Dave Blaney is content to take that next step in his racing career. And no, that doesn’t mean retirement. It’s back to dirt. Blaney returned to his roots a few years ago when he mixed in a few Sprint Car races with his NASCAR schedule. But it was only a handful of shows, and fans never knew when, where or if he was going to show up. This season, Blaney only competed in seven NASCAR events. That allowed the former World of Outlaws champion to run in the neighborhood of 25 shows east of the Mississippi. It looks like that commitment is going to increase in 2015. Blaney appears to be done with NASCAR and could increase his Sprint Car schedule to 50 or 60 shows depending on sponsorship and finances. ‘I don’t plan on running any NASCAR at the moment,’ said Blaney, who is competing in this weekend’s World of Outlaws World Finals in Charlotte. ‘I’m not in any position to get any kind of ride that is going to be competitive, but I will go to a lot of races to watch [my son] Ryan. So by no means will [sprint cars] be full time, but it could be a lot more than this year.’ Continued Blaney, ‘I could even see a 60-race schedule if things line up perfect. I could also see 15 as well, but we will see.’ Before Blaney embarked on a full-time NASCAR career in 2000, he was one of the best in the Sprint Car game. The competition mattered little. Blaney won 70 races with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and a tour championship in 1995.(Patriot-News)(11-8-2014)
