USAC Legend Darland Still Fighting for Race Wins as ‘The People’s Champ’
September 05, 2019 | By Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Dubbed “The People’s Champ” more than a decade ago, USAC legend Dave Darland celebrated his 53rd birthday Wednesday by driving a Midget at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
After making the main feature in last year’s Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink, the all-time winningest USAC Sprint Car driver was hopeful for a strong showing tonight on The Dirt Track at IMS inside Turn 3 of the big oval.
There was a time during his storied career that Darland envisioned racing in the Indianapolis 500 but concedes those days are gone. A championship winner in all three USAC divisions with 100 feature victories, the Hoosier native from near Kokomo expressed gratitude to compete against drivers a third his age at the famous venue.
How old does he feel?
“Fifty-three,” he said with a smile.
“I’ve been driving Sprint Cars for like 38 years now. Been at this a long time. It’s been my life, driving Sprint Cars and then Midgets off and on. I was a full-time Midget driver for a long time, but now that I’m 53 and Midgets are small and fast, I don’t do them very often but just on occasion. I got a good ride here with the Petry (Motorsports) team. I’ve got to thank Scott Petry and Terry Goff and all the crew on my team, a couple of sponsors I brought along, Fox Paving, Gold Harvest and Gray Auto. I’d like to thank everybody for helping me out.”
He last drove one of these cars during Indiana Midget Week in early July. Darland picks and chooses his schedule these days.
Darland’s run in the inaugural BC39 realistically ended before it could begin.
“I lost my brakes in a heat race, and we didn’t have time to fix it,” he said. “We started the feature with no brakes and then pulled in.
“I’ve got a good ride this year, and hopefully we’ll have a good run here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Racing here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is pretty cool. I’m probably the oldest one here. Well-seasoned. I just hope it goes well.”
Darland concedes the Indy 500 used to be on his bucket list.
“I would have liked to have done that, just a little off timing for me,” he said. “Before my time, they wanted the 35-year-old experienced guys coming from Sprint Cars. That kind of went away. When the IRL came along, I was the 35-year-old experienced guy, but they wanted the kids with some money. I just never was quite in the right category. I would have liked to have done the Indy 500 at some point, but it probably doesn’t look like I’ll do it now.”
Originally from Lincoln, Indiana, north of Kokomo, he makes his home now in Atlanta, south of Kokomo.
Two years ago, Darland made his 700th career Sprint Car start and celebrated his 60th career victory in that class. He was also inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame that year.
He won USAC National Midget Series championships in 2001 and 2002 as well as the USAC National Sprint Car championship in 1999. He started his title run by winning the USAC Silver Crown championship in 1997.
How would he sum up his legendary career?
“Tell ‘em I’ve got a book out. Read all about it,” he said of 2014’s “The People’s Champ – A Racing Life.”
Darland doesn’t hesitate when asked how long he’ll race.
“Not a whole lot longer,” he said. “I’m going to continue to race, but I’m not going to continue to chase USAC points. I’ll run locally here around Indiana and run with USAC sometimes. It’s still fun to do, just pick the right races to do and not commit myself to any schedule. Just run what I want to do on that weekend.”
But make no mistake, the legend can still be tough to beat.
“On occasion,” he said with a smile. “Ain’t quite as good as I once was, as they say, but it’s still OK. I can still win a race on occasion.”
Tickets for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 Powered by NOS Energy Drink are on sale at www.ims.com, along with tickets for the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line on Sunday, Sept. 8 and the Indiana 250 and FGL Fest on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Public gates will open at 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5 for the second and final night of BC39 action. Cars will be on track for hot laps at 5 p.m., with qualifying races at 6 p.m. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and followed by the main feature events, starting with multiple D-Mains and C-Mains, the semi-feature and the 39-lap main event.