Kyle Larson does it. Christopher Bell does it. Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. still do it. Tyler Reddick used to do it (and wants to do it again, that is, if he can do so without his wife finding out). And soon, Team Penske driver and 2023 NASCAR Cup champion Ryan Blaney is thinking about doing it, as well.
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“It” is racing a sprint car on dirt.
And Blaney is looking forward to channeling his father’s prowess in dirt racing, something that has been a family affair for two — and soon will be three — generations.
“I love dirt sprint car racing,” Blaney said on Friday’s edition of the Rubbin Is Racing podcast. “I didn’t do a ton of it growing up, but it’s what my dad did through the ‘80s and ‘90s and I’ve got a lot of friends that are in it or used to do it and those cars are just super unique.”
Lou Blaney, Ryan’s grandfather and Dave’s father, started the family racing business in the late 1950s and was quite successful in both modifieds and dirt sprint cars.
And then Dave came along and became one of the most prolific sprint car racers on dirt. Among Dave Blaney’s achievements in a dirt sprint car was the 1984 USAC Silver Crown championship, the 1985 World of Outlaws championship, the 1993 Chili Bowl Nationals champ, the 1993 and 1995 Kings Royal winner, the 1997 Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals winner, the 1997 Gold Cup championship, the 1997 Historical Big One winner.
Plus, Dave is still ranked 7th in the All Star Circuit of Champions wins list with 49 checkered flags and is 8th in all-time World of Outlaws event wins with 95 triumphs.
Dave was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2014, which was right around the time Ryan’s own racing career in NASCAR began to take off.
It’s not a matter of if, but when Ryan Blaney will drive a dirt sprint car
While Ryan comes into this weekend’s race in Pocono ranked seventh in the Cup standings, driving a dirt sprint car is definitely on his bucket list.
In fact, Ryan recently joined his father and another investor as partners in Sharon Speedway, which was where Dave began his illustrious career and where Lou also got things started in the family business.
The 3/8-mile dirt track right on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border will likely serve as inspiration for Ryan to fulfill his dream — and some say, his destiny — to race a dirt sprint car soon.
“I’d love to be able to wheel a sprint car. It’s been probably 13-14 years since I’ve got behind the wheel of one of those but I would love to do that at some point,” Ryan stated.
