32D-PR
New Member
Darren and the entire 32D crew would like to thank everyone who assisted in the all night thrash to rebuild Darren’s car after the Saturday night Knoxville Nationals crash. Although there were far too many people involved to name individually, we do want to especially thank Mike Garland and his “crew” from Morrison IL (sorry I don’t know all your names) for their exceptional efforts. We wouldn’t have gotten the job done without you guys.
For those who don’t know the story, Darren competed at the Knoxville Nationals last weekend. He finished 7th in Thursday nights qualifier race after coming through the B-main, then set 2nd fast time, won his heat, and went on to win Friday nights qualifying feature. Saturday night Darren led the majority of the race but caught a rut coming off of turn four on lap 88 and hit the fence head on. The car sustained major front-end damage and was literally destroyed from the radiator forward.
Scheduled to start on the pole for the rain delayed Springfield (IL) Mile race at 2pm the following Sunday afternoon, and without a backup car, Darren made the decision to repair the damage. With a couple of crews working simultaneously on the car, new front frame rails and front strut mounts were fabricated and welded in place, a replacement front bumper and nose assembly installed, fender and hood repairs were made and the rear end and motor were both changed.
Repairs were mostly completed and the team pulled out of the Knoxville pits headed for Springfield at 6:10AM. We arrived at Springfield some 5-1/2 hrs later and continued the thrash in order to make hot-laps. After taking a few slow laps to check out the repairs, Darren ran back to back laps within six-tenths of a second of the track record he set a few weeks ago, and went on to win the 30 lap $12,000 Best Western-Illinois Fall Nationals event in the just repaired car.
Thanks again to all of our fans, sponsors, families, friends and everyone who supports the team. To be able to turn the pain of a Knoxville situation into the satisfaction of a win at Springfield was a true test of a team and you all helped us to succeed.
For those who don’t know the story, Darren competed at the Knoxville Nationals last weekend. He finished 7th in Thursday nights qualifier race after coming through the B-main, then set 2nd fast time, won his heat, and went on to win Friday nights qualifying feature. Saturday night Darren led the majority of the race but caught a rut coming off of turn four on lap 88 and hit the fence head on. The car sustained major front-end damage and was literally destroyed from the radiator forward.
Scheduled to start on the pole for the rain delayed Springfield (IL) Mile race at 2pm the following Sunday afternoon, and without a backup car, Darren made the decision to repair the damage. With a couple of crews working simultaneously on the car, new front frame rails and front strut mounts were fabricated and welded in place, a replacement front bumper and nose assembly installed, fender and hood repairs were made and the rear end and motor were both changed.
Repairs were mostly completed and the team pulled out of the Knoxville pits headed for Springfield at 6:10AM. We arrived at Springfield some 5-1/2 hrs later and continued the thrash in order to make hot-laps. After taking a few slow laps to check out the repairs, Darren ran back to back laps within six-tenths of a second of the track record he set a few weeks ago, and went on to win the 30 lap $12,000 Best Western-Illinois Fall Nationals event in the just repaired car.
Thanks again to all of our fans, sponsors, families, friends and everyone who supports the team. To be able to turn the pain of a Knoxville situation into the satisfaction of a win at Springfield was a true test of a team and you all helped us to succeed.
