By Susan Arnold
ROSSBURG, Ohio (May 4, 2016) – Dave Blaney and the Motter Equipment Mohawk Northeast Beltline Body Shop team are scheduled to hit the dirt with the World of Outlaws this weekend at the famed Eldora Speedway. In the event, billed as #LetsRaceTwo, the best of the best will battle on the half-mile in a doubleheader Friday and Saturday, May 6-7.
“I grew up in Ohio and I took pride in running at Eldora,” said Blaney. “The last five years of my active career Eldora was one of my best tracks, but it is very challenging, and not racing there the last couple of years might be difficult.”
Blaney, a humble man with a great sense of humor, took an introspective look
at racing so far this season.
Blaney’s first night out with the Motter team yielded a victory at Volusia Speedway in Florida in February. They competed for five consecutive nights in Florida and didn’t race again until April 22 at Williams Grove, April 23 at Port Royal, Pa. and April 24 at Selinsgrove, Pa.
When asked if getting back into a sprint car was like slipping back into a comfortable pair of shoes, Blaney denied that it was that easy.
“We didn’t have a great night at Williams Grove. The first part of the night at Port Royal wasn’t great either (qualified 29th), but then we got onto something and used that to propel us Sunday. It was encouraging. The team is doing a great job.
“And we haven’t been racing as much as most of the other competitors. Everybody else is racing and learning.
“But I’m glad we had a good Saturday and Sunday at Port Royal and Selinsgrove. It gives us a good baseline going forward.”
In fact the Blaney brothers had the crowd on their feet at Port Royal. Brother Dale won the event and Dave drove from 24th to finish fourth in a remarkable run. At Selinsgrove Dave led 28 laps before another driver made a calculated move and robbed the Buckeye Bullet of the victory with two laps to go.
At Eldora, Dave Blaney has worn the Kings Royal crown twice (1993 and 1995). A review of the World of Outlaws Eldora archives shows that Blaney has a total of six victories at this track, including the Kings Royal titles.
He has 71 World of Outlaws feature victories on his resume and hopes to bring home another trophy this weekend.
Blaney is still mixing sprint car and NASCAR racing, but now he is racing a sprint car schedule that allows him to attend some of 22-year old son Ryan’s NASCAR races. Ryan is hailed by members of the media and the Fox NASCAR broadcast team as one of NASCAR’s future superstars. Dave says, “Ryan is doing a nice job and he is with a good team. (Ryan is driving the No. 21 Ford Fusion for the Wood Brothers.) NASCAR is pushing the young guys. It’s a good spot to be in.”
Dave Blaney is looking for his own good spot to be in at Eldora: victory lane.