If you watched Friday night's Richmond Nationwide race, you endured a lot of coverage of Travis Pastrana, Danica Patrick, Denny Hamlin and the Busch brothers.
For me, the performance of the night was turned in by Ryan Blaney in his first Nationwide Series race. What a performance that was and a nice drive back from a pit problem with the fuel can for 18 year old Ryan Blaney.
I hope he continues his success for his second start at Darlington.
Who's your money on for Darlington... big money Danica or 2nd race Ryan with the tight purse strings? I know who I'll be pulling for.
Here's a nice write-up from the Warren, Ohio newspaper:
Coming up fast: Ryan Blaney 7th in debut
April 29, 2012
By JOHN VARGO , Tribune Chronicle | jvargo@TribToday.com
Ryan Blaney's composure in and out of his Tommy Baldwin Racing vehicle doesn't suggest he's a typical 18-year-old.
On the contrary, the High Point, N.C., native, presents himself more as a seasoned veteran.
So it was no surprise that the son of Badger High School graduate and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Dave Blaney was ready for Friday's Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Speedway.
"My dad prepared me a lot for this opportunity I've gotten," Ryan said. "We've run different series and we run really well in them. He prepared me enough for this race. I hope we can run real good in these next five races we've got lined up in the Nationwide Series."
Ryan, who is running six Nationwide Series events this season, took seventh in his No. 36 Chevrolet Impala behind winner Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and other visible names that toggle between the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series.
"Everyone at Tommy Baldwin did a good job getting my car ready for this weekend," Ryan said. "They put in a lot of hard hours. I definitely think we ran as well as we should've, maybe a little bit better than I expected. I knew we could run up front.
"We ran a little better than we thought, but we ran a real smooth day and came out with a lot of respect and a good finish is really what we needed."
Throughout Ryan's career, whether it's been quarter midget racing when he was 9, winning the Lowe's Motor Speedway Young Lion's Winter Heat Point Championship at 12 or winning the PASS South Super Late Model Series last season, his father, Dave, has backed his career.
"Support from my family and my dad and sponsors have really helped me out here to get me to the place where I've been," Ryan said. "I like to thank Tommy for letting me drive his car, it's a big thing. Every little detail of that is a real big part in it.
"It's really big when you're a racer and your dad is a racer and he's racing on the same track as you. It's definitely helps you out. He can point out things that he sees might be better. It's good to relate to someone like that. He can talk to you and relate to the race track and see things that you can't. He's been racing for a long time so he knows what he's talking about, so I'm going to trust his opinion."
Dave's opinion was quite helpful Friday in Ryan's seventh-place finish. Ryan was hampered by three slow pit stops.
"It was a big one that played in last night, that you have to be real patient - especially in these really long races like last night," Ryan said. "I could've been frustrated, trying to lift up through there. He kept me kind of calm and worked my way up. I really had a good enough car to do it. He just kept reminding me it was a real long race and we'd eventually get back up there."
Ryan was in the pits with Dave during Saturday's race. So does Ryan have any advice for his father?
"No, he knows this racetrack really well," Ryan said prior to Saturday's Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers back at Richmond International Speedway. "Tommy Baldwin Racing, they've always run real good here. My dad has always liked this place. They're run real good here in the past, so I think they've got it covered.
"Hopefully they can do real well tonight and it will be a great weekend for Tommy Baldwin Racing."
Ryan's next Nationwide Race is May 11 at Darlington International Speedway.
"We got the first one out of the way and that's the most nervous you'll be," Ryan said. "Now we can go out and run real hard and not give as much, maybe, since we got that respect now that we wanted to get coming out of Richmond.
"We're going to do like we did for Richmond, watch a lot of tapes, talk to a lot of drivers and our crew is going to do a real good job of getting the car ready. I think it's going to be as good as the race in Darlington as it was here, hopefully a little bit better."
jvargo@tribtoday.com
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM
