How He Caught the Racing Bug
Like many NASCAR drivers, Dave Blaney’s love for racing is somewhat inherited. His grandfather’s and father’s involvement with motorsports introduced Blaney to the fun world of fast cars. However, his racing roots literally grew from the dirt … on dirt tracks that is, as he raced sprint cars throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania and beyond.
Blaney’s professional racing career officially started shortly after he graduated from high school in 1981, when his dad offered him the opportunity to drive a sprint car. Although he was content simply working on the cars, he accepted his dad’s offer. Blaney struggled in the beginning, but quickly found his niche.
In less than five years, the Ohio native had accumulated Rookie of the Year honors in both the Sprint Car Circuit of Champions and United States Auto Club (USAC) Silver Crown Series. In early April 1985, he claimed his first World of Outlaws feature win at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Ill.
Blaney raced as much as he could, gaining track time through almost every opportunity that came his way. He became more deeply involved in the World of Outlaws in 1988, running as many races as possible east of the Mississippi.
In 1992, Stan Hover, who owned a speed shop near Blaney’s hometown of Hartford, Ohio, decided to attempt to compete in a few stock car races. He asked Blaney to join him in the effort. Their first couple of qualifying efforts didn’t result in their favor, but a successful trial lap got Hover and Blaney into NASCAR’s big show at (Rockingham) North Carolina Motor Speedway that October. A handling problem derailed the run and forced Blaney and crew to call it a day too early (started 36th, finished 31st).
“The Buckeye Bullet” is Declared
With his heart and interest still focused on sprint cars, Blaney put most of his effort into The World of Outlaws circuit. He dominated the series for nearly five years and soon earned the nickname “The Buckeye Bullet.”
Blaney’s time and dedication paid off in 1995 when he claimed one of the greatest highlights of his career—the World of Outlaws Championship. In the two years prior and two years following his title, he finished second in the Championship standings.
In the midst of his World of Outlaws successes, Blaney still dabbled with stock cars by competing in a few Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) races when his busy and grueling sprint car schedule allowed. Running sprint cars was his priority since it kept a roof over his family’s head. However, stock cars had piqued Blaney’s curiosity.
From Sprint Car to Stock Car
Amoco supported Blaney in the Sprint car series in 1997 before deciding to go NASCAR racing. When Amoco began considering creating a motorsports sponsorship program, Blaney worked with a few of his folks to get Amoco to go sprint car racing. But one thing led to another, and Amoco decided to join the NASCAR ranks instead.
The gas company decided to partner with NASCAR team owner Bill Davis and field a NASCAR Busch Series team. Davis wasn’t afraid to take a gamble on new talent after his earlier success with the young, up-and-coming driver Jeff Gordon. The next thing Blaney knew, he was signed to race in the Busch Series for Amoco and Bill Davis Racing.
Being 36 years old at the time, Blaney thought he was too old to come into NASCAR, plus he didn’t want to give up his Sprint car career. However, Blaney was deeply interested in what opportunities NASCAR had to offer, so he uprooted his family and moved from Ohio to North Carolina. Once he decided to make the move, Blaney said he sold almost everything to make the move south because he didn’t want an easy way back home.
Blaney, Amoco and BDR ran a part-time Busch Series schedule in 1998 and a full season in 1999, accumulating five poles, five top-five finishes and 15 top-10 finishes. By the end of the 1999 season, Blaney and the team grabbed the seventh spot overall in the Busch Series Championship standings. The team remained successful in the Busch Series in 2000 despite running only part time in the series. It ran part time in that series, as it elected to compete full time in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Amoco, Blaney and BDR remained together for two years in Cup Series competition before changes within Amoco prompted the company’s departure from the sport. The sponsorship change and development of other opportunities led to Blaney’s first exit from Bill Davis Racing in 2002.
Blaney then began driving for Jasper Motorsports and notched his first career Cup Series pole at North Carolina Motor Speedway in February 2003—the same track where a fast qualifying lap gained him his first NASCAR start.
When Jasper Motorsports was sold to Penske Racing, it left Blaney with a contract and no car. Blaney returned to Davis’ High Point, N.C., operation in 2004 to drive part-time in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. The partnership was interrupted once more when Blaney received an offer to drive full-time for Richard Childress Racing. Blaney soon landed a full-time ride with RCR for the 2005 NEXTEL Cup season.
As the 2005 season came to a close, change was once again in the cards for Blaney. Just as RCR announced Blaney’s release, BDR was planning some changes. Rumors circulated in the NASCAR garage that Blaney was returning to BDR to drive the No. 22 Caterpillar car, but the rumors were not confirmed until early December 2005.
After a 2006 season that saw Blaney post his second-highest career finish (fourth) and his first career Busch Series victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Blaney returned to Bill Davis Racing for the 2007 season, this time aboard a Toyota Camry. Blaney was the first driver in the Toyota Racing Cup Series stables to capture a pole position, doing so in the spring event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Blaney’s No. 22 Caterpillar team posted four top-10 efforts during the course of the season, including a third-place finish at Talladega in October. In addition to his driving duties in the Caterpillar entry, Blaney also piloted a Toyota for Braun Racing for the first half of the season and was the first Toyota driver to earn the top spot on the scoring pylon in the Busch Series as well.
Blaney and the Cat Racing team are together once again for the 2008 season and ready to tackle the challenges of running the Car of Tomorrow full time. Consistency and reliability will be the main goals for the team all year and with that top-five and top-10 finishes shouldn’t be far behind.
Blaney never planned to make a career out of racing, but more than 25 years after receiving the opportunity of a lifetime from his dad, he is still competing with the best. Blaney talks about how much of a difference there is between racing on the dirt compared to racing on asphalt, but he knows—and those who admire his racing talent know—sprint cars taught him how to be aggressive and how to take advantage of other competitor’s weaknesses. It is those skills he acquired while racing sprint cars that he utilizes today and every weekend for three main reasons—to be competitive, not give up and just win.
Dave Blaney - Career Firsts
- First NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start: North Carolina Speedway (Rockingham, N.C.), Oct. 25, 1992 (started 36th, finished 31st)
- First NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series pole: North Carolina Speedway (Rockingham, N.C.), Feb. 23, 2003 (finished 10th)
- First NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series top-five finish: Darlington Raceway (Darlington, S.C.), March 16, 2003 (started 18th, finished third)
- First NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series top-10 finish: Phoenix International Speedway (Phoenix, Ariz.) Nov. 5, 2000 (started 13th, finished eighth)
- First NASCAR Busch Series start: Daytona International Speedway (Daytona Beach, Fla.) Feb. 14, 1998 (started 10th, finished 35th)
- First NASCAR Busch Series pole: Charlotte (Lowe’s) Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.) Oct. 3, 1998 (finished 11th)
- First NASCAR Busch Series victory: Lowe’s Motor Speedway (Concord, N.C.) October 14, 2006 (started 23rd, finished first)
- First NASCAR Busch Series top-five finish: Atlanta Motor Speedway (Hampton, Ga.) March 13, 1999 (started first, finished third)
- First NASCAR Busch Series top-10: finish: Dover International Speedway (Dover, Del.) Sept. 19, 1998 (started 10th, finished sixth)
- First NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start: Dover International Speedway (Dover, Del.) June 4, 2004 (started fifth, finished sixth)
- First NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series top-10 finish: Dover International Speedway (Dover, Del.) June 4, 2004 (started fifth, finished sixth)
Dave Blaney - Career Highlights
Early 1980s
It’s high school graduation time for Dave Blaney. As a graduation gift, he gets behind the wheel of one of his dad’s sprint cars and begins racing throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania. Success soon follows, as Blaney is named the 1982 All-Star Sprint Car Circuit of Champions Rookie of the Year. His 1984 United States Auto Club Silver Crown Championship makes him the youngest driver ever (20) to win both the rookie of the year and division championship titles.
Late 1980s
Blaney is the 1987 Sharon (Ohio) Speedway Nationals Champion. Although this is quite a feat, there is much more to come down the road for Blaney and Sharon Speedway.
1992
Blaney teams with car owner Stan Hover and attempts to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. A successful qualifying effort at (Rockingham) North Carolina Speedway results in Blaney’s first Cup Series start. Unfortunately, a handling problem derails the run and forces Blaney and crew to call it a day early.
1993
Blaney wins the King’s Royal at Eldora (Ohio) Speedway, then finishes second in the World of Outlaws Championship standings. It is also the same year Blaney first gets into a midget car. The result is a Chili Bowl Midget Nationals Championship for the young, talented racer.
1994
Make that two-in-a-row for Blaney, because he finished second in the World of Outlaws Championship again this year.
1995
Blaney is the World of Outlaws Champion this year and is named the National Sprint Car Poll Driver of the Year. His championship season is highlighted by another King’s Royal victory.
1996-97
Blaney finishes runner-up in the 1996 and 1997 World of Outlaws championship standings. In 1997, he is crowned the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals Champion and Historical Big One Champion at Eldora Speedway.
1998
By this point, Blaney has totaled more than 180 career Sprint Car feature wins. He decides to change things up a bit to focus more on NASCAR. Blaney makes 20 NASCAR Busch Series starts in No. 93 car for Bill Davis Racing. The results are impressive for the rookie driver. He notches one pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway (now known as Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.) and an outside pole position at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill. He finishes the season with two top-five starts, 10 top-10 starts and three top-10 finishes.
1999
Blaney and BDR carry the same momentum—and then some—into the 1999 Busch Series season. Their stats tally includes four poles and one outside pole position, which contributes to a total of nine top-five starts and 17 top-10 starts. The driver and crew also score five top-five finishes and 12 top-10 finishes. The numbers and points add up to conclude with a seventh-place position in the Busch Series championship standings.
2000
After running a part-time Cup Series schedule in 1999, Blaney and team turn their focus to running full-time in the Cup Series in 2000, with plans to continue the effort through 2001. Additionally, Blaney and team make eight Busch Series starts, which results in one pole, three top-five starts, four top-10 starts, two top-five finishes and four top-10 finishes.
2001
Blaney scores two top-five starts, six top-10 starts and six top-10 finishes in his second full season in the Cup Series. Blaney and his family also become the proud owners of the legendary Sharon Speedway, one of the oldest continuously-operating race tracks in the country. The historical track has seen racing action nearly every weekend since 1929.
2002-03
Sponsorship changes and the development of other opportunities lead to Blaney’s first departure from BDR in 2002. He assumes driving duties of the No. 77 Cup Series car for Jasper Motorsports. Blaney races to his first Cup Series pole at North Carolina Speedway in February 2003. Including the pole position, he totals four top-five and 11 top-10 starts, one top-five and nine top-10 finishes during his two-year tenure at Jasper Motorsports.
2004
Blaney returns to Davis’ High Point operation in 2004 to drive part-time in the NEXTEL Cup Series, and he makes his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in early June. However, the partnership is interrupted again later that month, as Blaney receives an offer to drive full-time for Richard Childress Racing. Blaney’s move to RCR also marks the first time he drives under the direction of crew chief Kevin Hamlin. Blaney proceeds to pilot the No. 30 Chevrolet in eight races for RCR. In December, he is named the driver of Childress’ No. 07 NEXTEL Cup Series team for the 2005 season.
2005
Blaney grabs the outside pole position at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in April, then follows up with a third-place start at the same track in August. Altogether, his season totals include three top-five starts, five top-10 starts and nine top-15 starts. He also accumulates two top-10 finishes and six top-15 finishes. A sort of homecoming is planned for the 2006 season, as it is announced Blaney will return to Bill Davis Racing as the pilot of the No. 22 Caterpillar car. It is also announced Kevin Hamlin will move to BDR to serve as Blaney’s crew chief.
2006
Blaney posts a fourth-place finish at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway in the fall, and follows that up with a ninth-place finish at (Loudoun) New Hampshire International Speedway the following week. In all, the Caterpillar team scores 10 top-20 finishes over the course of the season. Blaney also returns to the Busch Series, where he drives the No. 32 Braun Racing entry to his first career NASCAR victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in October. Near the conclusion of the season, it is announced that he will return to drive the Caterpillar Toyota for BDR in 2007 as well as compete in the Busch Series for Braun Racing.
2007
Toyota enters the Cup Series and Blaney makes it clear right from the start that his is the strongest Toyota team in the Series. After grabbing a pole in the Busch Series in his Braun Racing Toyota Camry in only the second race of the season, he follows that up with the first Cup Series pole for the manufacturer at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the spring. All told, Blaney posts four top-10 finishes during the course of the year including a season-best third place effort at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.