor that I've been given to drive this specially painted car. We've been doing a lot of media interviews getting ready for this weekend and I think it's really starting to hit me how big this is. It's going to be a special feeling to get out on the track Friday at Talladega and hear and see the fan response to this car. Talladega was Davey's "home track," so this weekend's race is going to be special.

We're taking the same car we ran at Daytona back in July and feel like it's the best speedway car we have. We really didn't get to show how strong it is at Daytona because we got caught up in a wreck.

Talladega's one of those tracks where it's a lot more about the car. I mean, pretty much, what you unload with is what you have for the weekend. No one really picks up a lot from the time we practice, qualify and then race.

I'd love to be the one that puts the "BattleStar" paint scheme out in the lead at Talladega. I just want all the fans, especially the Davey Allison fans, to know that I'm honored to get to drive this car at Talladega this weekend. Hopefully history will repeat itself and a new version of "BattleStar" will be in victory lane Sunday.