Ryan Blaney eyes NASCAR longevity as star set for major milestone at Indianapolis

NASCAR star Ryan Blaney is set for a major milestone at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, but he's far from done with the sport.

Sunday's Brickyard 400 will mark Blaney's 400th Cup Series start - a fantastic milestone in a career that has already seen him win 19 races and a championship at the top level of the sport.

At 32 years old, though, there is plenty for Blaney still to achieve. In fact, the Team Penske star has revealed that whilst it's cool to hit 400 Cup Series starts, he's hoping for 400 more.

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Ryan Blaney on hitting 400 Cup Series starts

"I had no idea it was 400 this weekend," Blaney told media in a teleconference this week. "It’s incredibly hard to believe.

"It kind of goes back to my previous answer – none of this happens without Roger Penske, his group, the Wood Brothers – those folks have really given me the opportunity that I can only dream of.

"I would never have dreamt that I would make it to 400 starts. You just try to continue to take one start at a time, but it does fly by.

"It does not feel like 400, so I’ve been really lucky to have a great ride for those 400 starts and hopefully I can make it 400 more, for sure."

Blaney: Passing my Dad will be real eye-opener

Before getting to the 800-race mark, though, there is another important milestone for Blaney to hit along the way.

Dave Blaney, Ryan's father, competed in 473 Cup Series races during his career, and Ryan has opened up on what it will feel like to surpass that figure.

"Growing up around the sport, watching my dad do it, I just wanted to do what my dad did," Blaney continued. "I was in love with the sport.

"As a kid, I was just in awe of race car drivers and race cars. I just wanted to do that and I’ve been really lucky in my life to get those opportunities and get amazing opportunities to be fairly successful in that sport that I love.

"Does anyone know how many starts my dad had? (473). That’s gonna be a really big eye-opener for me if and when I pass my dad in career starts.

"That’s gonna be like, ‘Oh, man.’ I would never have thought that, but it’s been a fun 400 and, like I said, I hope to make it 400 more.”