Ryan Blaney Relishing Function as Grime Observe Co-Proprietor: ‘Lot of Enjoyable so Far’

The day after racing in August at Watkins Glen, Ryan Blaney was at a racetrack.

He wasn’t doing any testing. He wasn’t racing in another division.

Instead, Blaney had a different job: Co-owner.  Not of a race team. But the track.

Ryan’s father, Dave, has been one of the owners of Sharon Speedway since 2002. In May, Ryan and local businessman Will Thomas III invested in the track, becoming part owners along with Dave of the 0.375-mile dirt track in northeastern Ohio.

“That was the first time I’ve been up there since I’ve become a part-owner,” Blaney said last month about the recent visit. “It was great to see everybody again, whether people I’ve known for years and years or new people.

“I’ve had a lot of fun so far.”

The new role has been a blast for Ryan, who seeks his second Cup title and is one of eight drivers still eligible to compete for the title as the semifinal round (Round of 8) opens this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Blaney, whose 61-year-old uncle Dale recently won at Sharon Speedway to become the oldest winner in World of Outlaws history (Dave Blaney had the record when he won at age 58, also at Sharon), said he has enjoyed learning about track operations.

“It’s been pretty fun of me [when] my dad and Will Thomas … discuss what’s subsequent?” Blaney said. “What can we do subsequent this winter?

“Whether it’s from the fan experience side, the racetrack, whether that’s purses, events, things that need to get done around the racetrack like safety improvements and stuff like that. I’ve enjoyed being a part of it and coming up with different ideas to make that place better and better, little by little.”

The offseason might be a busy one on the monitor as a result of they’ve to interchange the catchfence. That has put Blaney into the discussions of the kinds of catchfence and those that assemble/set up the fencing.

For Blaney, he can simply rattle off what has resonated with him in proudly owning a racetrack. From staff to followers, he realizes simply how essential the choices are that monitor management makes.

“It put it into a little bit more of a microscope for me of how important people are,” Blaney mentioned. “For anything, people are important. But when you own something like that and it’s a racetrack, the people you have working there day to day, you have to find folks who are really committed, who love what they do, who are good at their job.

“Just managing these people is unquestionably powerful. But I’ve been fortunate to be round anyone like Roger [Penske], who’s the perfect individual at that ever, and I’ve been attempting to convey that mindset to it.”

And for possibly the primary time, Blaney has dug deep into fan expertise.

“The fan expertise is one thing that I actually take note of now that I personal the racetrack — what are the followers saying, the place can we enhance the fan expertise?” Blaney said. “Whereas earlier than, when you do not personal a racetrack or a factor like that, you do not actually take into consideration that.

“But now that you do, you want to make it the best time possible for everybody.”

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent a long time overlaying motorsports, together with over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene journal and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.

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