It can never be easy to hang up the helmet, especially when you have been racing for more than 40 years. No driver ever hopes for his run to end. But if it has to, it should be how Dave Blaney did it! One final race and one final checkered flag, doing what he did best. And to do it in a race that honors his father’s legacy makes it even more special.

The father of the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, Ryan Blaney, recently announced his retirement. Before Ryan and Dave, the Blaney name was popularized by Dave’s father, Lou Blaney. Lou is regarded as one of the greatest sprint car drivers ever. In his career, he won more than 600 races and claimed 7 championships. Dave Blaney’s final victory lap came at the recent Lou Memorial race.

Dave Blaney retires in style

In a tribute to Lou, Dave Blaney was set to win the race at Sharon Speedway, his home track, as his friends and family cheered from the stands. However, winning the race did not come easy for the 61-year-old. On the final lap, he had to fend off Danny Dietrich, a tough opponent. But the 95-time World of Outlaws winner had experience on his side, finally taking the checkered flag. Dave Blaney is the only driver to have won the Lou Memorial race more than once.

Blaney became emotional after the race as he made the announcement. He said, “It’s big. You know, this is a race Dale (Dave’s brother) and I try to win every year. To beat that guy… in my last race. Saying, to beat Danny in my last race. I’m officially done right now.”  Also competing in the event was his brother Dale Blaney, another renowned name in sprint cars, he finished 6th.

It was also an emotional moment for Ryan Blaney to see his father’s run come to an end. Ryan, since childhood, has always accompanied his father to his sprint races. He congratulated Dave but was sad that he couldn’t make it to his final race. The NASCAR star wrote, “Congratulations to Pops in his final go around. I wish I could’ve been there to see The Bullet park it for the last time… Cheers dad!”

Dave Blaney has had a long racing career, winning championships in USAC and World of Outlaws, which he bagged in 1995. Owing to his illustrious career, he was inducted into the Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2014. In his long career, he’s won several Crown Jewels, including the Chili Bowl (1993), the Kings Royal twice (1993 and 1995), Knoxville Nationals (1997), and the Gold Cup (1997). Dave Blaney’s sprint car career spanned from 1982 to 1997, after which he made a switch to stock racing, entering the NASCAR Series.

Dave Blaney’s NASCAR career

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He made his NASCAR debut at Rockingham in 1992, starting 36th and finishing 31st. After 1997, he made a full-time switch to the NASCAR Cup Series. From 1992 to 2014, he made 473 starts in the Cup Series, over 100 starts in the Xfinity Series, and 3 starts in the Truck Series. His only NASCAR win came in 2006 when he won the Charlotte Motor Speedway race in the Xfinity Series.

After not gaining much success in stock car racing, he made a comeback to a full-time sprint car season in 2018. However, the Blaney name was destined to gain popularity in NASCAR. Ryan Blaney made his Cup Series debut in 2014, the same year his father ended his full-time Cup career. The 2014 Kansas race comes to mind when Ryan qualified for his first Cup race, knocking out his father’s car. Over the years, Ryan Blaney has gained significant success in the series, always finishing the season in the top 10 since 2017.

The defending champion is currently en route to his second Cup Series title, and the current playoffs have mostly been a smooth ride for him. He finished 3rd at Atlanta, though Watkins Glen was a bit of a setback, getting a DNF. But he bounced back at the recent Bristol race. The #12 finished the race in 6th place and currently stands 5th in the playoff rankings.

Post the Bristol race, he said, “It was a good night overall. We came from not qualifying great and got up to the top 10 that second stage. I thought we had a really good long run car and the long run at the end was so many laps that we were guarding against blowing a tire, so I just kind of rode around the last 100 laps or so for that run and wound up with a decent finish.”

Hopefully, he manages to continue his campaign and convert it into a championship. What do you think are his chances to get another championship? Let us know in the comments below.