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American racing driver From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Lee Darland (born September 4, 1966) is an American auto racing driver from Kokomo, Indiana. He was the 1997 USAC Silver Crown Champion, 1999 USAC National Sprint Car Champion, and 2001 and 2002 USAC National Midget Champion, making him the third driver to claim all three USAC National Championships.[1] He is nicknamed "The People's Champ".[1]
| Dave Darland | |
|---|---|
Darland in 2003 at Indianapolis Raceway Park | |
| Full name | David Lee Darland |
| Born | September 4, 1966 Lincoln, Indiana |
| Retired | 2023 |
| USAC National Sprint CarSeries | |
| Years active | 1986–2023 |
| Teams | Hoffman |
| Starts | 1,334 |
| Wins | 62 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Best finish | 1st in 1993 (2), 1994, 1997, 1998 (4), 1999 (4), 2000 (3), 2001, 2005 (4), 2006 (3), 2007 (3), 2008 (2), 2009 (4), 2010, 2011, 2012 (6), 2013 (7), 2014 (6), 2015 (4), 2016 (2), 2018 (3) |
| Championship titles | |
| 1997 1998 1999 2001 2001 2002 2007 2008 2011 |
|
| Awards | |
| 1994 1995 1997 1999 2015 2015 2017 |
|
Darland was born and raised in Lincoln, Indiana.[1] His father was a steelworker and his mother was a housewife.[1]
Darland began racing quarter midgets when he was four years old.[1] His father Bob Darland helped build his first sprint car when he was 16 years old.[1] Darland's first sprint car win happened at Kokomo Speedway when he beat Steve Kinser's father Bob in 1986.[1] Darland won over 100 features in his own sprint car.[1]
Darland's first USAC feature win came in 1993 when he was 26 years old.[1] Darland won the 2001 and 2002 USAC National Midget championships.[1] Race wins include the 2007 & 2013 Turkey Night Grand Prix,[1] a Southern California traditional race held on Thanksgiving Day for many years, and three wins at the Oval Nationals, held at Perris Auto Speedway in Perris, California.[1]
As of July 25, 2020, his 20 Indiana Sprint Week race wins are the most in the series history (since 1988).[2] As of September 26, 2020, he is the winningest driver in USAC Sprint Car history.[3] Darland took over as the winningest USAC overall driver (in either midgets, sprint cars, and Silver Crown cars) when he passed Tom Bigelow's 52 total wins in 2014.[1]
Darland retired from racing in 2023.[4]
Darland and his wife Brenda have three children.[1] He suffered a mild stroke on April 23, 2021, and was hospitalized with some confusion.[5]
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