Team Jasper Motorsports/Penske Racing South Car/Make No. 77/Dodge Sponsor Jasper Engines & Transmissions Crew Chief TBA (Possibilities: Steven Lane, Bill Wilburn, Shane Wilson)
STATS	2003	CAREER
Rank	28	19*
Wins	0	0
Top 5	1	1
Top 10	4	17
DNFs	4	23
Top Finish	3 (Darlington)	3
*Indicates best career points finish

2003 recap
The good: With his third-place run at Darlington in March, Blaney posted his first career top-five finish and began the season with a bang. The finish came on the heels of an eighth-place run at Atlanta the week before and a 10th-place run at North Carolina Speedway two weeks before that. Blaney was ranked seventh in the standings and poised to make a mark in his fourth full season. Everything seemed to be going right for the Ohio native -- he even had the option on his contract picked up for the 2004 season.

The bad: But that was five races into the year. Afterward, Blaney managed just one more top 10 while posting 13 finishes of 30th or worse. For the first time in his full-time Cup career, he finished lower in the points standing than the year before (finishing 28th after a 19th-placed effort in 2002).

Key stat: 1. Blaney grabbed career pole position No. 1 in the second race of the year, the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway.

2004 outlook
What needs to be done: A lot. But not just by Blaney. Kodak appears to have its finger on the domino that will start a string of changes in the Nextel Cup garage. The high-paying sponsor is going to leave Morgan-McClure Motorsports' No. 4 car and, quite possibly, land with the Jasper 77 team - only, if it does, the team will be co-owned by Penske Racing South and Penske may want to put Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan in the driver's seat and change the car number to 72. What that would mean for Blaney is unclear, as the driver is signed through 2004. An announcement is expected next week.

Key change: If Blaney does get to stay in this ride, he'll be driving a Dodge Intrepid instead of a Ford Taurus. Penske has always had significant involvement with this team and, after one year of running Dodges, Penske has handed over notes to help guide this team through its transition.

Prediction: Looking for a definitive take? Yeah right. Try a couple of if's. If Blaney gets to keep this ride, don't expect a repeat of 2003. With Dodge power and either Lane or Wilburn as crew chief -- not to mention Penske motors -- Blaney could contend for a top 15 or 20 finish. IF Blaney is replaced by Gaughan, don't expect him to turn around a full-time deal quickly enough to run 36 in 2004. Right now, guys like Jeff Burton are having a hard enough time negotiating a full-time schedule.

Did you know: Blaney's brother (Dale) played in the NBA (and now drives a World of Outlaws car owned by Dave).

Your take
Should Blaney get another shot in 77 to see what he's capable of in better equipment than the Ford leftovers he settled for in 2003? Or was his potential maxed out in 2002 and the Jasper team ought to give another driver a go? Here are your thoughts on Blaney's prospects for 2004.