Fast Facts Redux: Dave Blaney

Dave with son Ryan at Kansas in May 2014
credit: NASCAR via Getty Images/Jeff Zelevansky

Driver Dave Blaney may be best known as Ryan Blaney’s father these days in the NASCAR community, but he’s been returning to his roots as far as driving goes, playing in the dirt at tracks around the northeast, including a return last weekend to the Syracuse 200 Big-Block Modified race. Learn more about the two-time sprint car champ in this week’s Fast Facts, originally published in March 2011.

• David Blaney was born Oct. 24, 1962 in Hartford Township, Ohio. His brother, Dale, is also a sprint car driver, and recently won his sixth All-Star Circuit of Champions title. His son, Ryan, is a driver for Wood Brothers Racing in the Sprint Cup Series, Team Penske in the Xfinity Series and Brad Keselowski Racing in the Camping World Truck Series. His late father Lou won more than 600 modified and sprint car races in 47 years of racing.
• Blaney was the 1983 Rookie of the Year in the All-Star Sprint Circuit, and in 1984 won the USAC Silver Crown Series championship. In 1985, he moved to the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, and won their championship in 1995. In the midst of sprint car racing, Blaney made his Cup Series debut in 1992.
• In 1997, Blaney won the Knoxville Nationals, one of sprint car racing’s premier events, and the following year moved to NASCAR’s Busch (now Xfinity) Series, driving for Bill Davis Racing.
• In 2000, Blaney and Davis moved to the Cup Series. Blaney has driven for a number of owners since, including Jasper Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, Prism Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports and Tommy Baldwin Racing.
• In 2010, Blaney returned to his sprint car roots for a few races, including the Lou Blaney Memorial at Sharon Speedway. In recent years, he has run numerous times with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, and returned to the Syracuse 200 Big-Block Modified race, which he ran during the 1990s, in Oct. 2015. In 2013, he teamed with son Ryan and Brad Keselowski Racing to compete in the Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway.
• The Blaney family owns Sharon Speedway, a dirt track in Hartford, Ohio.
• Follow Dave Blaney on Twitter: @BuckeyeBullet10.