DARLAND TEAMS WITH BALDWIN FOR WINTER DIRT GAMES FEB. 11-12-13
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (January 5, 2021)………Dave Darland, the most prolific driver in terms of wins and starts in the history of USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car racing, will drive the Baldwin Brothers Racing No. 5 for the season opening events on Feb. 11-12-13 at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Fla.
Darland won at Ocala during Winter Dirt Games in Feb. of 2015, one of the 1999 series champion’s record 62 victories with the series, which also includes 781 starts, 275 top-fives, 482 top-tens and 62 career fast qualifying times.
Meanwhile, Baldwin has yet to score a victory as a car owner at Ocala. His cars have come oh-so-close to victory on multiple occasions at the 3/8-mile D-shaped dirt track, most notably with Robert Ballou in 2013 and Justin Grant in 2016, where both drivers led the white flag lap.
Baldwin earned the 2017 USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car entrant title with Chris Windom as the team’s driver. And knowing that he has quality ride entering 2021, Darland, of Lincoln, Ind., is excited and hopeful for success at Ocala, and possibly more down the road.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Darland said. “He’s got great equipment, brand new stuff basically. Hopefully, we’ll run decent down there for the three nights and end up decent in the points and consider trying to do more.”
Wayne Simmons will serve as the team’s crew chief for the Florida trip. But without a full-time mechanic for the entire USAC season, the search has been ongoing for the team to put a full-time deal together. But for now, Florida is a 100% go for Darland and Baldwin, who have teamed up just once before in a non-USAC sanctioned show.
“Just one little time down at Bloomington (Ind.) Speedway a couple years ago with Derek Claxton as the mechanic,” Darland recalled. “It didn’t go great, but the car certainly has great potential.”
While Darland is hopeful to run more frequently with Baldwin throughout 2021, additionally, he will have the availability of his own to run several of the races that he wants to on the USAC schedule and locally in the Midwest. He’s taken last year’s car apart, sold the frame and has all the pieces left, with a new one on the way.
“I’m getting ready to buy another car,” Darland revealed. “I sold my car as just a frame or a kit and I’m getting ready to buy another one here pretty soon. I’m going to have a great racecar ready to use. I might even put somebody else in the racecar on occasion depending on what I’m doing with somebody else.”
Darland made his USAC National Sprint Car debut in 1986 and is one of seven USAC career Triple Crown champions along with Pancho Carter, Tony Stewart, J.J. Yeley, Jerry Coons Jr., Tracy Hines and Chris Windom, all of whom have won the USAC Silver Crown, National Sprint and National Midget driving titles in their careers.
A 2017 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee, Darland has earned driving championships in Silver Crown (1997), National Sprint Cars (1999) and National Midgets (2001 & 2002). Among his USAC accolades are the Mike Curb Super License title in 1999 & 2015, plus the Indiana Sprint Week championship in 1998, 2001 & 2007, the 2003 Jimmy Caruthers Award and the 2013 Jason Leffler Award.