Darnell Looks Impressive Again; Finishes Ninth at New Hampshire

June 28, 2009
3:36 PM

Loudon, N.H. (June 27, 2009) – Erik Darnell was not looking forward to this weekend’s race at New Hampshire because he knew after today that he would be taking a two week hiatus from the track. With Darnell having a part-time schedule sharing the No. 6 car with David Ragan, it’s often difficult to get in any type of a groove. However, Darnell has made the most of it over the last three weeks and today’s Camping World RV Sales 200 would not be any different. Darnell’s ninth-place finish was his third top 10 in the last four races. He was also named top rookie of the race for the second consecutive week and third overall in just six races.

Saturday afternoon’s race started under bright blue skies, but for how long was the concern on everyone’s mind with thunderstorms in the forecast. Darnell and his No. 6 NT+E Ford Fusion began the race from the inside of row six (11th). Within just a few laps of the race and battling for position, the No. 1 of Mike Bliss slightly got into Darnell from the inside damaging the left front fender of the No. 6. The bump by Bliss had created a noticeable dent in the car, but the damage was not significant enough to bring the car to pit road.

As Darnell continued to put laps down, his Ford Fusion was showing signs of loosing traction on the track. By lap 40, Darnell had fallen a spot to 12th-place and was hoping for a caution to come out soon because his NT+E car was not advancing on the track. Just 10 laps later the yellow flag flew and Darnell made his way to the pits taking four tires, fuel, a track bar adjustment and work on the fender that was damaged earlier. The speedy stop allowed the No. 6 to gain a spot and restart 11th on lap 58.

A short time later on lap 71 Crew Chief Mike Kelley heard the voice of a driver who was still frustrated with the handling of the car. Kelley told Darnell to just keep driving hard; that he was doing a great job out there. Darnell kept his focus and on lap 82 passed teammate Greg Biffle to overtake the 10th spot.

With the field now scattered over the one-mile track at the halfway point of the 200-lap race, Darnell was 14 seconds off the lead and eight seconds behind the ninth-place car of Bliss. Five laps later Darnell came back on the radio to tell Kelley the car was beginning to skate up the track because of the lack of grip coming from the front tires. A stop on lap 106 under the second caution gave way to fuel, four tires and both air pressure and track bar adjustments. The 13.8 second stop put Darnell out in 10th on the restart; the same spot he was in when he entered pit road.

It had only been 12 laps since the last adjustments and Darnell was now saying the car’s lack of grip was even worse than before. However, Darnell kept control of the issue and by 141 had the fastest car on the track. Kelley and the NT+E pit crew make one last set of adjustments when the third and final caution came out on lap 156 due to debris. Again, Kelley stuck with the same adjustments as the last stop. The error free stop by the crew got Darnell out in ninth with 39 laps to go.

Over the next 24 laps Darnell had ninth-place locked down; at one point just five tenths of second away from taking over the eighth position held by Biffle. Darnell lost out on the opportunity and with six laps to go was passed by his other Roush Fenway Racing teammate Carl Edwards, dropping the No. 6 machine to 10th-place. A spin out on the last lap in turn four by the No. 32 of Brian Vickers gave way to Darnell picking up a spot and leaving New Hampshire with a ninth-place finish.

“We had an average day out there today. Mike Kelley and the crew did a good job getting the car setup for practice. We didn’t make a mock run during practice, so I didn’t know what to expect. This Northern Tool + Equipment Ford Fusion just missed out qualifying in the top 10. We didn’t have the track position we needed and that will hurt you at a track like this. At the last stop we decided to take four tires instead of two which is what the leaders did and it paid off for them. I could never get going on fresh tires, but the car seemed to run a lot better on long runs. I guess it’s good to get another top 10, but we have the type of team that should be leaving the race track with top five finishes each week,” said Darnell

Darnell and Northern Tool + Equipment return to action on July 18th at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, IL for the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250.

About Northern Tool + Equipment
Northern Tool + Equipment has been a supplier of high-quality tools and equipment for more than 27 years, selling products through direct mail, the Internet and at nearly 70 retail locations in 11 states. Along with a deep selection of hand, power and air tools, Northern Tool + Equipment carries a wide variety of products, including generators, pressure washers, air compressors, hydraulics, small engines, trailers, water pumps, tractors, welding equipment and much more. Northern Tool + Equipment also serves as the exclusive distributor of NorthStarTM brand equipment, which is fabricated and assembled at the company’s 250,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility. For more information, visit www.northerntool.com.

About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating nine motorsports teams. Five in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; three in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, Ragan, Erik Darnell, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Colin Braun; and one in the Camping World Truck Series with Braun. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. For sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.

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