Dave Blaney, driver of the #36 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Chevrolet,...

Dave Blaney, driver of the #36 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Chevrolet, looks on in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Feb. 22, 2012) Credit: Getty Images

During the offseason, Bellport native and NASCAR owner Tommy Baldwin relinquished one of the most precious possessions in all of motorsports -- a guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500.

Thursday afternoon, he got it back. Tommy Baldwin Racing driver Dave Blaney earned a place on the starting grid for The Great American Race in the second of two Gatorade Duel qualifying races.

Baldwin’s team was in the top 35 in owners points at the end of the 2011 season, which earned an automatic spot in the first five races of the 2012 season. But Baldwin, per NASCAR’s approval, made a deal with Tony Stewart-owned Stewart-Haas Racing to transfer those owners points to the No. 10 car of rookie Danica Patrick, securing her a spot in the Daytona 500.

The deal allowed Baldwin to expand his single-car team, which will now field a second entry for David Reutimann in the No. 10 car in the races Patrick doesn’t run. She’s running only 10 Sprint Cup races while running full-time in the Nationwide Series.

The only downside was potentially missing the 500. But Blaney came through, finishing 12th overall and first among drivers not already locked into the race. The top two finishers in each 150-mile Duel race among drivers not already qualified earn a spot in the Daytona 500. Blaney will start 24th on Sunday.

Baldwin, 45, is a former NASCAR crew chief who won the Daytona 500 in 2002 with driver Ward Burton. He formed his own NASCAR Sprint Cup team in 2009.

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