If you think the path to NASCAR is a short one a la Joey Logano or Jeff Gordon- think again. For every Jeff Gordon there’s a Robby Gordon. For every Tony Stewart, there’s a Tony Raines. The truth of the matter is that for every NASCAR stud, there are thousands of drivers, good drivers on dirt tracks and small town venues all over this nation making headlines you never read.
NASCAR driver Dave Blaney is cut from that kind of “Joe The Plumber” mold. While his NASCAR victory total of one comes from a Nationwide Series race in 2006, the Ohioan who just turned 46 two weeks ago has had a very successful career in racing.
Blaney started racing professionally at the age of 18 back in 1981, following in the footsteps of his father Lou- a sprint car driver. Blaney got the hang of driving quickly and earned Rookie Of The Year honors in 1983 in All-Star Circuit of Champions tour . The recognition propelled Blaney to a USAC Silver Crown Championship in 1984, the youngest driver to win that division.
From there, Blaney moved on to the World of Outlaws- a series dear to the heart of more well-known drivers like Tony Stewart. Speaking of Stewart, Blaney his something in common with the Rushville Rocket: they both own a race track. Blaney and his wife Lisa own Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.
In the World Of Outlaws, Blaney captured his first checkered flag in 1985. From that time forward, the quiet father of three children piled up an impressive list of accomplishments- the Easter World Sprint Car championships in Hagerstown, Maryland in 1988, an eye-popping 76 top 5 finishes in 85 races in 1989, and win at the Pacific Coast Nationals in 1990 at Ascot Speedway in 1990.
In fact, Blaney’s racing exploits have taken him all over the map. He’s won the Syracuse Nationals at the New York State Fairgrounds in 1987 and 1993. In the same year as his second victory there, Blaney really began to take off in terms of his success, finishing as runner-up that year and in 1994. In 1995, Dave Blaney reached the pinnacle of Sprint Car racing, capturing a World of Outlaws championship- good enough to get him recognized as Sprint Car Driver Of The Year. Blaney would go on to finish as runner-up in the World of Outlaws in 1996 and 1997.
The parallel has already been made between Blaney and Stewart. Another distinction the two share is a love for going out and racing anything with wheels and a motor. The day after his 30th birthday, Dave Blaney made his NASCAR Cup debut at one of NASCAR’s legendary tracks- Rockingham Speedway. There, Blaney finished 31st driving for Stanton Hover Jr. He would make his Nationwide Series debut in 1998, and that year competed in 20 events in that series.
1999 marked the beginning of Dave Blaney’s longstanding and off-again, on again relationship with team owner Bill Davis. Blaney ran 5 events for Davis in the (remember this?) #93 Amoco Pontiac. Blaney’s best finish in the Cup series was a 23rd place finish at Homestead. By 2000, Blaney was a full-fledged Cup regular- finishing 31st in the standings and 3rd among NASCAR Cup rookies. Blaney stayed on with Davis when the team switched to Dodge in 2001. Blaney earned 6 top 10s- including 3 6th place finishes at Texas, Michigan and Homestead. He placed 22nd in the points for the season. Sponsorship concerns found Blaney moving on at season’s end.
Jasper Motorsports enlisted the Ohio native’s services in 2002 to drive their #77 car, noted crew chief Ryan Pemberton would make the pit calls for the team. Blaney finished 19th in the points, remarkable because the “77″ had no top 5 finishes that season- Blaney’s best was a 7th at Phoenix. Pemberton moved on at season’s end to team with Jerry Nadeau at MB2 Motorsports.
2003 started out with a bang. Blaney got his first career pole at Rockingham and captured three top 10s in his first 5 races, including his first top 5- a 3rd place finish at Darlington. The bottom fell out and Blaney’s team stalled- picking up only one more top 10 the rest of the year. As far as the standings go, Blaney plummeted from a top 10 standing to 28th at season’s end.
Blaney lived a nomadic existence in 2004, racing for 4 different teams. In addition to a running a single start for James Smith and Jack Roush, Dave hooked up with Bill Davis for 6 starts in a Dodge and Richard Childress 8 more in Chevy. That he posted a top 15 in races for both of the latter teams is a testament to Blaney’s versatility.
Richard Childress put Blaney to work full time in the #07 ride in 2005, but it was a rough year all around for the RCR organization. He rarely finished on the lead lap, and often found himself in early race trouble. Blaney ultimately gave way to young gun Clint Bowyer.
Dave Blaney rejoined Bill Davis’ team to pilot the #22 car in 2006, where he drives to this day. Blaney put in another workmanlike year- scoring consecutive top 10s at Richmond (4th) and New Hampshire (9th). As the page turned to 2007, Blaney stayed on at BDR as the team switched to Toyota. It was a rough year overall for Toyota teams, but it can be argued that Blaney was one of the make’s best drivers. Blaney rode off to a pole at New Hampshire and he finished 32nd in the points.
This season, as BDR has stuck to one team after disbanding the #27 team, Blaney has continued his track record of getting in and mixing in. Dave has 9th place finishes at Pocono and Darlington. What happens for 2009 remains to be seen. By all accounts, Bill Davis Racing will continue competing by sending Blaney out there- but earlier this year Catepillar announced they would be ceasing their work with Bill Davis.
On a personal note, Blaney comes from a sport-oriented family. Like Dave and his dad, Blaney’s son Ryan races Sprint cars, as does his brother Dale. In fact Dale Blaney played college basketball at West Virginia and was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1986. Besides Ryan- Blaney has two daughters: Emma and Erin.
