PETERSEN MEDIA
– Over the past week, Cody Darrah and his Kasey Kahne Racing team raced around the home of team owner, Kasey Kahne, and the driver of the SurePoint/Shroth Racing/Roth Motorsports No.4 continued to run strong as he tallied a trio of top ten finishes in four races.
The busy week kicked off on Wednesday night as the World of Outlaws took over the Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, WA. During qualifications, the Red Lion, PA driver timed his Team ASE/Sage Fruit/Factory Kahne machine in with the fourth fastest lap during time trials.
Getting through his heat race, Darrah found himself on the front row of the Dash. Hitting the berm on the start of the race, Darrah fell to the second spot where he would finish, and start the 30-lap feature event on the front row.
Early in the feature, CD4 got sideways, and lost several spots as he fell back to the sixth spot on the very hooked up track. Fighting to stay in the top ten, Darrah dropped to the eighth spot at the finish as Shane Stewart got around him late.
“We had a pretty strong car in Elma, WA, but unfortunately I made some costly mistakes that gave up some track position for us. When the track is that fast you’ve got to stay on your game, and I didn’t do my job,” Darrah commented.
The weekend brought on the very tricky Skagit Speedway in Alger, WA. Darrah’s weekend got off to an unusual start as he timed in 17th quick. Darrah failed to get through his heat, but was able to score a fourth place finish in the Last Chance Qualifier to make the feature event.
In what was a very wild feature event, Darrah had his hands full as he tried to work up through the field from his 17th starting spot. Struggling at times, Darrah would end the night in the 13th spot.
“It was one of those nights where I’m just happy that the car is in one piece and we were able to roll it back inside the trailer,” he continued.
Saturday night the series returned to the Skagit Speedway, and Darrah’s night got off to a much better start as he timed his SurePoint machine in with the seventh fastest lap during time trials.
CD4 wasn’t able to capitalize on a front row starting spot, but the fourth place finish was good enough to get him into the feature event, where he would start in the sixth row.
Rolling off in the 11th spot, Darrah worked the cushion as he quickly got inside the top ten, and began battling the likes of Jac Haudenschild, Chad Kemmenah, and Joey Saldana.
Darrah began picking off cars at will late in the feature and he was able to secure a sixth place finish, ending his stay in the state of Washington.
“Our car was awesome on Saturday in the feature, we just missed it a touch in our heat,” he said. “The guys went to work for the A, and put a pretty good piece underneath me and we were able to move forward.”
Monday night, the World of Outlaws made their lone start in the state of Oregon as they made their first ever stop at the Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, OR.
An early qualifying draw resulted in the 13th fastest lap of the night for the Ti22/Speedway Engines powered Maxim, putting Darrah in the first heat race.
Working his way up from his fifth starting spot, Darrah narrowly missed out on a berth in the dash as he scored a third place finish.
The finish, mixed with his qualifying time, put the KKR No.4 in the seventh row for the feature that would only have two stoppages.
Early in the feature event, there were two grooves on the state-of-the-art facility, and Darrah was able to make some moves early and get inside the top-ten. As the laps clicked off, the bottom wore out, and most of the field worked the cushion.
Getting into lapped traffic around the halfway point, Darrah was able to get around Steve Kinser and Jac Haudenschild to grab the eighth spot, the position in which he would ultimately finish.
“Our team has really been clicking the last few weeks,” Darrah stated. “It’s been fun to drive, and it’s nice to pick up some solid finishes since SurePoint has came on board. I’m looking forward to the Gold Cup, and hoping we can get the monkey off of out back in Chico.”
ON TAP- Darrah and the World of Outlaws will now head south the California for the 59th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions kicking off on Thursday night.
STAY CONNECTED- Check in to www.codydarrah.com or visit his facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cody-Darrah/164513250262145?ref=ts for the latest news on Cody.