From Richie Murray
TOLEDO, Ohio (June 1, 2018) — USAC Triple Crown champion Dave Darland has been tabbed as the driver of the Williams & Wright Racing No. 32 for this Friday night’s USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series’ Hemelgarn Racing/Super Fitness “Rollie Beale Classic” at Toledo Speedway.
Darland, the 1997 Silver Crown champ, will substitute in the E3 Sparkplugs-sponsored machine, a ride regularly driven by 2017 series Rookie of the Year Joss Moffatt.
Moffatt made his season debut in last Sunday’s “Sumar Classic” at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track, but suffered a crash on lap 47 of the main event in which he got upside down. Darland, a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car winner at Toledo in 2000, steps in to help the team with their newly-acquired Beast chassis.
Darland, of Lincoln, Ind., recently won his 60th career USAC National Sprint Car feature on April 27 at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway. The victory came in Darland’s 700th all-time USAC Sprint start, which leads all drivers in the 63-year history of the club.
Darland could reach another milestone in terms of Silver Crown starts Friday night at Toledo. With one more start, Darland will surpass Brian Tyler as the driver with the most starts in series history. The two are currently knotted up at 193 starts. Other expected Toledo entrants among the all-time leaders in the category include Jerry Coons, Jr., fifth all-time with 167, and Eric Gordon in 10th with 126.
The race gets underway this Friday with the pits opening at 3pm, grandstands at 4pm, practice at 4pm, qualifying at 6:15pm and racing at 7:30pm.
Adult tickets are $20 in advance, $25 on the day of the show. Advance ticket sales end at 5pm this Thursday, May 3. Tickets for children age 6-12 are $3. Children 6 and under are FREE!
You can listen to all the action at Toledo LIVE on the USAC app with National Sprint Car Hall of Fame announcer Pat Sullivan on the mic. You can catch video of the race a day later, on-demand, on http://www.Loudpedal.TV/.