Bill Davis feeling good as teams starting to perform

Multiple team owner Bill Davis had a unique achievement last weekend, but as usual with NASCAR's traveling circus, Davis barely had a chance to enjoy it and he's back in the whirlpool again.

Bill Davis Racing has three Truck Series teams racing Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway, and Dave Blaney's No. 22 Toyota competing in Sunday's Sprint Cup Series' Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway.

Dave Blaney

Cup results (last five races)

Track	Start	Finish	Rank
Talladega	DNQ	DNQ	36
Richmond	17	18	35
Darlington	13	9	35
Charlotte	11	17	35
Dover	18	9	31

Last weekend on a track, Dover International Speedway, whose prospects for success are so dubious it's been dubbed the "Monster Mile," and with good reason; BDR's same four teams that competed last weekend all scored top-10 finishes, which was a first for BDR.

Red Bull Racing development driver Scott Speed, who's on loan to Davis, won the AAA Insurance 200 Truck Series race, with teammates Mike Skinner seventh and Johnny Benson, 10th; and Blaney continued his march into a comfort zone inside the Sprint Cup's top 35 when he finished ninth in the Best Buy 400.

"It was cool to have everything in the top 10 -- a pretty special weekend for Bill Davis Racing," Davis said. "It's a lot easier to come in [to the shop on Monday] when you've run well -- and a lot more fun, I can guarantee you.

"We've had a good deal of success with our Truck Series program over the past couple of years, but we've probably not had three teams that were capable of winning every time out like we do now.

"Our Cup program has really started to come into its own in the past couple of weeks as well. Tommy [Baldwin, competition director/crew chief] and all the guys on that team have worked hard to turn things around from a bit of a rough start to the season.

"We seem to have found the consistency that we had been lacking and I think good things are going to happen for that team from here on out."

In Cup, BDR is a single-Toyota operation after sponsorship for a hoped-for second team for Canadian open-wheel champion Jacques Villeneuve didn't materialize. Davis said he's still in communication with Villeneuve and his cohort, Barry Green; and while "we like Jacques a lot and we would still like to run him in whatever series the opportunity presents itself, there's nothing to talk about right now."

On a wider scale, Davis is in a perfect position to see what Joe Gibbs Racing's entry into the Toyota family has brought to the table for the rest of the brood.

"I said it from the first, that Gibbs coming on board with championship teams and drivers would do nothing but strengthen the entire program and be good for everybody right on through," Davis said. "And certainly that's been the case. They're a great organization and they've been good for Toyota and the whole program."

And even with how well JGR's teams, as well as the other Camrys have run, Davis thinks claims that NASCAR is closing its eyes to any inequality in Toyota's power output is ridiculous -- and he has the proper historical perspective to state that opinion, courtesy his former Busch Series driver, Mark Martin.

"It's a combination [of things], and I'll tell you what I always relate it to," Davis said. "Mark Martin and I used to win Busch races with that Ford V6, and we were literally 30 or 40 horsepower behind; but Mark was the greatest driver in the Busch Series at the time and he did a great job with his chassis.

"Steve Hmiel and Robin Pemberton came over [from Roush Racing's Cup team] and helped us with our pit stops and strategy, and we could win races. So it's the whole combination.

"I believe you could give some of those [Cup] teams back there, 25 or 30 horsepower and they wouldn't outrun Kyle Busch. So I completely believe that NASCAR is not going to let any manufacturer have a huge advantage." (Continued)