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. Â 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 … talk about what’s next?” Blaney said. “What do we do next 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 will be a busy one at the track because they have to replace the catchfence. That has put Blaney into the discussions of the types of catchfence and those who construct/install the fencing.
For Blaney, he can easily rattle off what has resonated with him in owning a racetrack. From employees to fans, he realizes just how important the decisions are that track leadership makes.
“It put it into a little bit more of a microscope for me of how important people are,” Blaney said. “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 those folks is definitely tough. But I have been lucky to be around somebody like Roger [Penske], who is the best person at that ever, and I’ve been trying to bring that mindset to it.”
And for maybe the first time, Blaney has dug deep into fan experience.
“The fan experience is something that I really pay attention to now that I own the racetrack — what are the fans saying, where can we improve the fan experience?” Blaney said. “Whereas before, when you don’t own a racetrack or a thing like that, you don’t really think about 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 decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
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