Drivers' Bios
Dave Blaney
Like many NASCAR drivers, Dave Blaney's love for racing is inherited. Following in his grandfather's and father's footsteps led Blaney to the exciting world of fast cars. His racing roots literally grew from the dirt... on dirt tracks that is, racing sprint cars throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania, and beyond.
Blaney's professional racing career officially began shortly after he graduated from high school in 1981, when his dad offered him a ride he couldn't refuse—behind the wheel of a sprint car. Although he was content just working on the cars, he jumped at the offer.
Like many rookies before him, Blaney struggled in the beginning, but quickly found his stride.
In less than five years, the Hartford, Ohio native had accumulated Rookie of the Year honors in both the Sprint Car Circuit of Champions and 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, including adding more World of Outlaws (WoO) races to his schedule. In 1988, Blaney ran as many WoO races as possible east of the Mississippi.
Starting in 1993, Blaney focused even more on the WoO circuit. Blaney proved his nickname, "The Buckeye Bullet", held true by finishing second in the World of Outlaws Championship standings back-to-back in 1993 and 1994.
But second wasn't enough for Blaney! Marking one of the biggest highlights of his career, Blaney claimed the World of Outlaws Championship in 1995. His domination of the Outlaws Series didn't stop there, as he followed up with two more runner-up championship finishes in 1996 and 1997.
From sprint car to stock car
In the midst of his WoO successes, Blaney developed an interest in stock cars. A local Ohio friend—by the name of Stan Hover—offered Blaney his big break, the opportunity to drive one of his cars in a NASCAR Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) event. Together, the duo marked their first official NASCAR start at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, N.C. in late 1992. In addition to that, Blaney started a few ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) races when his grueling sprint car schedule allowed. Running sprint cars was paying the bills but stock cars had piqued Blaney's curiosity.
In 1997, Amoco started providing some financial backing for Blaney's sprint car efforts. Blaney and Amoco forged a strong relationship, a partnership that would launch his NASCAR career. When the 1998 racing season kicked off, Amoco moved its motorsports sponsorship endeavors over to NASCAR, and decided to partner with NASCAR team owner Bill Davis to field a Busch Series team.
Davis wasn't afraid to take a gamble on new talent after his earlier run with the young, up-and-coming driver Jeff Gordon. Amoco liked Blaney, so signing him as the driver for Amoco and Bill Davis Racing (BDR) in the Busch Series was an easy decision. Blaney couldn't turn down the opportunity and moved his family from Ohio to North Carolina.
Blaney, Amoco and BDR ran a part-time Busch Series schedule in 1998 and a full season in 1999, amassing 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 2000, running only a part-time Busch Series schedule and competing full-time in the Winston Cup Series.
Amoco, Blaney, and BDR went on to compete another year in the Cup series 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 departure from BDR in 2002.
After leaving BDR, Blaney moved to Jasper Motorsports, where he captured his first career NASCAR Cup pole at North Carolina Speedway in February 2003—the same track where he made his NASCAR debut.
After leaving Jasper Motorsports, Blaney had the opportunity to drive full-time in the Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing (RCR) before returning to BDR at the end of 2005.
2006 marked Blaney's return to the NASCAR Busch Series. Given the opportunity to drive the No. 32 entry for Braun Racing, Blaney competed in six events, racking up five top-15 finishes including two top-10's and a win at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Winning the Dollar General 300 marked Blaney's first NASCAR Busch Series win!
The 2007 season promises to be a busy one for the NASCAR veteran. Blaney will compete in full schedules in both the Nextel Cup Series as well as the Busch Series. Blaney will pilot the No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota for Bill Davis Racing as well as the No. 32 Toyota Camry for Braun Racing. Blaney will represent sponsors, Fan1st.com, Hass Avocados and ABF U-Pack Moving as they share the 35-event Busch Series Schedule.
Blaney's Busch Career
2007 is Dave Blaney's first full year in the Busch Series since 1999, where he started 31 races and finished 6th in points. Having run at least one race each year since then, this season looks promising as Blaney has posted two top fives and four top tens in 12 starts, with only one DNF. He has an average finish of 18th, and sits fourth in the point standings as of Darlington, May 13th.
Blaney's Cup Career
This is Dave Blaney's seventh full year in the Nextel Cup Series, his first being 2000. With total earnings in the Cup Series well over $18 million, he's been consistent in his driving and hopes to take the CAT Toyota to victory lane for the first time soon.
