Erik Darnell Bio
Erik Darnell’s career path seemed destined from birth. Having a grandfather with a successful USAC background and a father with an equally impressive ASA resume, it was only natural that he would take to the track and continue putting the family name in racing programs throughout the country.
At only eight weeks old, Erik was given his first exposure to the racing world when he was brought to the Mecca of stock car racing, Daytona International Speedway. While most children were left to the care of their mothers while their fathers worked on the cars, Erik’s story was a little different. “I was right there with everyone,” he said. “They had me propped up in a box, in the back of the truck so I could see what was going on.”
At the age of 12, Erik got behind the wheel and began racing go-karts in his native Illinois. What began as a hobby would soon turn serious, as he won Rookie of the Year honors in his first full season of competition at the River Valley Kart Club in 1996. He followed his early accomplishment by winning three championships the very next year.
His successes continued when he made the transition to full-sized stock cars, winning Rookie of the Year honors in Super Late Model competition at Illiana Motor Speedway in Indiana. While continuing to run Super Late Model races, Erik gained additional experience by running in each of the four divisions that comprise the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, getting valuable experience at racetracks across the country.
In 2004, Erik got the call that he had been chosen to compete in Roush Fenway Racing’s “Race for the Ride,” where he competed against 25 drivers for a seat in one of Roush Fenway Racing’s Craftsman Truck Series entries. He made it to the final round at Darlington, finishing a close second to winner Todd Kluever. He impressed Roush Fenway representatives so much that he was awarded a developmental driver contract, and was entered in select races in the ARCA series with Roush Fenway support. "Erik Darnell is extremely talented,” said Roush Fenway Racing general manager Robbie Reiser. “Watching him race reminds me of watching Matt Kenseth race early in his career. He is a patient driver, he's good with his equipment and he knows when to be aggressive."
When Roush and the Discovery Channel were looking for drivers to answer the casting call for their new reality show, “Driver X: Race for the Ride,” Darnell’s name appeared at the top of everyone’s list. This time, he would not be denied. For the second year in a row, he made it to the final round at Darlington. His hard work and dedication earned him a place with Roush Fenway Racing, when he was named Driver X, the new driver of the No. 99 for the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season. “Erik is an extremely talented driver,” said Jack Roush. “He nearly won our competition last year, and with another year of experience under his belt Erik is ready to compete in NASCAR's best series."
Darnell’s 2006 season started with a sixth-place finish at Daytona, and was followed up with 11 more top-10 runs. Darnell was a model of consistency, earning an average finish of 13.5 over the course of 25 starts. Darnell completed 95.8 percent of the laps raced in ’06, the most of any Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate.
Darnell and his No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment team had lofty goals for the 2007 season. They put pressure on themselves to come out of the box strong and compete for the series championship. While Darnell was able to pick up the first win of his young career at Kansas Speedway, the rest of the season did not meet up to internal or external expectations. A wholesale crew swap between the No. 50 and 99 teams towards the end of the season placed Darnell with crew chief Matt Puccia for the remainder of the 2007 and 2008 season.
“Last year was a disappointing one for our Northern Tool + Equipment team, there is no doubt about that,” said Darnell. “We felt like we’d be in the battle for the championship, but things didn’t go our way. We seemed to have terrible luck all year, getting caught up in other people’s wrecks and having errors on pit road. When Jack (Roush) made the call to swap the crews around, we saw some improvements that we really needed to see. We’re optimistic that the changes made will give us a much better 2008. We’re all looking forward to Daytona and putting 2007 behind us.”
Career Overview
- 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series- One win (Kansas), three top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 25 starts
- 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series- One pole, four top-five, 12 top-10 finishes in 25 starts
- 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series- Raybestos Rookie of the Year winner
- 2005 ARCA- Two top-five, three top-10 finishes in five starts
- 2005 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, Southeast- Two top-five finishes in two starts
- 2005 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, Midwest- One win, one top-five and two top-10 finishes in four starts
- 2004 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, Southeast- One win, six top-five, and 10 top-10 finishes in 12 starts. Finished third in points
- 2004 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, Midwest- One win, five top-five, and eight top-10 finishes in 11 starts. Finished 11th in points - 2003 Wisconsin Challenge Series Champion. Three wins and six top-five finishes in 10 starts. Record holder for most wins in a season.
- 2002 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, Southwest- Finished sixth, Phoenix Int’l Raceway- 2002 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, Southeast- Finished 10th, Bristol Motor Speedway - 2001 NASCAR AutoZone Elite Series, Southeast- Finished second, Nashville Superspeedway- 2001 Super Late Model Rookie of the Year, Illiana Motor Speedway - ’98-‘00 Allison Legacy Series- 12 feature wins, three track records - 1997 River Valley Kart Club, Gold Restrictor Plate Class- Champion- 1997 River Valley Kart Club, Yamaha Junior Class- Champion- 1997 Gem Pro Oval Series, Yamaha Junior Class- Champion - 1996 River Valley Kart Club, Purple Restrictor Plate Class- Rookie of the Year
--To find out more about Erik, please visit www.ErikDarnell.com.
--To join Erik's Official Fan Club, please visit www.RoushFenwayFanSite.com.
