ForbesRyan Blaney Returns To NASCAR Championship 4 With Martinsville VictoryBy Bruce Martin<\/a><\/p>\nComing out of a commercial break, The CW allowed Blaney to talk about the Ryan Blaney Foundation to the audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey let Ryan have a 10-second, 20-second piece where he could talk about our foundation and what we do,\u201d Ryan Blaney Family Foundation Executive Director Patty Aber told me. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll tell you, it was like 15 minutes after he did that, I got an email from this gentleman who donated the car saying that he had lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s, and he was a huge Ryan Blaney fan, a huge Ford fan, and he was getting ready to move to Florida. He wanted to donate this 2005 Ford GT to the foundation so we could do good for Alzheimer’s with it. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just that easy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Donor Remains A Secret<\/p>\n
The individual practiced the art of charity by remaining anonymous and not accepting the credit for a well-intentioned act of kindness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is exactly what happened,\u201d Aber said. \u201cHe was emphatic about not wanting to use his name or even his location where he was from, anything to give it away. That this is just a gift from him in honor of this special person and just wanted to, in his words, he said, \u2018We just want to see you do good with it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The car was kept in pristine condition with a little over 4,000 miles on the odometer. It was stored in a climate-controlled garage with all recall updates completed.<\/p>\n
The 2005 Ford GT looks fast standing still.<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney Family Foundation Photo<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it\u2019s amazing,\u201d Blaney said of the car. \u201cThe 2005 Ford GTs are one of the prettiest cars ever made. It’s an unbelievable machine, and they really took a lot of pride on what they did and where it came from. And now what it’s also become, with the newer GTs, it’s an amazing story. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt just so happened that I raced for Ford, so it\u2019s a great fit. I got double lucky there. But they are beautiful cars, unbelievable performing cars and gosh I wish I had one I might have to buy this one I might have to do it for my own family we\u2019ll see but well the role that Barrett-Jackson plays in this.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a brand, it\u2019s a name that people know when it comes to the auction industry that if you want to find a car, a classic car, something that\u2019s unbelievably cool that you go to Barrett-Jackson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barrett-Jackson\u2019s Involvement<\/p>\n
Craig Jackson is the Chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. His auctions have become a phenomenon in the automotive industry, attracting some of the rarest vehicles and the individuals that will bid a fortune to own them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will end up this year, with about 6,500 registered bidders and about $2 billion worth of buying power,\u201d Jackson told me in an exclusive interview.<\/p>\n
Last January, sold the first ZR1 for $3.7 million. It was VIN-1 and the winning bidder was Rick Hendrick, NASCAR Cup Series team owner and one of the largest car dealers in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has bought a lot of the VIN-1 cars,\u201d Jackson explained of the Vehicle Identification Number being the first car of that model manufactured. \u201cWe have other people that love the Ford products and will buy a lot of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 2006 Ford GT Heritage Edition is auctioned at the at the Barrett-Jackson Inaugural Northeast Auction at Mohegan Sun Arena on June 25, 2016 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Photo by Paul Marotta\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
There are serious car collectors, and then there is the charity auction. At the upcoming auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, there are nine charity cars on the auction block.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, that creates a very interesting scenario where the winners of the charity auction will donate the car so that it can go up for bid again and raise more money for the charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife did a Driven Hearts Campaign for the American Heart Association,\u201d Jackson explained. \u201cI donated this very special Corvette, it was a 35th anniversary Corvette that was given to my mother. To give you a sense of what happens here, it was given to me by this gentleman as a everybody kept it secret until Sunday afternoon. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis car was on the auction block they asked me to come to the block, and he handed me the keys he said, \u2018For all the joy and everything you do for everyone here’s a 35th Anniversary Corvette.\u2019<\/p>\n
Scott Disick (left) gets advice on bidding from CEO of Barrett-Jackson Craig Jackson (right) in 2011. (Photo by Jerod Harris\/Getty Images for Barrett-Jackson)<\/p>\n
getty<\/p>\n
\u201cFast forward, he died of a heart attack, and the person that had bought so many other charity cars, he had died of a heart attack. So, we started this Driven Heart Campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat car got bought, resold, bought, resold, like eight times and raised a million dollars for essentially a $35,000, $40,000 car. I\u2019m the last one that bought it when I bought it back at the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
About 30 percent of Barrett-Jackson\u2019s car sales are individuals, that sold cars, then bought another car. Thirty-five percent of the bidders are first-time bidders.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s the charity auctions that Jackson believes are the most special aspect of the Barrett-Jackson auctions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have people that buy charity cars,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cIf they don\u2019t win, they’re in the hunt, and they’re on the phone, and they ask to stay that way. They are doing it for the cause. There are other people that are in the audience that we do a post interview. They’ll raise their hand, they’ll buy it, and they don’t want to come down for the interview. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome will turn the car back over and never get the car. It sells again, and they just stay, back. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s about the cause. A lot of people care about the causes, and the publicity is really about the charity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Overhead front view of the 2005 Ford GT<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney Family Foundation Photo<\/p>\n
Barrett-Jackson started as a charity car show before it evolved into an auction 55 years ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cCharity has always been part of what we do,\u201d Jackson continued. \u201cThen when Ford wanted to sell the VIN No. 1 of the first GT 500, we came up with this because we were doing it previous on another car, and the guy came back to me afterwards. He told us, \u2018I wrote the check to you, and then you wrote the check to the charity, but I don\u2019t get the write off.\u2019 So, we started by having the winning bidder send the proceeds straight to the charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have nine charity cars in the auction at Scottsdale. We\u2019ve been doing this since the first GT 500, and we’ve raised $164 million net doing this, more charity. We get a lot of applications, and we have to vet their charities, make sure they’re a good quality charity that the majority of the money is all going to the charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is part of our philosophy here at Barrett-Jackson.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Charity Auction aspect of Barrett-Jackson began 20 years ago and has generated significant contributions to a variety of special causes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it\u2019s unbelievable,\u201d Aber said. \u201cIt’s such a gift because I’m sure they’ve explained to you on their charity cars, there are no fees involved, no commissions so 100 percent of the block price will come to the foundation so whatever it goes for is what we’re going to get and that opens up so many doors for us. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a pretty small organization doing the best that we can to get individuals and families and caregivers, and this will allow us to reach so many more people and help so many more people. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want to say what a good family, the Blaney\u2019s are. Salt of the Earth people, so good with their time, so good with their resources. You get what you see, and I’m just blessed to work with them, and couldn’t say enough good things about them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The CW Helped Blaney Spread His Message<\/p>\n
Blaney appreciates The CW, which televises every race on the NASCAR O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series, for giving him the 10- to 15-seconds of time out of a commercial so he could tell the TV audience about the Ryan Blaney Family Foundation.<\/p>\n
That began a chain of motion that will continue with the 2005 GT auction on January 23.<\/p>\n
NASCAR Cup Series Driver Ryan Blaney address the media during the NASCAR Championship Format Announcement at NASCAR Productions Facility on January 12, 2026 in Concord, North Carolina. Former driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is in the foreground. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cNASCAR and its TV partners including The CW always do a great job of letting us talk about our personal platforms and things that we have upcoming,\u201d Blaney said. \u201cIt was nice for him to find out that way. The donor just turned it on a race and really enjoyed what our foundation was like. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou never know who is watching, so that was really important and thankful for the broadcast folks for letting us get our message out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Importance Of The Ryan Blaney Foundation<\/p>\n
The Ryan Blaney Family Foundation is a perfect name for this organization because Ryan Blaney is part of a racing family. His father, Dave Blaney, was a racing star from Hartford, Ohio and competed in his first NASCAR Cup Series in 1992. He became a fulltime competitor from 1999 to 2014. Ryan Blaney\u2019s first NASCAR Cup Series race as in 2014, he ran half the schedule in 2015 and became a full-time competitor in 2016.<\/p>\n
He won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in 2023 at Team Penske.<\/p>\n
Interior view of 2005 Ford GT<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney Family Foundation Photo<\/p>\n
Ryan is proud to represent the Blaney family and that is one reason why the foundation name reflects that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s very important,\u201d Blaney explained. \u201cI’m really lucky to have grown up with a really close family. When we started the foundation, the biggest thing of why we wanted to do it is our main focus was Alzheimer’s and Dementia because my grandfather had Alzheimer’s. We saw how tough of a disease it was from our personal experience. We wanted to do all we could to help. When the timing was right, this is what we did. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason why we call it the family foundation is a lot of my family is involved in the day-to-day stuff, between myself, my mother, my cousins, my sisters, my wife, a lot of people are involved in it, and they run the account of the operations. It\u2019s very important to have that. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a heck of a journey over the years of getting to meet a lot of amazing people and make a small dent and trying to continue to find ways to whether it\u2019s caring for these people who are suffering from this disease or research, of how to get one foot in the door of where we start and try to fight this disease. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a great journey. It’s been fun to do it with my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney And NASCAR Helping Others<\/p>\n
It is also important that Blaney and many other NASCAR use their notoriety to help others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019re in an important position and a very lucky position to have somewhat of an audience, to get a little bit of reach and some legs when, there’s some things that are important to you and your family, to get some reach,\u201d Blaney said. \u201cYou connect with a lot of people. I’ve connected with tons of my fans through the years since we started the foundation of, \u2018Hey, my parents or grandparents or siblings, had Alzheimer’s. We have a very similar experience of what you went through.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou connect with people. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so very lucky to have an audience where we can get our message out there and been equally fortunate that people have listened.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ryan Blaney Family Foundation will be able to help more people after the 2005 Ford GT rolls across the auction block in Scottsdale, Arizona on January 23. It is expected to generate some hefty bids with 100 percent going to charity. Somewhere in an undisclosed location, a man who wishes to remain anonymous began this act of charity by donating the prized car that will help others dealing with Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Ryan Blaney waves to the fans at Talladega Superspeedway on October 19, 2025 in Talladega, Alabama. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASCAR Team Penske Driver Ryan Blaney poses with the Bill France NASCAR Cup Series Championship trophy after winning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417551,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[175355,175354,175357,49,48,175352,175356,634,8354,175353,82,5794,2396],"class_list":{"0":"post-417550","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nascar","8":"tag-2005-ford-gt","9":"tag-2023-nascar-cup-series-champion","10":"tag-barrett-jackson","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-craig-jackson","14":"tag-ford-gt","15":"tag-nascar","16":"tag-nascar-cup-series","17":"tag-ryan-blaney-family-foundation","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-team-penske","20":"tag-the-cw"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417550"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417550\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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