It has often been said that racing is a young man’s sport.
A quick glance at the latest U.S. Auto Club race results and point rankings tends to offer a measure of credibility to such thinking.
With a talented group of newcomers that includes the likes of Cole Whitt, Brady Short, Chad Boat and Darren Hagen already making it to victory lane this season it would appear on the surface that the “old guard” of the USAC establishment would on the outside looking in these days.
And while the newcomers are grabbing their share of the limelight the old guard contingent doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to jump from the cockpit to a rocking chair any time soon.
Newly crowned Sumar Classic winner Dave Darland displayed in convincing fashion last Wednesday at the Action Track that there’s still a place for the “over the hill gang” in open wheel racing.
Darland continues to make believers out of those who entertain thoughts that the Lincoln competitor’s best driving days are behind him.
His local win was the second major victory in as many weeks, having won in the USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks show at Kokomo.
Now a five-time winner at the Action Track, Darland becomes the first driver ever to win the track’s triple crown of USAC events — Hulman Classic for sprints, Hut Hundred for midgets and Sumar for the Silver Crown machines.
In typical Darland form, the personable racer showed why he has the reputation of being a class act both on and off the track.
After greeting well-wishers and signing his share of autographs following the Sumar, Darland took time to share his thoughts on a variety of subjects that surround USAC racing.
Like the current trend which finds a host of youngsters in USAC making their way up the ladder by way of lucrative development programs initiated by several high-profile NASCAR teams.
He says the current movement is just a natural progression of racing and harbors no resentment to those who have made the most of the opportunities that never came his way.
“I’ve been driving sprint cars for 25 years. Things have changed from when I started racing,” explained Darland.
“Back when I was a 15- or 16-year-old kid they were looking for the next Parnelli Jones and A.J. Foyt. They knew how to drive a race car and won a lot of races. Now they want the kids that can bring money or someone they can develop into what they want them to be.”
“I was too young in the Foyt era and now in the Cole Whitt era I’m to old,” he said of the current day thinking of many stock and champ car owners.
“Things change. I can’t say it’s better or worse. It’s just different. I’ve just got to go with the times and try to keep up. It’s something you have to do to keep up with the sport,” voiced Darland.
Although he is just one month shy of his 42nd birthday, Darland says he has no trouble physically keeping up with the younger generation of racers.
“I don’t have any trouble staying up in the seat,” he said proudly. “Some race tracks are more physically rougher than others. Most of them I can handle. I’ve never lost a race by falling out of the saddle as they say.”
His pair of wins this season stretches his consecutive feature win streak in USAC racing to 16 years. His recent wins took on special meaning to the four-time USAC champion.
First, the Kokomo race was named in honor of his late father Bob Darland. Second, the Sumar because it has been one win that had always eluded him. Third, it is one of his favorite tracks.
“It always good to come back to Terre Haute. This is a famous old place. I just wish the old guardrails were still up,” said Darland.
He savors the checkered flags even more these days conceding they have become increasingly more difficult to come by. Like the one for the Sumar Classic.
“We’ve come close several times to winning this thing but just hadn’t been able to survive those 100 laps. To be able to join Kevin Thomas and Tony Elliott as Sumar Classic winners has made the night that more special.”
• • •
• Special event — It will be a special day at Action City Dragway USA Saturday as the strip plays host to the 1st Annual Dallas Montgomery Memorial event.
A day long list of activities should provide plenty to do for those on and off the strip. Gates open at 9 a.m. and time trials get underway at noon.
Racing will include $2,500-to-win Super Pro and $1,300-to-win Pro payoffs plus a special Slammin’ 16 races.
In addition to the racing there will be a car show and silent auction with all proceeds going to the Racers, Christmas For Kids cause. This is a charitable program instituted by the late race promoter to benefit the underprivileged children of the Wabash Valley.
Joe Buckles can be reached at jbuckles4@verizon.net.
Auto Racing
Trackside: Racing, it’s a young man’s sport
- Auto Racing
-
-
Top guns, again
For the sixth time in his Indy career Friday, three-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves won the Pit Stop Challenge on Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
-
Looking for Indy breakthrough, Kanaan enjoying role as team mentor
Ask any IZOD IndyCar series champion and he’d say he would gladly give up that championship to win one Indianapolis 500.
-
TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
In its rich 43-year history, the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic has long carried on a strong local racing tradition.
From its early beginnings starting in 1971, the U.S. Auto Club-sanctioned event has been the annual centerpiece of the racing calendar at the Terre Haute Action Track as well as a key stop on the USAC sprint schedule and one of the most sought after wins in big league sprint-car racing. -
Carpenter arrives as Indy 500 threat
And the crowd went wild.
Not only did Ed Carpenter win the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500, he is the hometown son. Carpenter, the stepson of Tony George, completed his rookie orientation in 2004 and has spent the last several years, proving he deserved to be the IZOD IndyCar Series. There is no questioning his credentials now. -
Carpenter wins Indy 500 pole
Ed Carpenter is on the pole for the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The native of Marshall, Ill., earned the No. 1 spot for the May 26 race with a strong run in the Fast Nine competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday. He is the first American driver on the pole since 2006. -
TRACKSIDE: Rain still a pain for Wabash Valley racing organizers
Soggy weather conditions, which have rightfully drawn the ire of Wabash Valley race fans and crews in recent days, continue to plague promoters where it hurts the most — their pocketbooks.
-
TRACKSIDE: Tough to rise from sprint-car racing, especially in challenging financial times
Open-wheel sprint-car racing, whether it be at the national or local level, has earned a reputation over the years of generating its share of thrills and excitement for its fans and a valuable training ground for drivers seeking to hone their skills that someday might elevate them to the “major leagues” of their sport.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
-
East gets jump at SUMAR Classic
In his relatively brief but successful racing career, young Bobby East has at times unfairly been labeled as a driver who could master the pavement ovals but one who was still a work in progress on the dirt.
-
Hurtubise, Sumar races on Action Track slate this weekend
Championship racing is scheduled this weekend at the Terre Haute Action Track with U.S. Auto Club features set for today and Saturday.
One USAC championship will be decided and the spread in the other division could widen or tighten up as a result of the races.
The Jim Hurtubise Classic for sprint cars is today. Only 26 points separate three drivers in the point totals. -
TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
IndyCar celebrates return to Pocono
IndyCar driver Ed Carpenter had the chance to take a drive around Pocono Raceway, and promptly handed the car keys to racing great Mario Andretti.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Rain forces postponement of Jim Hurtubise Classic
Rain and the chance of inclement weather forced postponement of the Jim Hurtubise Classic scheduled for Saturday evening at the Terre Haute Action Track.
-
METRO ROUNDUP: USAC points leader Levi Jones out for season
Levi Jones, the five-time and reigning United States Auto Club (USAC) National Sprint Car champion, will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday to repair two herniated discs in his neck. While a full recovery is expected, the 12-week rehabilitation period will not allow for Jones to finish out the 2012 season, where he has competed in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car and TRAXXAS Silver Crown divisions for Tony Stewart Racing (TSR).
-
TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
-
JJ joins hero Mears among four-time winners of Brickyard
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Jimmie Johnson is a master at the Brickyard.
-
Hamlin wins Brickyard 400 pole position
Denny Hamlin captured his first ever pole for the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday.
-
Keselowski gives Penske first stock-car win at IMS
Brad Keselowski made history Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as he took the checkered flag at the inaugural Indy 250 NASCAR Nationwide race.
-
Bordais, Popow take checkered flag after downpour
While it never rained a drop during the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Super Weekend at the Brickyard certainly saw its share Friday as both the inaugural Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the Rolex Sports Car Series met with the wet stuff.
-
TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
-
Red-hot Hunter-Reay goes for fourth straight at Edmonton
Ryan Hunter-Reay goes for his fourth straight victory Sunday in IZOD IndyCar Series action in Canada.
-
Clayton wins at Don Smith Classic
They call Daron Clayton, “The Modern Day Cowboy.”
-
The King of Speed
Born in Terre Haute, Roger Curtis grew up on Franklin Street, moved to Riley with his family when he was in sixth grade and attended Thornton Elementary School and Honey Creek Junior High before graduating from Terre Haute South High School in 1985.
-
Jones occupies driver’s seat: Six-time THAT winner leads Sprint Week series
When you think of USAC’s Indiana Sprint Week, thoughts of Levi Jones shouldn’t be far behind.
-
TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
-
Kenny Wallace realizes Action Track dream
Kenny Wallace won the UMP modified feature, leading flag-to-flag for the victory on Thursday night at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Wallace, a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver from 1990-2008, couldn’t have more thrilled to become part of a racing revival at the venerable dirt oval. -
TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
-
Franchitti mired in post-Indy 500 slump
Dario Franchitti hopes to get back on track in IndyCar Series action Sunday in Canada.
-
TRACKSIDE: Retired driver LaJoie spreads the word of safety
In his roles as past driving champion and television analyst, Randy LaJoie has rightfully earned the reputation as a major contributor to the sport of auto racing.
-
Trackside: Stanbrough on track at midseason
When veteran driver Jon Stanbrough ushered in a new season in Florida back in February, he found himself facing a pair of unfamiliar challenges.
- More Auto Racing Headlines
-
Raw: Trucker Bumps I-5 Bridge Before Collapse
Suspect in Killing of Officer Found Dead in Cell
Raw: Texas Deputy Shot by Colo. Suspect Honored
Major Detours Following Wash. Bridge Collapse
Officials: Tsarnaev Friend Linked to Slaying
American Held in Grisly Czech Murders
Raw: Jersey Shore Reopens for Summer
High Wire Spectacle Thrills Crowd in Austria
Obama:Sexual Assault Threatens Trust in Military
Raw Video: Washington State Bridge Collapse
Today in History May 25
Today in History May 24
UK-bound Pakistan Plane Diverted, 2 Men Arrested
Raw: Memorial Day Flags Placed at Arlington
Britain Braces for Possible Copycat Attacks
Raw: Tightrope Walk Between Cathedral Spires
ShowBiz Minute: Shelton, King, Lopez
Raw: Scuffles in London After Hacking Death
Boy Scouts Approve Plan to Accept Gay Boys
Raw: Pakistan Election Results Protested
Young protestor goes viral on Youtube
Toronto Mayor says he's not a crack head
Maine island offers lighthouse getaway
Should We Prepare for Quakes?
Lynn Kindergarten Class Rescues Ducklings
Congressional gold medal awarded to civil rights heroes
Charles Ramsey visits Kentucky
Unique Display Greets Guests At Revel Casino
Cape Cod Train Service Worries Residents
BASE jumper rides snowmobile off cliff to honor dead friend
Bridge Collapse Survivor: 'Rough Day'
SHOCKING: School Guard Throws Girl Down Stairs
Star Wars X-Wing Star Fighter Made of Legos
Actress Amanda Bynes Arrested in New York
Singer Psy Has An Imposter
President Obama Heckled at National Security Speech
Morgan Freeman falls asleep on air
More lewd photos may soon come out: Weiner
