Nationwide: Darnell Tames Darlington to Finish Fourth
May 9, 200912:31 PM
DARLINGTON, SC (May 8, 2009) – Darlington Raceway will eat you up and spit you out if you aren’t careful. However, Erik Darnell took care of business Friday night in his first race at the famed track looking like a veteran and not a rookie. The driver of the No. 6 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford Fusion stayed in the top-six the entire night to capture a fourth-place finish on the young season.
Erik Darnell and his NT+E Ford Fusion came off the starting grid fifth due to a heavy thunderstorm that rolled through the area cancelling qualifying. With qualifying cancelled, the field was lined up based off of owner points putting all three Roush Fenway Racing drivers in the top-six. Darnell didn’t waste anytime as he passed the No. 20 of Joey Logano going into turn one on lap five. Caution number two came out on lap seven with the driver of the No. 6 reporting his car was skating a little up the track going into turn one and tight rolling through the center of turns three and four. Crew Chief Mike Kelley elected for Darnell to stay out with the leaders keeping him fourth on the restart one lap later.
By lap 18 Darnell was on the back bumper of the No.33 of Ryan Newman looking to takeaway the third spot. However, over the course of the next six laps the No.6 Ford Fusion lost its battle with Newman and also two more spots on the track. When asked over the radio what seemed to be the problem with the car, Darnell quickly responded that it was the same issues he reported previously. Kelley told his driver they would fix him up when the next yellow flag fell. When the caution came out 18 laps later, Kelley called for an air pressure adjustment, fuel and four tires. The fast stop by the NT+E crew allowed Darnell to gain one spot on the restart placing him in fifth.
Darnell’s confidence following the restart soared as he passed teammate Carl Edwards on lap 62 exiting turn four putting the No. 6 back inside the top-five. Several laps after passing Edwards, Darnell told his crew chief the car was a touch tight through three and four, but didn’t seemed to think it was too big of an issue. A few laps before the fifth caution dropped on lap 93 Darnell came on the radio saying his NT+E machine was now also getting tight through one and two. Kelley instructed the team for a four tire change, fuel and to take a half round out of the right rear. Again, the pit crew had another outstanding stop; this time just under 14 seconds as they got Darnell out in the second position right behind the No. 18 of Kyle Busch.
When racing resumed on lap 96, Darnell held his ground keeping up with Busch for the next 26 laps at one point just 0.56 seconds off the lead. As the laps began to tick away though Busch’s lead grew as Darnell could not keep up. Between laps 134 and 140 teammates Edwards and Kenseth passed the No. 6 putting it back to fifth with seven to go. Following a late caution to give the crowd a green-white checkered finish, Darnell marched back into the top-five ending the night with a fourth-place finish.
“This No. 6 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford Fusion had a pretty good run tonight. This was my first time at the track under racing conditions and I really didn’t know what to expect. Mike Kelley and the crew made the right adjustments the entire night which allowed me to stay up front all night long. With qualifying being cancelled it certainly helped us giving way to a great starting spot and track position. To stay near the top at a place like Darlington says something about what this team is made of. I’m just really proud of this Northern Tool +Equipment team and what we did tonight,” said Darnell.
Darnell and the No. 6 NT+E team will be off for the next three weeks with the Nationwide Series off next week and David Ragan and Discount Tire going back to racing at Charlotte and Dover. Even with the layoff, Darnell hopes to keep the momentum going when the team travels to Nashville for the Federated Auto Parts 200 on June 6 beginning at 7:30 p.m.
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, McMurray, 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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