Dave Blaney wears many hats as driver, track owner, father and husband. Credit: Autostock

10 Questions: D. Blaney

Dave Blaney has been as consumed with racing throughout his adult life as any man could be -- and he has race victories, track records, championships and a hoard of appreciative "Blaniacs" to show for it.

	Dave Blaney made his 200th career start at this year's Daytona 500. Credit: Autostock
	Dave Blaney Cup Series career statistics Starts 206 Wins 0 Top-5s 1 Top-10s 19 Poles 1 Laps Led 195 Avg. Start 23.9 Avg. Finish 24.7 Earnings $14,764,045

Blaney's chief role these days is driver of Bill Davis Racing's No. 22 Dodge, while also grooming his children's potential third generation racing careers and operating Sharon Speedway in his hometown of Hartford, Ohio.

While preparing for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Blaney took a break to answer 10 questions not necessarily connected to his racing career.

1. What's at the bottom of your "honey do" list?

Blaney: I don't even know what's at the top of it, so I guess I'd be clueless as to what's at the bottom.

My wife, Lisa, does way more than I do. She does a great job with the kids and she's gotten to the point that she knows better than to rely on me.

2. What's your favorite outdoor activity?

Blaney: Beyond racing, I guess it would be basketball, because the kids and I play basketball outside a lot.

We don't have a real good court set up there at home, but we've got one that we can play on.

3. What's your ideal break from the racing grind -- or if it's truly not a grind, as I suspect -- do you even need a break from it?

Blaney: I would definitely be on the side of it where it's never been a grind to me.

I've never wanted to get away from it, even in the day when we ran more than 100 dirt Sprint Car races in a year. Even then, I never thought, 'Let me get outta here for a day or two.'

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So it's always been everything that I've wanted to do.

You could say I have a perfect life, racing in Nextel Cup, operating Sharon and the kids are messing around with racing a little bit -- but you could say maybe I don't know any better. Maybe that's what it is.

4. Which show is "must-see TV" for you?

Blaney: Tommy Boy is pretty high on my list. It's just stupid comedy that I really enjoy. You disengage the brain and just enjoy it.

5. If it was possible, who would you trade places with for a day, and why?

Blaney: It would be Bill Russell -- maybe not today, but back in his playing days. I always thought he was one of the best ballplayers.

Obviously, he was one of the winningest guys in the history of the game, and he went through a lot to get there. Sure, his work ethic and the way he applied himself were part of his thing, doing whatever it took to win.

But with everything he went through, being a black athlete in that period of time and to be able to do what he did on top of that was pretty spectacular.

6. What was your first job, and your most vivid memory of it?

	Dave Blaney has not had a DNF in 25 consecutive races, dating to last summer's Chicago race. Credit: Autostock
	DAVE BLANEY •   Driver Page •   2006 Statistics

Blaney: My first real job was probably working in my dad's lumber mill -- and I had vivid fears of cutting my fingers off -- but I never did.

So I guess that would be my best -- or worst memory of that.

7. Who is the most impressive celebrity, or even a regular person, that you've had the opportunity to meet?

Blaney: I really don't know. Man, I would hate to pick just one.

You know, there are a lot of guys that I race with every week that are considered household names, or celebrities -- and I think they're cool just for watching what they've done not only in Nextel Cup racing, but in other forms of racing as well.

Their public perception is one thing, but when you know them and you're with them and around them so much, they're just a person like everybody else is.

So I don't know. I guess I'm walking around with a lot of them every day.

8. If you could go back in time, what period in history would you like to live in?

Blaney: Wow -- I'm not sure. Obviously, we've got it pretty easy today. But I think I would like to go in and out -- very quickly -- of a lot of times.

I'd like to visit from the dinosaur days, right forward to the present time. I don't want to be stuck anywhere. I want to go in and out to see what was happening.

9. Outside of racing, which athlete, besides Bill Russell, do you most admire?

Blaney: There are a lot of athletes that I admire for what they've done, but Lance Armstrong always stands out.

He was the same thing as Russell, man -- he came through a lot and accomplished a lot on top of it. Just to get out of a bad situation with his health, and then to accomplish all that he did is pretty amazing.

10. Is there a movie that you can watch over and over and not get sick of?

Blaney: Years ago, I probably watched The Hunt for Red October about 50 times. I loved that movie, for whatever reason.

I really like Sean Connery, but that was one I could watch over and over.