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Erik Darnell

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This article is about the racing driver. For the animator, see Eric Darnell.
Erik Darnell
Darnell at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in 2008
BornErik Louis Darnell
(1982-12-02) December 2, 1982 (age 42)
Beach Park, Illinois, U.S.
Achievements2003 Wisconsin Challenge Series Champion
Awards2006 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
9 races run over 2 years
2011 position51st
Best finish47th (2009)
First race2009 Pep Boys Auto 500 (Atlanta)
Last race2011 Good Sam RV Insurance 500 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
52 races run over 5 years
2012 position17th
Best finish17th (2012)
First race2008 Corona México 200 (Mexico City)
Last race2012 Ford EcoBoost 300 (Homestead)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 5 1
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
77 races run over 5 years
2021 position66th
Best finish4th (2008)
First race2004 Black Cat Fireworks 200 (Milwaukee)
Last race2021 LiftKits4Less.com 200 (Darlington)
First win2007 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Kansas)
Last win2008 Cool City Customs 200 (Michigan)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 32 3
Statistics current as of December 30, 2021.

Erik Louis Darnell (born December 2, 1982) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He is the grandson of former USAC and NASCAR driver Bay Darnell, who also started three NASCAR races (including one for Holman Moody).[1] Darnell formerly drove for Roush Fenway Racing, joining the team in 2005 after being a co-winner on the Discovery Channel program Roush Racing: Driver X, along with David Ragan.

Racing career

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Early career

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Darnell beating Johnny Benson to the line to win at Michigan in 2008
Darnell's 2008 Truck at Michigan
Darnell's 2009 Nationwide car at Milwaukee
Darnell's 2011 Cup car at Pocono in August
Darnell's 2012 Nationwide car at Road America

Darnell began racing at the age of 12 in the River Valley Kart Club. He won the championship in the purple plate class in his second year of competition, later racing Allison Legacy Series cars after go karts. His first year of super late models was at Illiana Motor Speedway, with Erik finishing 3rd in the final standings with 1 win. Erik beat the best Wisconsin super late model drivers to win the 2003 Wisconsin Challenge Series championship. At that time his five wins were the most in the series' history.[2] He set the super late model track record at Lake Geneva Raceway in 2004.[3]

2004–2012: NASCAR and ARCA

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Darnell drove in his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Milwaukee in 2004, finishing 26th. He also raced in numerous NASCAR touring series races.

Darnell drove in several NASCAR touring series and six ARCA races in 2005.

Darnell raced full-time in the Truck Series in 2006. He had twelve top-10 finishes in 25 events, and he was the series' Rookie of the Year. He continued to drive for the team in 2007, as well as testing the team's Busch Series cars. On April 28, 2007, Darnell won the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway for his first Truck Series win.

Darnell started the 2008 season by capturing the pole position at the Daytona International Speedway. He won his second career CTS race in June 2008 at Michigan International Speedway by .005 of a second over Johnny Benson.

For 2009, Darnell planned to compete in 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series races, sharing the car with Cup Series driver David Ragan, and would also run for Rookie of the Year. The first race on his schedule was at Richmond International Raceway where he finished 12th. Also, Darnell competed in seven of the final 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. He ran the car at Atlanta, Loudon, Kansas, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead. Darnell competed in the No. 96 Academy Sports + Outdoors Ford for the Atlanta, Talladega, and Texas races. He alternated the ride with Bobby Labonte.

In 2010, Darnell found himself without a ride for most of the season due to the lack of sponsorship. He continued to stay on at Roush Fenway Racing as a practice-qualifying driver for Carl Edwards at the standalone Nationwide Series races. Darnell did a 3 race deal to drive Roush's No. 16 Ford in the Nationwide Series. His best finish was 14th at Dover and Texas.

In 2011, Darnell returned to the Cup Series, driving for Whitney Motorsports in several races. In 2012, he competed for The Motorsports Group (formerly Key Motorsports) in the Nationwide Series.

2013–present: Post-NASCAR career

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Darnell's Super Late Model at La Crosse in 2013
Darnell in victory lane at Dells Raceway Park in 2016
Darnell's Super Late Model at La Crosse in 2018

Darnell didn't race in NASCAR during 2013. He won the Dick Trickle 99 Super Late Model Oktoberfest race at LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway in October 2013.[4] He has made occasional starts in various Midwest series since. Darnell led much of the second half of the 2019 Oktoberfest ARCA Midwest Tour race at La Crosse Fairgrounds Speedway before finishing third behind Ty Majeski.[5]

2021: Return to NASCAR

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On May 3, 2021, it was revealed through the release of the entry list for the Truck Series race at Darlington that Darnell would drive the No. 45 for Niece Motorsports in that race with sponsorship from his former sponsor at Roush, Northern Tool + Equipment. This would be his first start in NASCAR since 2012 and first in the Truck Series since 2008.[6]

Motorsports career results

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NASCAR

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(key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics - Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NSCC Pts Ref
2009 Hall of Fame Racing 96 Ford DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL
30 		RCH NHA
30 		DOV KAN
29 		CAL CLT MAR TAL
37 		TEX
30 		PHO
31 		HOM
36 		47th 472 [7]
2011 Whitney Motorsports 46 Chevy DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH SON DAY KEN NHA
39 		51st 2 [8]
Ford IND
DNQ 		POC
42 		GLN MCH
DNQ 		BRI ATL
Max Q Motorsports 37 Chevy RCH
DNQ 		CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM

Nationwide Series

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NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NNSC Pts Ref
2007 Roush Fenway Racing 6 Ford DAY CAL MXC LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP
QL† 		CGV GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM N/A 0 [9]
2008 17 DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI NSH TEX PHO MXC
26 		TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN 119th 85 [10]
60 MLW
QL‡ 		NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP CGV GLN MCH BRI CAL RCH DOV KAN CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM
2009 6 DAY CAL LVS BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH
12 		DAR
4 		CLT DOV NSH
9 		KEN
11 		MLW
4 		NHA
9 		DAY CHI GTY
10 		IRP
29 		IOW
23 		GLN MCH BRI CGV
12 		ATL RCH
14 		DOV
17 		KAN
18 		CAL CLT
34 		MEM
31 		TEX PHO HOM
31 		26th 1837 [11]
2010 16 DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV ATL RCH
22 		DOV
14 		KAN CAL CLT TEX
14 		PHO HOM 82nd 339 [12]
60 GTY
QL‡
2011 Key Motorsports 42 Chevy DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL TEX TAL NSH RCH DAR DOV IOW CLT CHI MCH ROA DAY KEN NHA NSH IRP IOW GLN CGV BRI ATL RCH CHI DOV KAN CLT
42 		TEX
DNQ 		PHO HOM 113th 01 [13]
2012 The Motorsports Group DAY
DNQ 		17th 558 [14]
40 PHO
26 		LVS
35 		BRI
21 		CAL
24 		TEX
23 		RCH
35 		TAL
14 		DAR
29 		IOW
18 		CLT
27 		DOV
27 		MCH
22 		ROA
23 		KEN
25 		DAY
21 		NHA
40 		CHI
30 		IND
38 		IOW
27 		GLN CGV
16 		BRI
35 		ATL
20 		RCH
18 		CHI
22 		KEN
24 		DOV
31 		CLT
21 		KAN
17 		TEX
25 		PHO
37 		HOM
35
† - Qualified for David Ragan · ‡ - Qualified for Carl Edwards

Camping World Truck Series

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NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 NCWTC Pts Ref
2004 MRD Motorsports 06 Ford DAY ATL MAR MFD CLT DOV TEX MEM MLW
26 		KAN KEN GTW MCH IRP NSH BRI RCH NHA LVS CAL TEX MAR PHO DAR HOM 100th 85 [15]
2006 Roush Racing 99 DAY
6 		CAL
11 		ATL
8 		MAR
11 		GTY
31 		CLT
10 		MFD
13 		DOV
25 		TEX
35 		MCH
12 		MLW
27 		KAN
26 		KEN
9 		MEM
2 		IRP
10 		NSH
12 		BRI
18 		NHA
9 		LVS
17 		TAL
19 		MAR
3 		ATL
3 		TEX
9 		PHO
10 		HOM
3 		12th 3136 [16]
2007 Roush Fenway Racing DAY
12 		CAL
13 		ATL
24 		MAR
18 		KAN
1* 		CLT
30 		MFD
15 		DOV
18 		TEX
32 		MCH
26 		MLW
6 		MEM
9 		KEN
29 		IRP
7 		NSH
9 		BRI
13 		GTW
7 		NHA
2 		LVS
5 		TAL
29 		MAR
25 		ATL
26 		TEX
14 		PHO
35 		HOM
24 		12th 2875 [17]
2008 DAY
21 		CAL
11 		ATL
12 		MAR
5 		KAN
28 		CLT
4 		MFD
11 		DOV
25 		TEX
24 		MCH
1 		MLW
4 		MEM
2 		KEN
29 		IRP
3 		NSH
2 		BRI
15 		GTW
6 		NHA
4 		LVS
2* 		TAL
12* 		MAR
19 		ATL
6 		TEX
18 		PHO
7 		HOM
11 		4th 3412 [18]
2021 Niece Motorsports 45 Chevy DAY DAY LVS ATL BRI RCH KAN DAR
17 		COA CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN GTW DAR BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO 66th 20 [19]

ARCA Re/Max Series

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(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ARMC Pts Ref
2005 Roulo Brothers Racing 39 Ford DAY NSH SLM KEN TOL LAN MIL
4 		POC MCH KAN KEN BLN POC GTW
5 		LER NSH
8 		MCH
20 		ISF TOL DSF CHI
32 		SLM TAL
13 		38th 980 [20]
2007 Roush Fenway Racing 99 DAY USA NSH SLM KAN
2 		WIN KEN
1* 		TOL IOW POC MCH
1* 		BLN KEN POC NSH ISF MIL GTW DSF CHI SLM TAL TOL 47th 700 [21]

References

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  1. ^ Bay Darnell's NASCAR driver statistics at racing-reference.info, Retrieved March 8, 2007
  2. ^ May 21, 2006; "Haseleu goes for second WIR spring win"; The Post-Crescent,
  3. ^ Lake Geneva Raceway Checkered Flag Final Season (2006)
  4. ^ Brown, Jeff (October 5, 2013). "Trickle would have enjoyed Darnell's victory". La Crosse Tribune. La Crosse, WI. Retrieved 2013-10-21.
  5. ^ Marotta, Karley (7 October 2019). "Majeski crowned 2019 Oktoberfest champion". WXOW. WXOW. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  6. ^ Carey, Michael (May 3, 2021). "Erik Darnell Returning To Truck Series With NIECE Motorsports For Darlington". TobyChristie.com.
  7. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  19. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  20. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2005 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  21. ^ "Erik Darnell – 2007 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Erik Darnell.
Achievements
Preceded by NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Rookie of the Year
2007 		Succeeded by
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