Some of the most iconic stories in NASCAR aren’t just about drivers but about families, and father-son duos have written some of the sport’s most memorable chapters. Take Richard Petty and Kyle Petty, for instance. Richard, “The King,” set an untouchable bar with 200 Cup wins and seven championships, while Kyle carved out his own path with eight victories and a larger-than-life personality that made him a fan favorite. Their story shows the challenge of following a legend while still making your own mark.

Then there’s Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr., maybe the most famous duo in NASCAR history. “The Intimidator” was a force, racking up seven championships and becoming a global icon. After his tragic death in 2001, Dale Jr. carried the family name, winning two Daytona 500s and becoming NASCAR’s face for a generation. The Earnhardt saga is a mix of triumph and heartbreak, showing how racing runs deep in the blood.

Don’t sleep on Lee and Richard Petty, either, the blueprint for NASCAR dynasties. Lee kicked it off with the first Daytona 500 win in 1959 and three championships, paving the way for Richard to become the sport’s most decorated driver. These father-son stories aren’t just cool trivia; they’re proof that NASCAR is a family affair, with each generation adding its own flavor to the legacy.

The Blaney family fits right into this tradition, with Ryan Blaney and his dad, Dave Blaney, writing their own chapter. Recently, Ryan got real about the stress of chasing a NASCAR Cup Series championship, but he put it in perspective by pointing to his father’s career. For Ryan, the playoff grind is nothing compared to the “real stress” Dave faced, scraping and clawing for rides just to stay in the game.

Dad’s struggles redefine Blaney’s stress

Ryan Blaney says chasing a NASCAR Cup Series championship is stressful, but he carries perspective each year heading into the Playoffs. He says he witnessed true stress as his father scraped and clawed for rides each year. He says that is real stress. And he’s not wrong. For all the pressure that comes with chasing a title at the Cup level, media attention, sponsor obligations, and the weight of knowing a mistake can end your season, Blaney’s right in saying it’s a different kind of stress than what his dad, Dave Blaney, went through.

Dave was a respected journeyman, known as the “Buckeye Bullet” from his sprint car days, but in NASCAR, he never had the security his son enjoys now at Team Penske. He ran nearly 500 Cup races between 1992 and 2014, but only scored one top-three finish and had to constantly fight just to keep a seat.

Dave drove for more than a dozen teams over his career, often in underfunded equipment. He piloted cars for Bill Davis Racing, Jasper Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, and later Tommy Baldwin Racing, among others. One example of the grind came in the mid-2000s when he bounced between part-time rides just to stay in the game, often showing up knowing he didn’t have a realistic shot to win but was racing to make ends meet and keep sponsors happy. That’s the kind of “real stress” Ryan is pointing to, the stress of not knowing if you’ll even have a job next week.

Compare that with Ryan’s own career path. After breaking into the Cup Series with the Wood Brothers, he secured his spot with Penske full-time in 2018. Since then, he’s had stable sponsorship from Advance Auto Parts, Menards, and BodyArmor, plus consistent playoff appearances. By 2023, he had not only made the Playoffs but actually went on a Cinderella run to win the Cup Series championship, edging Kyle Larson and William Byron at Phoenix. His championship was a defining moment, but Blaney admits that compared to his father’s grind, the stress of playoff elimination races feels smaller in the grand scheme.

Blaney’s perspective also highlights the generational shift in NASCAR. In Dave’s time, mid-pack drivers often had to scramble for funding, running start-and-park cars or dealing with underfunded operations that folded overnight. By contrast, Ryan’s generation has more stable team structures, though the pressure is now more about performance expectations and carrying the brand image for billion-dollar sponsors. That contrast is why Ryan often says he feels fortunate.

He’s admitted in interviews that watching his dad’s career shaped how he approaches his own. Even in the toughest Playoff moments, like barely advancing in 2022 after a winless season, or fighting tooth-and-nail with heavyweights like Larson and Denny Hamlin in 2023, he keeps that perspective. Championship stress is temporary, but the stress of not knowing if you’ll even race again, like his dad faced, is something entirely different.

Blaney on the Hall of Fame

Honoring the heritage of stock car racing, NASCAR unveiled its Class of 2026 with three standout figures in May 2025: Kurt Busch, Ray Hendrick, and Harry Gant, while longtime executive Humpy Wheeler received the Landmark Award for his contributions to the sport. The official Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in March. And while Kurt Busch’s decorated career has earned him a place among legends, when 2023 Cup champion Ryan Blaney was asked if he envisions himself there someday, he brushed the thought aside.

On the Team Blaney podcast, Blaney made it clear the Hall of Fame is far from his mind. “I don’t know. No, as far as my deal goes, like I don’t think about that stuff. Like, I don’t think about it at all. If it happens, it happens. I got a long road to go. So, we’ll just see when the time comes, but it’s not something that I think about,” he said. Blaney admitted, however, that as reigning champion, he sat in on the voting process last year, listening to arguments for different nominees. While he stayed quiet, he privately pulled for Harry Gant’s inclusion and seemed glad that Gant was included in this year’s class.

The No. 12 Team Penske driver also reflected on the abrupt end of Kurt Busch’s driving career in 2023, noting that while the circumstances were difficult, he was glad to see Busch recognized for everything he accomplished in his career. Through 12 Cup seasons, Blaney has tallied 15 victories in 368 starts, posting 163 top-10 finishes. For the past two years, he has reached the Championship 4, finishing first and second in those seasons.

Now, with 10 playoff races ahead, Blaney sits fourth in the standings and would aim to lean on his strengths at superspeedways and intermediate tracks to chase another championship. But in such a short span, given he has achieved so much, he would definitely be in the running to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame once he retires. For now, Blaney’s focused on the present, carrying his dad’s lessons about stress and perseverance into the playoff grind.