Racing
Dave Blaney has bright future-first win
By GREG ZYLA

Dave Blaney celebrates his win in the Dollar General 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. (Rusty Jarrett/ Getty Images for NASCAR photo)

Q: Greg, I just had to write about Dave Blaney's victory in the Charlotte Busch Series race. He is a class guy, and everyone is happy he won. It was his firstever win, and I know you believe in him from your past comments about his future with Toyota. - Carla, Ohio

A: Carla, everyone I know is very happy with Blaney's win, and I have to admit that even though he's been Cup racing for many years, it didn't seem like a "Cup" Busch Series ambush, i.e., a Nextel regular dominating the race.

Blaney was born in 1962 in Hartford, Ohio, and was an outstanding sprint car racer. I saw him race many times in central Pennsylvania at Selinsgrove and Williams Grove speedways before he joined the World Of Outlaws (WOO) touring sprint series in 1992.

Blaney did very well as an Outlaw, winning the overall championship in 1995. He also won the 1997 Knoxville Nationals, sprint racing's premier event. Soon after, he accepted a NASCAR Busch Series deal with Bill Davis.

Blaney, along with his brother Dale (who also drives sprints), owns Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.

Yes, I feel he'll do well with good equipment under him next year as a full-time Cup driver for Bill Davis and his new Toyota team. Congrats, Dave.

Q: Greg, I'm sick and tired of always reading about NASCAR. I'm e-mailing you to let you know we like it when you talk about other forms of racing. So, even though I know you enjoy and cover NASCAR, what are your other favorites, from a personal standpoint? - Bella K., Pennsylvania

A: Bella, my first love in racing is drag racing. No other form of motorsport compares for sheer ground-pounding power, acceleration and excitement. As for being loud, two Top Fuel dragsters or Funny Cars are louder than the whole starting field in a NASCAR race. I'll take those 4.4-second, 330-mph runs anytime. You won't believe it until you see it with your own eyes, as television does nothing for what really goes on at a major drag race.

Next is dirt and asphalt short-track racing, my favorite being sprint cars. Races on halfmile tracks are my favorite, but any bullring will do for great wheel-to-wheel racing. You owe it to yourself to check out your local short track on any given weekend throughout the year.

I also have to mention sports-car road and endurance racing. In the American LeMans Series, heading into the 2006 finale at Monterey, Calif., seven championships were up for grabs - three drivers' titles, two team crowns and one each in the tire and manufacturer ranks. The only runaway champ was the Audi Diesel in the

Prototype division, a championship well-earned as Audi became the first to field a diesel-powered car in the professional prototype category. It dominated the action this season, winning everything from the 12 Hours of Sebring to the 24 Hours of LeMans.

The Sports Car Club of America, meanwhile, offers the best in club, semi-pro and professional type road racing. The SCCA probably sanctions more events than any other sanctioning

body across the United States, from hill climbs to multi-championship events.

I like all forms of racing, NASCAR included, in a big way. Thanks for your letter.

Write to Greg Zyla in care of King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL32853-6475, or send an e-mail to letters.kfws@hearstsc.com.

(c) 2006 King Features Synd., Inc