NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney benefitted from foundation laid by his father

A good start is always important in auto racing and 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney said he got off to a good start in his career due in large part to his father Dave.

Dave never experienced the type of success his 29-year-old son has experienced in a relatively short career.

"Dad came into the sport of NASCAR already in his mid-30s," Ryan told The Tennessean on Wednesday. "It was tough being in those shoes. Being in your mid-30s trying to get with a super team kind of as a rookie on the pavement side. That was kind of a part of that."

Dave spent his early years racing the dirt tracks around Ohio before moving to the NASCAR Cup Series in 1992. Although he ran 473 Cup Series races without a win, Dave had four top-5 finishes and 28 top-10s.

What Dave also did, however, was pave the way for Ryan to get a jumpstart on his career, which began as a 9-year-old racing Legends cars.

"The reason I've had so many awesome opportunities is because dad built so many bridges through the years and had great relationships and was able to give me some opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise," Ryan said. "He's a huge part of my success."

Along with Dave, who was a World of Outlaws champion, Ryan benefited from some of the connections established by his grandfather Lou Blaney, and uncle Dale Blaney, who each had distinguished careers in motorsports.

Ryan Blaney, in his eighth full season with Team Penske, arrived in Nashville Wednesday to take part in the first NASCAR Champions Parade on Broadway. On Thursday (6:30 p.m., Peacock), he will officially be crowned the 2023 Cup Series champion at the NASCAR awards banquet at Music City Center.

Blaney secured his first Cup title on Nov. 5 when he finished second to Ross Chastain in the final race of the season in a 312-lap shootout at Phoenix. He had three wins, eight top-5 finishes and 18 top-10s without winning a pole all season.

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"I feel like the turning point for us was in the playoffs when we started running a little bit better," Blaney said. "In the summer months before the playoffs we were bad. We worked super hard trying to find where we could find some speed. Winning in Talladega in the playoffs (round of 16) was a big thing. That's what gave us some momentum and we were able to string together some amazing runs the final five or six."

One race that was not good for Blaney was the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 25. He crashed on lap 146 of 300 when got caught up in an accident when Brad Keselowski was unable to accelerate his racecar. Blaney lost control and hit the inside wall head on.

"Nashville in the summer was pretty rough," Blaney said. "It was one of the roughest (crashes) I've had in a longtime and that set me back a good bit. It takes you a few weeks to fully recover from it. Coming back from hard wrecks is always tough. I feel like it's similar to a player in another sport coming back from an injury. Whether it's your arm or your leg or whatever, there is that little thing in the back of your mind I feel like is pretty similar."

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MIkeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney benefitted from his father Dave