Where Hahn received that help is one of the most intriguing aspects of his career journey. His first days in midget racing were with the Tulsa-based Hard Eight Racing, and his teammate was the late Donnie Ray Crawford.
The irony was not lost on him at the time.
“It was crazy given the family rivalry,” Blake said. “And Donnie helped me a lot, because I was just coming out of micros. My grandpa said, ‘Man, if some of the fans from back in the day could have seen this. If they would have seen a Crawford and a Hahn on the same team, they would have fallen over.‘”
The death of Crawford, and how it happened, was impossible to truly comprehend.
It was particularly poignant as it came in the midst of the 2012 Chili Bowl and in Crawford‘s hometown where, like the Hahns, the family is racing royalty.
It cast an undeniable pall over what is normally a party-like atmosphere.
“It was weird,” Blake says. “That day in the building was just awful. It‘s crazy to say this, but God has his plan, and it is just awesome to see the impact Donnie Ray has had since he has been gone.”
From that day forward, the finale of the Chili Bowl has been 55 laps, a number long associated with the Crawford family.
Midget racing was fun and, as Blake’s success at the Chili Bowl was underscored, he was good at it. However, the goal, once forged when he looked on wide-eyed at Oklahoma City years before, was to find his way into the seat of a sprint car.
He got his first taste in 2011, and from there he wanted more.
“A racer here in town named Brian McClellan was driving for a guy out of Texas. His family, Mike and Nancy McClellan, had a couple of cars sitting there in Tulsa. So they were nice enough to let me run a car at Lawton. I‘m really grateful to them because it opened the door for me. It wasn‘t an outstanding night, but it was spectacular for me to be able to drive one of those beasts.
“We had a good night. I ran third in my heat to two legends to me, Danny Jennings and Danny Wood. So, I‘m a 16-year-old kid running against guys I saw racing at the State Fair. I finished seventh and I was hooked. I thought, I don‘t want to drive micros anymore. I want to drive a sprint car.”
It turns out that he only had to wait a week to get his next chance.
“My dad busted his ass to help me get a deal,” Hahn said. “Claude Estes had a couple of cars, and he let me run a spare car at Texarkana, Arkansas. My dad and I drove right down there with my seat and my helmet bag.
“The track was really small, and it was way up on the top, so you had to kind of rub on people. It reminded me of running at Port City in my micro, and I ran fifth, which was great for me. Gary Wright ran fourth, and Gary is a legend, an absolute legend. I just couldn‘t imagine running with guys like that.”
When Brian McClellan stepped out of his ride, he put in a good word for Hahn. Thus, in 2012 Blake drove for Wichita Falls, Texas owner Ryan Davis, and largely focused on the ASCS Lone Star Region and Sooner Region events.
It was a solid opportunity to get further acclimated to a sprint car. Next came a ride with another Texas-based owner, Bruce Griffith. In 2013, Griffith helped Hahn get his first sprint car win.
The place for the big night was where it all began for him: Lawton Speedway. The event was the Red River Rivalry, for drivers from both the Sooner and Lone Star regions.
Digging deep late in the feature, Hahn made an outside pass on Joe Wood Jr. and held on for an emotional victory. What made it extra special is that Lawton was owned by Lanny Edwards, the longtime business associate of his grandfather.
Slightly over a month later, Hahn scored again at Heart O‘ Texas Speedway in Waco. The final results were encouraging. He was fourth in the season standings in Lone Star, and sixth in Sooner Region points.
Griffith was encouraged about what he saw, and decided to take Hahn on the ASCS National Tour.
In 2014 Blake finished in the 10th position in the standings and was named the ASCS National Rookie of the Year. However, near the end of the season, Griffith and Hahn went in different directions and, once again, the family pitched in to get him to the finish line.
It was another step forward, and racing at this level produced another pinch me moment.
“I was out there with Jeff Swindell, Johnny Herrera and Jason Johnson,” Blake said, “and the list goes on and on. I‘m going down the road thinking, how am I racing with these great drivers?”
This story will be continued in Inside The Career Of Blake Hahn, Part II, scheduled for release Tuesday on sprintcarandmidget.com.