When renowned team owner Roger Penske signed Ryan Blaney to a driver development contract in 2012, many fans had a similar reaction: "Who?"

Blaney has outstanding racing genes: he's the son of Sprint Car Hall of Famer Dave Blaney and grandson of legendary Modified dirt track driver Lou Blaney. His uncle, Dale Blaney, continues challenge for wins in the All Star Circuit of Champions. 

That's a big part of what initially brought the third-generation racer to Penske's attention.

But it wasn't the only reason that Penske made sure he signed Blaney ahead of any fellow NASCAR team owners. Blaney had become one very talented racer on his own merit and experience.

And boy, does he have experience, pretty much racing in every grassroots series out there.

Since getting behind the wheel of a go-kart for the first time when he was a 7-year-old, Blaney has rapidly climbed the racing ladder.

Within two years, he earned his first quarter midget win at the age of 9 and was in (and winning in) a Bandolero at 10 years old. He then started racing Legends cars at 12 years old, winning the Lowe's Motor Speedway (now Charlotte Motor Speedway) Young Lions Winter Heat Point championship and three division championships in the Carolina Fall Nationals in quarter midgets.

But that was just for starters. He moved up to late model racing in 2008 and a year later was racing in the Pro All Stars Series' (PASS) South Super Late Models, earning Rookie of the Year honors for his runner-up finish in the local standings and third in the national points rankings.

From there, Blaney's upward climb turned into a rocket-ship ride. He won the Champion Racing Association's Southern Six Pack Series championship in 2010. For an encore, he came back to PASS South in 2011 and won the championship that had eluded him two years earlier.

It was around this time that Blaney came on Penske's radar -- and the radar of a lot of other teams, including Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, and Roush Fenway Racing.

But Penske was where Blaney wanted to go. He continued expanding his horizons at the time by racing in the ARCA and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and East leagues in 2011, including a win in the K&N West season-ending race (his only start that season in the West series) at Phoenix International Raceway at just 17 years old.



By 2012, Blaney was the talk of the NASCAR garage. It seemed as if everyone wanted to sign him, or at least talk to him. It certainly didn't hurt that he had a number of Cup drivers talk up his talent and ability, including three-time NASCAR Cup champion Tony Stewart and 2014 Cup champ Kevin Harvick.

He'd run a number of series at that point, including the K&N East and PASS Super Late Model series, but his biggest break also came in 2012 when he made 13 starts in the Xfinity Series.

And once he signed with Penske, Blaney's future was both assured and planned for him, as he'd run full-time in the Camping World Truck Series in both 2013 (finished sixth) and 2014 (finished second) while continuing a part-time Xfinity Series schedule and even dabbling in the Cup Series at the age of 20.

The second biggest break of his career after signing with Penske came when Blaney was essentially loaned to the Wood Brothers Racing to fill the seat part-time in the No. 21 team in 2015 and then full-time in 2016. He continues occupy that ride in 2017.

Blaney had an outstanding rookie Cup season in 2016. In 36 starts, he had three top five and nine top 10 finishes.

He's off to an even better start in the first 11 races of 2017: While he still has yet to reach Victory Lane, he has two top five and four top 10 finishes as well as his first Cup career pole.

So much attention has been given to Chase Elliott as the most promising young driver on the circuit -- with much of that attention due to his NASCAR Hall of Fame father, Bill Elliott.

But Blaney is as talented as Elliott, and it's just a matter of time before Blaney further carves out his own unique reputation and legacy.

While his father and grandfather built their own respective racing reputations and careers competing primarily on dirt, young Ryan has taken a route that has seen him build his racing resume primarily on paved race tracks.

And the resurgence he has brought to Wood Brothers Racing, the oldest operating team in NASCAR (began in 1953), is something that has helped bridge the old with the new of today.



The biggest question is what will Team Penske do when -- not if -- Blaney becomes a big NASCAR Cup star and a perennial championship contender? How does Penske go to the Wood Brothers and say he wants Blaney back in the fold?

Or what happens if either Joey Logano or 2012 Cup champ Brad Keselowski decide to jump to another team (although not likely in at least the near future), leaving a vacancy for a driver?

Or what if Team Penske decides to expand from a two- to three-car team?

That's something for the future, but for now the future is already here for Blaney. Keep an eye on him particularly over the next several races, starting with this weekend's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

That unique 1.5-mile venue has been the linchpin that has sent a number of drivers' careers into overdrive. In 2002, Jamie McMurray was launched into stardom at the track in only his second career start while driving for the injured Sterling Marlin.

If Blaney were to outlast the other 39 drivers in Sunday's race -- a definite possibility -- he will have achieved something few drivers have ever done, to beat CMS's track and win one of the most difficult races on the NASCAR schedule.

And if he falls short, which would not be an embarrassment considering the 600's hard-as-nails reputation to achieve success in, there's a lot of other places that could potentially hold Blaney's first career Cup win, such as Dover, Pocono, Michigan, Sonoma, Daytona, New Hampshire, and practically any of the other unrestricted speedways.

It's just a matter of time. And right now, Blaney has plenty of that as well as talent, a winning formula if there ever was one.

With Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart now retired and Dale Earnhardt Jr. calling it quits at the end of this season, there's more than enough room for a young, potent successor to become NASCAR's next big star.

And his name very well could be Ryan Michael Blaney -- a guy who not only paid his dues on his way up to stock car racing's top level but also paid interest on those dues.

It's Blaney's time. His future is now.

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