Dave Darland - HammerDown!

DRIVERS

Dave Darland

2005, 2004 & 2003 - All HammerDown! Team Member

Darland takes Perris $30,000 - HD Staff - Perris, CA. November 4, 2006 - Dave Darland won the Perris Oval Nationals Saturday night at Perris Auto Speedway. The Indiana pilot earned $30,000 for his win aboard the Walker/Guiducci #11. Levi Jones, the 2005 USAC National Sprint Car Champion finished second in Tony Stewart's #21. The top local was Mike Spencer who came in the 'show' position. Cory Kruseman, and Brady Bacon completed the top-five. (Summary)

Darland opens USAC pavement sprint season with Anderson win - HD Staff - April 9, 2006 - Anderson, IN. ...Dave Darland led all 100 laps Sunday afternoon to win the USAC National Sprint Car event at Anderson Speedway. Dave Steele, Jose Wise, Bobby Santos III, and Marc Jessup completed the top-five finishers. Californian Kody Swanson enjoyed a seventh place result in his first visit to the famed high-banked quarter-mile. (Summary)

Darland clinic at Western World. RRS season ends with Steve Kinser as champ again - By Bobby Gerould - November 13, 2005 - Phoenix, AZ. ...Dave Darland of Lincoln, IN ran away with the 2005 Western World Championships at Manzanita Speedway Saturday night (and into Sunday morning). Driving the Walker/Guiducci #11, Darland passed early leader Bud Kaeding low in turn three on lap six of 40, and then opened up a lead that was as large as a full straightaway on the half-mile dirt track. Kaeding suffered a broken rear end on his BK/Leffler #29 coming to the white flag while running second. Levi Jones assumed runner-up honors, and his second place finish wrapped up the 2005 USAC National Sprint Car championship. Damion Gardner, who clinched the USAC/CRA points title this weekend, finished third. Cory Kruseman and Mike Spencer completed the top-five. Casey Shuman earned the Hard Charger of the Race Award with a sterling 23rd to sixth drive after transferring through the B-Main. ...The event was the final points earning race in the 2005 Racer's Racing Series. Josh Wise needed a top-three result to claim the title from Steve Kinser. Wise finished 16th in the A-Main, and therefore Kinser is the RRS champ for the second year in-a-row. (Manzanita results)

Darland's great year continues, he wins Perris Oval Nationals - HD Staff - Perris, CA. November 5, 2005. ...Dave Darland of Lincoln IN, took the lead on lap three of 50 and was never headed in his impressive win of the Perris Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway Saturday night. The USAC National and CRA sanctioned event paid $30,000 to Darland and the Walker/ Guiducci #11 team. Damion Gardner finished second followed by Rip Williams, Mike Spencer, and Mike Kirby. The top-ten was completed by Bud Kaeding, Mat Neely, Darren Hagen, Brad Sweet, and Josh Ford. Josh Wise finished 13th and closed to within 55 points of Steve Kinser with one race remaining in HammerDownUSA.com's Racer's Racing Series. Wise must finish in the top-three on the final night of Manzanita Speedway's Western World Championship to win the 2005 RRS title (assuming Kinser does not compete). (See the 2005 Oval Nationals summary)

Eldora action yields RRS winners in Stratton, Jones, and Darland - By Bobby Gerould - September 24, 2005 - Rossburg, OH. ...Danny Stratton, Levi Jones, and Dave Darland were the respective feature winners in USAC sanctioned events at Eldora Speedway Saturday. The Four Crown Nationals three USAC features were all points earners in the Racer's Racing Series. Dave Steele wrapped up the USAC Silver Crown Championship with a tenth place feature finish. ...Josh Wise regained the RRS points lead on the strength of three top 15 finishes Saturday night. (See the summaries: Midgets, Sprints, Silver Crown.)

Darland rides to victory at cold Manzanita Speedway - By Ken Wagner - January 29, 2005. Phoenix, AZ. ...Showers played havoc with the Valvoline USAC/CRA season opener on January 29th at Manzanita Speedway when wet grounds greeted the racers trying to negotiate into the muddy pits for the night's action. Dave Darland later drove the Performance, Eric Industries, TCR, Donovan sprinter, owned by Dwight Chaney, to a 30 lap win in the Main Event. Wet grounds and a late start cancelled qualifying. Heat race line-ups for the 38 cars in attendance were done by pill draw, then passing points further aligned cars transferring into the Semi and Main Events. (Read it all)

Darland wins Silver Crown Eldora race; Steele champ ROSSBURG, Ohio (Sept. 25, 2004) - By Dick Jordan - Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. capped off the 23rd “4-Crown Nationals” in style Saturday night at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio with his ninth Weld Racing Silver Crown Series victory and second of the 2004 season. Darland, who led all 50 laps in the No. 56 Foxco Inc. – Jarvis Enterprises Beast/Foxco Chevy, claimed his first victory in Silver Crown competition at Eldora. Dave Steele of Tampa, Fla. scored his initial series championship with a 13th-place finish. Darland also won the National Midget Car Series 25-lap feature, leading all 25 laps, while Dickie Gaines of Mitchell, Ind. won his first career Valvoline National Sprint Car Series feature, leading all 30 laps. Brian Ruhlman won the 20-lap UMP Modified race.(More)

Hoosier Hundred to Darland - HD Staff - Indianapolis, IN. 05/28/04 ...Lincoln Indiana's Dave Darland passed points leader Dave Steele on lap 90 to win his third Hoosier Hundred for USAC Silver Crown cars at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Friday night. (MORE)

Darland Wheels Unfamiliar Car to Manzy USAC/CRA Win - By Bobby Gerould, 03/19/04, Phoenix, AZ. …Lincoln Indiana's Dave Darland was busy during driver introductions. He and his son, 17 year-old Trenton, were in a deep pre-feature race discussion about the fast way around the Manzanita Speedway half-mile dirt track. Whatever was said between the two should be written in the family archives. Daddy Dave jumped behind the wheel of Ben Lancaster's #14 sprint car and led all twenty laps at Manzanita Friday night to post a convincing victory in the newly formed Valvoline United States Auto Club / California Racing Association series. The 1999 USAC National sprint car driving champion started outside the front row in his first drive for the Las Vegas car owner. (more)

Dave Darland, the classy vet from Lincoln, Indiana, gets his swerve on at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, AZ. (D.J. Renwick photo)

Darland is Springfield Master - By Dick Jordan - 08/16/03 - Springfield, IL. - Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. scored his third "Tony Bettenhausen 100" triumph in Saturday's 100-mile USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, leading all but one lap in his Foxco/Jarvis Enterprises Beast/Foxco Chevy. "This might have been the best car I've ever had," said the jubilant Darland in the winner's circle. Dave also won at the Springfield mile in1997 and 1999 and the win boosted him to second in the new series standings behind leader J.J. Yeley. (Read the whole thing)

By Dick Jordan 02/26/03 - VENTURA, PHOENIX ON DARLAND'S 2003 CALENDAR - Two-time defending USAC National Midget Car Champion Dave Darland of Lincoln, Ind. will compete in the opening events of the 2003 USAC racing season at Ventura, Calif. March 15 and Phoenix, Ariz. March 20-23. Beyond that, his pavement Midget slate is somewhat up in the air at present. "I'll run all the dirt Midget races for Steve Lewis," says Dave, "but after Phoenix my pavement Midget plans are not yet finalized. In the Weld Racing Silver Crown Series I'm driving for car owner Bob Hoerner at Phoenix and will split races between Bob and Galen Fox the rest of the season. In the USAC Sprint Cars I'll be running for the D.DeSalle Arctic Cat Team again. I would like to repeat as the National Midget Champion for the third consecutive year, but that will hinge on my pavement situation."

He will team with J.J. Yeley and Bobby East in Lewis Midgets at Phoenix. The 2003 USAC season commences on Saturday night, March 15, with a USAC National/Western Midget Car and USAC Ford Focus Midget Car "doubleheader" at the Ventura (Calif.) Raceway. The event opens USAC's 2003 Speed Channel coverage, with airing on Thursday night, March 20. "I'm looking forward to Ventura," says Dave despite the fact that in five starts at the 1/5-mile dirt track his finishes keep getting worse! He finished sixth in March of 1995 in his first start there, then finished 10th and 16th in April, 1995, 18th in November, 1995 and 21st in 1997.

The USAC Midget Cars have not competed at Ventura since 1998. One driver not expected to be in the March 15 Ventura field is USAC's last Ventura winner, Shane Scully. Scully was leading the USAC Western Midget Car standings last year when he suffered injuries at Belleville, Kans. He is continuing his recovery from those injuries. Darland could become USAC's fourth driver to land three consecutive National Midget titles. Shorty Templeman (1956-58), Jimmy Davies (1960-62) and Jason Leffler (1998-2000) are the others to accomplish the feat.

"We're also getting Trenton (Dave's son) ready to compete in the USAC Indiana Ford Focus Midget Car Series which opens April 6 at Anderson Speedway," adds Dave. "We should have the car ready to run the whole season."

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