PERSONAL PROFILE
	Spouse: Lisa Kids: Emma, Ryan, Erin Hometown: Hartford, OH Birthdate: October 24, 1962

No one is more anxious to begin the 2001 Winston Cup season than is Dave Blaney, a sophomore at NASCAR's highest level who has only competed in stock cars for little more than three seasons.

Blaney competed for Raybestos Rookie of the Year in 2000 driving No. 93 Amoco Pontiacs for Bill Davis Racing and, according to the team owner, only a double-edged sword of constructing a new team while also preparing for a manufacturer switch kept Blaney from making more of an impact. He ended the season 31st in the standings and third in the rookie of the year race, but had several strong runs in the stretch.

Blaney, whose best start in a Winston Cup car is fourth at Atlanta -- where he also had his first top-5 seemingly locked up before a late accident on a restart -- twice scored top-10 finishes in the last three races of the season, including his career-best eighth at Phoenix and ninth at Homestead.

Blaney, a native of Sharon, Pa., is ready to make the next step in his transition from open-wheel racing to stock cars. With BDR one of several teams making the switch to Dodge in 2001, his sponsorship package is intact and he heads into his second season with crew chief Doug Randolph, in a new shop complex at BDR. Blaney has fewer than 40 career starts in Winston Cup cars and little more than 100 total starts in stock cars after a long open-wheel career.

Blaney made the move to Winston Cup racing after two successful seasons in the Busch Series, including a seventh place finish in the championship in 1999. The 1995 Pennzoil World of Outlaws champion joins teammate Ward Burton to comprise a very promising two-car effort.

He finished seventh in the Busch Series standings in 1999, with five top-5s, 12 top-10s and four Bud Poles in 31 races. That was a marked improvement from his first season on the circuit, 1998, when he finished sixth on three occasions.

After three years of schooling in regional Sprint Car competition, Blaney moved to the USAC Coors Light Silver Bullet Series and became the first rookie and the youngest driver to win the championship.

Between his World of Outlaw title bids; dual victories in the King's Royal event at Eldora, Ohio; and his victory in 1997 in the prestigious Amoco Knoxville Nationals, Blaney also found time for a 1992 Winston Cup Series start at Rockingham and six ARCA starts, his only experience in fendered cars prior to the 1998 season.

He owns a World of Outlaws team that uses his brother, Dale, as its driver.