A household name to racing fans in this region but renowned by race car drivers nationally, Lou Blaney chalked up more than 600 wins in a 47-year career.
The DIRT Motorsports and Pittsburgh Circle Track Club Hall of Famer died Jan. 25 at Sharon Regional Hospital in Mercer County. He was 69.
His wife, Kate, said his health started to decline eight years ago when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Blaney and his wife also operated the Sharon Speedway.
A native of Hartford, Ohio, Mr. Blaney was raised on a farm beside the sawmill his father operated. His father also owned a small collection of race cars. Mr. Blaney followed his father into the business and developed a passion for racing on the side.
His first race, in 1958, was in a Cadillac-powered 1934 Chevy coupe, said Walt Wimer, a racing historian and track announcer.
The following year at the Greater Pittsburgh Speedway in Clinton, he and his sprint car were part of a three-man team whose cars were called the "three white mice," Don Gamble wrote in his "Remember When" column for speedwayproductions.biz.
Mr. Blaney made the move to driving modified, or stock, cars in 1978, when he ceded his sprint car to his son, David, now a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. His other son, Dale, is also a veteran sprint-car driver.
"Until he hung it up a few years ago," Mr. Wimer said of the elder Blaney, "he had won 343 [modified] races. That's a pretty amazing total even if he'd been racing modifieds his entire career."
"He truly was a dirt track legend both during his life and however long dirt track oval racing continues into the future," Mr. Wimer wrote in a tribute.
Known as a man of few words, Mr. Blaney eschewed controversy and the spotlight.
Mr. Wimer, who watched Mr. Blaney race in both sprint and modified cars for decades, said he "seldom in a long career had fusses with track officials." He said that was pretty uncommon.
"He never kept track of wins or trophies," said Kate Blaney. "He just loved the sport, and he shared his knowledge with other drivers."
He was good enough to be a bigger star but chose a life of scale, balancing minor fame with everyday life. He worked in the sawmill five days a week, racing two or three nights a week.
"My son David would tell you he always called his dad the 'real deal.' David has raced with [the likes of] Tony Stewart and says his dad could have done the same thing if he had chosen to," said his wife.
"He loved to race more than anything in the world, but he loved his lumber business, too. He was a worker all his life."
Mr. Wimer said that for most drivers, the favored lane is the inside. "Lou liked to race on the outside, the tougher way around. He would just go out on the outside and pass guys. He was one of the cleanest drivers I ever knew."
A graduate of Hartford High, Mr. Blaney was a basketball standout, scoring 1,200 points.
He is survived by his wife; sons David, of High Point, N.C., and Dale, of Hartford, Ohio; and five grandchildren.
Funeral services were Wednesday in Ohio.
First Published: February 1, 2009, 6:30 a.m.