“I Wanted To Be Like My Dad”- Ryan Blaney Reveals the Start of His Racing Itch With Heartfelt Ode to His Father

With the recently concluded Cup Series, all eyes were on this year’s champion Ryan Blaney, and his highly anticipated attendance at the NASCAR Championship banquet in Nashville. As far as traditions go, the 2023 champion, like many others before him, was given a chance to address the gathering. And Ryan made sure he left no stone unturned when it came to expressing his heartfelt gratitude toward his father and former NASCAR racer, Dave Blaney. 

Ryan Blaney unfurls the reason behind stepping into the motorsport world

Dave Blaney secured a whopping 28 top-10 finishes in 473 races over 17 years in his NASCAR Cup Series career. Despite not being the winningest driver of his era, Dave became the spark that ignited his son’s successful stock car racing career.

During the awards ceremony, the man of the hour, Ryan Blaney, started by thanking his father. “First of all, I wanna thank, obviously my dad. You know, growing up, watching dad race, that’s just what I want to do and I wanted to be like my dad,“ Ryan said.

Later, Ryan, while talking about the reason behind him venturing into NASCAR, said, “Super lucky to be able to see at a young age and kinda just get the whole spectrum, you know, of seeing what it was like as a driver, or seeing how teams operated.”

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When the Team Penske driver saw his dad and decided to be a stock car racer, Dave also noticed the #12 driver’s relentless pursuit to excel in the sport and decided to do everything in his control to make that boy dominate the oval asphalt.

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Dave Blaney’s lifelong teaching which brought fortune to the #12 driver

Not only a coach, but Ryan’s father is his biggest fan and mentor too. Despite not winning a single Cup Series title, his teachings paved the way for his 29-year-old son’s Cup Series win.

During the NASCAR Live Wide Open podcast, the 61-year-old laid emphasis on his son’s early racing days and how he coached him to glory. Dave said, “It’s basic things, when you start racing it’s just really basic. How to approach corners, how to approach trying to pass someone, it’s just all basic things that, you know, if you have a race car driver as a dad, you’re probably gonna learn that stuff quicker than somebody that wasn’t.”

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Ryan Blaney’s success recipe could be aptly summarised by saying that when he saw his dad on the tracks and with the team, he made his move to NASCAR, and when Dave saw Ryan’s thirst to dominate, he made his move to ensure that his son doesn’t encounter the same feat as he did. A perfect dad-son duo in the world of motorsports!