Dave Darland

Last updated
Dave Darland
DaveDarlandIRP.jpg
Darland in 2003 at Indianapolis Raceway Park
Full nameDavid Lee Darland
Born (1966-09-04) September 4, 1966 (age 57)
Lincoln, Indiana
Retired2023
USAC National Sprint CarSeries
Years active1986–2023
TeamsHoffman
Starts1,334
Wins62
Poles3
Best finish1st in 1993 (2), 1994, 1997, 1998 (4), 1999 (4), 2000 (3), 2001, 2005 (4), 2006 (3), 2007 (3), 2008 (2), 2009 (4), 2010, 2011, 2012 (6), 2013 (7), 2014 (6), 2015 (4), 2016 (2), 2018 (3)
Championship titles
1997
1998
1999
2001
2001
2002
2007
2008
2011
  • USAC Silver Crown Series
  • USAC Indiana Sprint Week
  • USAC National Sprint CarSeries
  • USAC Indiana Sprint Week
  • USAC National Midget Series
  • USAC National Midget Series
  • USAC Indiana Sprint Week
  • Sprint Bandits
  • King of Indiana Sprint Series
Awards
1994
1995

1997
1999
2015
2015

2017
  • HARF Driver of the Year
  • USAC Silver Crown Series Most Improved Driver
  • HARF Co-Driver of the Year
  • HARF Driver of the Year
  • Mike Curb Super License Award
  • Thomas J. Schmeh Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sport
  • National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee
Darland racing at Kokomo Speedway in 2007 DaveDarland2Kokomo.jpg
Darland racing at Kokomo Speedway in 2007
Darland's Sprint Car at Kokomo in 2018 36DaveDarland2018KokomoKlash.jpg
Darland's Sprint Car at Kokomo in 2018

David Lee Darland (born September 4, 1966) is an American auto racing driver from Kokomo, Indiana. He was the 1997 USAC Silver Crown Champion, 1999 USAC National Sprint Car Champion, and 2001 and 2002 USAC National Midget Champion, making him the third driver to claim all three USAC National Championships. [1] He is nicknamed "The People's Champ". [1]

Contents

Background

Darland was born and raised in Lincoln, Indiana. [1] His father was a steelworker and his mother was a housewife. [1]

Racing career

Darland began racing quarter midgets when he was four years old. [1] His father Bob Darland helped build his first sprint car when he was 16 years old. [1] Darland's first sprint car win happened at Kokomo Speedway when he beat Steve Kinser's father Bob in 1986. [1] Darland won over 100 features in his own sprint car. [1]

Darland's first USAC feature win came in 1993 when he was 26 years old. [1] Darland won the 2001 and 2002 USAC National Midget championships. [1] Race wins include the 2007 & 2013 Turkey Night Grand Prix, [1] a Southern California traditional race held on Thanksgiving Day for many years, and three wins at the Oval Nationals, held at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, California. [1]

As of July 25, 2020, his 20 Indiana Sprint Week race wins are the most in the series history (since 1988). [2] As of September 26, 2020, he is the winningest driver in USAC Sprint Car history. [3] Darland took over as the winningest USAC overall driver (in either midgets, sprint cars, and Silver Crown cars) when he passed Tom Bigelow's 52 total wins in 2014. [1]

Darland retired from racing in 2023. [4]

Personal life

Darland and his wife Brenda have three children. [1] He suffered a mild stroke on April 23, 2021, and was hospitalized with some confusion. [5]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Auto Club</span> Auto racing sanctioning body in the US

The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500. USAC serves as the sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks, and Pirelli World Challenge. Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones is USAC's Competition Director.

Robert William Stanley was an American auto racing driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Butler</span>

Steve Butler is an American former auto racing driver. He won six national driving championships in USAC Sprint Car and Silver Crown open-wheel racing. Butler was highly regarded for his technical skills and performed chief mechanic duties on several of his winning race cars. He also communicated his view of racing to fans both as author and television commentator. Despite a relatively brief racing career (1981–1993), Butler is an inductee into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, the USAC Hall of Fame, and the Hoosier Auto Racing Fan's Hall of Fame. He retired at age 37 to pursue both an engineering career and more time with his growing family. Butler currently resides in Kokomo, IN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Hewitt</span> American racing driver

Jack Hewitt, is an American former professional dirt track racing driver. He is a two-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion and an All Star Circuit of Champions champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Steele</span> American racing driver

David MacFarland Steele was an American professional racing driver who won numerous sprint car racing championships and also competed in IndyCar and NASCAR races. Steele last drove a winged sprint car in the Southern Sprintcar Shootout Series, where he won the first 5 races in series history. Steele was killed in a crash at Desoto Speedway on March 25, 2017.

Larry Rice was an American racing driver in the USAC and CART Championship Car series. He was the 1973 USAC National midget driver's champion and won the USAC Silver Crown series in 1977 and 1981. He was inducted in the National Midget Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Clauson</span> American racing driver

Bryan Timothy Clauson was an American professional auto racing driver, best known for his achievements in dirt track open-wheel racing, such as USAC Silver Crown, Midget and Sprint cars. Clauson was increasingly seen competing with the World of Outlaws (WoO) sprint cars in his last couple of years. Clauson also competed in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Indy Lights, and IndyCar Series and was a development driver for Chip Ganassi Racing.

The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving night most years since 1934, where it was founded by Earl Gilmore at his Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles. It stayed at this location until 1950. Since that time it has been held at various southern California race tracks. Since 1955, the race has been promoted by J. C. Agajanian and later his descendants, currently by son Cary. Traditionally a dirt track event, it has sometimes been on asphalt during the turn of the 21st century, although it returned to dirt in 2012. The feature race was held over 98 laps in the modern era, the same number that Agajanian used for his racecars.

Selinsgrove Speedway is a 0.5 mi (0.80 km) high-banked clay dirt oval south of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.

Website
Speedway History

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brady Bacon</span> American racecar driver

Brady Bacon is an American racecar driver. Nicknamed 'Macho Man', he currently drives in the USAC Sprint Car Series. He won the 2014, 2016, and 2020 national championships. He previously had raced for Kasey Kahne and was a developmental driver for Chip Ganassi Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terre Haute Action Track</span> Racetrack

Terre Haute Action Track is a half-mile dirt racetrack located at the Vigo County, Indiana, fairgrounds on U.S. Route 41 along the south side of Terre Haute, Indiana. The track hosts annual United States Automobile Club (USAC) midget car, sprint car and Silver Crown events. Notable drivers that have competed at the track include A. J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Parnelli Jones, and Tony Stewart. The track has held events sanctioned by USAC, its predecessor American Automobile Association (AAA), and the World of Outlaws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Grant</span> American racing driver

Justin Michael Grant is an American racing driver from Ione, California. Grant is the 2020 USAC Silver Crown National Champion and the 2022 USAC National Sprint Car Champion.

The 2018 USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Championship is the 63rd season of the Midget series sanctioned by USAC. P1 Insurance becomes the new title sponsor of the series for 2018. The season will begin with the Shamrock Classic at Southern Illinois Center on March 10, and will end with the Turkey Night Grand Prix at Ventura Raceway on November 22. The series will also have a non points race with the Junior Knepper 55 at Southern Illinois Center on December 15. Spencer Bayston enters the season as the defending champion.

The 2018 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car Championship is the 63rd season of sprint car racing sanctioned by USAC. The 2018 season will feature 45 races on dirt tracks across the United States. The season will begin with Winter Dirt Games at Bubba Raceway Park on February 15, and will end with the Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway on November 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Windom</span> American auto racing driver

Christopher R. Windom is an American professional racing driver. Windom was the seventh driver to complete a United States Auto Club (USAC) Triple Crown by winning titles in sprint cars, midget cars, and Silver Crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kody Swanson</span> American racing driver

Kody Mykel Swanson is an American professional sprint car racing driver. He is a seven-time USAC USAC Silver Crown Series champion in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, plus a three-time Little 500 winner. Swanson is currently the all-time wins leader in Silver Crown with 40.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Coons Jr.</span> American racing driver

Jerry Coons Jr. is an American racecar driver. He currently competes in the United States Auto Club sprint car, midget, and Silver Crown divisions. He is one of only six drivers to win the USAC Triple Crown, with championships in the USAC Sprint Car, Midget, and Silver Crown divisions. At the close of the 2017 season, Coons has 19 USAC Midget wins, 17 USAC Sprint Car wins, and 7 USAC Silver Crown wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan Seavey</span> American auto racing driver

Logan Norman Seavey is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series, driving the No. 5B for Chase Briscoe Racing and full-time in the USAC P1 Insurance National Midget Championship for Keith Kunz Motorsports driving the No. 67 with support from Toyota Racing Development.

Kokomo Speedway is a quarter mile (0.4 km) dirt semi-banked oval racing track in Kokomo, Indiana. The track hosts weekly Sunday night races during the American summer months. It has hosted or currently hosts national tours for sprint, late models, midget, and ARCA stock cars.

Michael "Buddy" Kofoid is an American professional dirt track and stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the USAC National Midget Series and POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series, driving for Keith Kunz Motorsports. He is the 2021 and 2022 USAC National Midget Series champion. He also competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 51 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports. He also has competed with the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Sprint car Series. He collected his first Win at Husets Speedway on June 23, 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Kennedy, Doug. "Dave Darland Biography" (pdf). National Sprint Car Hall of Fame . Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  2. "Indiana Sprint Week at Lawrenceburg". Indiana Speed Week. Event occurs at 20:08. FloRacing.
  3. "Double Double - Kokomo". USAC National Sprint Cars. September 26, 2020. Event occurs at 22:51. FloRacing.
  4. Murray, Richie (October 6, 2023). "USAC LEGEND DAVE DARLAND ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT" . Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  5. "BAPS Motor Speedway". USAC Sprint Cars. April 24, 2021. Event occurs at 14:25. FloRacing.
  6. Glick, Shav (April 25, 2003). "Kahne Hopes Double Duty Results in First Busch Win". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 31 March 2010.