Ryan Blaney has run nearly 20 PASS Super Late Model events in his young career. But when the 16-year-old walks through the pit gates for the Easter Bunny 150 to be held on Saturday, April 3rd at Hickory Motor Speedway (NC), he'll be doing something for the first time in his career with the series.
Blaney will arrive at the track as a PASS South race winner. He is now part of a prestigious fraternity that includes such short track aces as Ben Rowe, Corey Williams, Jay Fogelman, Freddie Query and the late Charlie Bradberry, thanks to his recent victory in the South Carolina Clash at Dillon Motor Speedway (SC).
“I think that I will feel pretty good,” said Blaney of heading to the track with his new title of race winner. “People might respect me a little bit more than they did. It just makes you feel more confident knowing that you won the race before. That confidence really carries over to the next race and that motivates you to do even better.”
Blaney is definitely motivated after tasting victory on the PASS South Super Late Model circuit.
Ryan Blaney Heads Into Easter Bunny 150 as the Newest PASS Super Late Model Winner
Ryan Blaney
Win number one might have been a relief to the young driver, but it also just left him ready to visit victory lane again.
“I'm even hungrier now because this is going to be an even bigger race and there are going to be more guys here. There are going to be some really good teams there and that motivates me to want to win this race even more than Dillon.”
The Easter Bunny 150 is also a PASS National Super Late Model event, which will likely draw more than 40 cars to Hickory. Champions such as Maine's Ben Rowe and Johnny Clark, along with NASCAR Sprint Cup driver David Ragan and Southeastern Late Model standout Bubba Pollard are all on the entry list for the event.
Blaney welcomes the challenge of racing against a list of accomplished drivers and knows that matching his skills against them can only make him a better race car driver.
“It's really good to get the opportunity to race against those drivers,” said Blaney. “They are really good guys. I know where they race and how they race. They also know how I race and we all respect each other, so there won't be any problems.”
Blaney also looks forward to racing at the famed Hickory Motor Speedway.
“I really like the track. We've run there a few times before and always finished well there. So I'm really looking forward to going back and seeing if we can get that second win.”
The PASS South Easter Bunny 150 is scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina. For more information on Ryan Blaney, please be sure to check out the all-new RyanBlaney.com website.
