SUN PRAIRIE – The guy with the wrinkled and sweat-stained Team Penske ball cap over his graying hair used to be a big star in places like these.
At bull rings where flying clods of dirt cake the wall, fans wear a fine coat of dust and drivers manhandle 900-horsepower winged beasts, he battled with the sprint-car greats – the Steve Kinsers, the Sammy Swindells – and won more than his share.
Now though, he’s mostly just Ryan Blaney’s dad.
“For quite a while now, that’s how it’s been,” Dave Blaney says in the quiet pits of Angell Park Speedway.
“That’s fine with me.”
The younger Blaney is the sort of rising star on which NASCAR is betting its future. Already a winner on the Monster Energy Cup circuit, Ryan is an engaging millennial who can connect with a generation the sanctioning body would love to draw to the sport.
The elder Blaney is a reserved 55-year-old who built a Hall of Fame-type sprint-car career and then gave NASCAR a try. After watching Ryan blossom – coaching as long as he could and supporting always – Dave returned to his roots by racing full-time with the All Star Circuit of Champions.
“It’s just racing to me,” Blaney says. “NASCAR was just racing.
“Yeah, it’s on a bigger stage. But I don’t think anybody, if you talk to (Cup star Kyle) Larson or (three-time Cup champion Tony) Stewart or all those guys, they’d never say this is going backwards.
“This is cool stuff. I just enjoy racing and still enjoy doing it, so we’ll come and have some fun and try to be competitive.”
After dabbling the past few years, Blaney decided he needed to either race more to stay sharp or give it up entirely. He has no long-term plan; what’s next will be determined by owners and sponsors and his own desire.
Blaney came into Thursday night – a co-sanctioned race for the Stewart-owned All Stars and the local Interstate Racing Association – fifth in All Star points with one win and 17 top-10 finishes in 28 features.
The No. 70 team is making progress, he says, but the competition is tough and he’s not the same driver he was 20 years ago.
“I’m way older, and I’m not near as good,” Blaney says, and that’s less humility than an acceptance of reality.
Blaney’s most successful racing days came around the time series leaders Carson Macedo (age 22) and Aaron Reutzel (28) were born.
“So 55 is not old, but for sitting in one of these cars it’s kind of old,” Blaney says, nodding to the sparkling Petty blue machine with the oversized rear tires.
“There’s no way you can do the things that these 25-year-old kids can do or that I could do at 25. I can’t do some of the aggressive things maybe. But that’s OK. We’re still in the hunt.”
Blaney was the All Stars’ rookie of the year in 1983, took the USAC Silver Crown title in 1984, became World of Outlaws champion in 1993 and is a winner of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals (1993) and the two most prestigious sprint-car races, the Knoxville Nationals (1997) and Kings Royal (1993 and ’95).
In 1998 Blaney shifted his attention to NASCAR, starting in the then-Busch Series and later moving to Winston Cup with Bill Davis Racing. His record shows one victory in the Busch Series (now Xfinity).
Blaney made nearly 600 starts across NASCAR’s three national divisions, the most recent in 2014, and most came with mid-pack or lesser teams.
Ryan, meanwhile, moved quickly through quarter-midgets, Bandoleros and super-late models to become a winner in the Camping World Truck Series at age 18. He also quickly signed with Team Penske.
He won for the first time in the Cup Series last season with the Wood Brothers, under the Penske umbrella, and qualified for the NASCAR playoffs. This year, at age 24, he’s in a full-fledged Penske ride, ninth in points with four top-five finishes.
“He took an interest in racing early, and I thought he was very good early, so we kept racing,” the elder Blaney says. “He was lucky enough to get one and took advantage of it and it’s gone from there.”
Through last season, Dave went to most of Ryan’s races. He has backed away, although not specifically because he is back behind the wheel full time.
“My days of teaching him anything are over,” Blaney says. “He’s with a great team and great people and for him now, experience is going to be his best teacher.”
That’s not to say, though, he can’t give some of these sprint-car kids a lesson once in a while.
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