DM Motor Sports

It was smoking hot in Antigonish on Saturday, especially inside the bowl at Riverside International Speedway. Daryl had an awesome qualifying lap, holding the third fastest time. In the draw for starting places in the 12-lap dash race, he drew 7th and finished 9th- he’s starting place in the
250-lap main event. As the team readied for the event, Daryl and the other drivers brought their cars onto the front stretch and met and signed programs, autograph cards, hats, shirts, and arms and legs as the fans joined them for a meet and greet.

The main event got underway at 7:30PM, and it hadn’t cooled off much.   The 66 car was running well in the caution-filled first half, in good position for the second half of the race. Daryl had been smelling fumes throughout but was trying to ride it out to the mandatory competition break at the
halfway mark. At lap 97 he came on the radio to say he was having difficulty  breathing and did not seem fully coherent. Daryl, upon urging from the team, brought the car into the pits. Helped from the car, he slid to the pavement and received medical attention for the fume-induced breathing
difficulties and for heat exhaustion.

Throughout, Daryl’s concern was finding someone to take over driving the 66 for him. While some of the team did find a good candidate, officials would not permit him to race as he was not registered for the event. John Flemming also was willing to do it but unfortunately could not fit into Daryl’s
race seat.

Daryl is feeling much better and expects to be 100% for the next race, this Saturday at NBIS, Geary, NB. Hope to see you there! In the meantime, Daryl and the team are inspecting and modifying the 66′s exhaust in case that was the root of the fume issue.

It was a rollercoaster ride!

Daryl got off to a fantastic start, winning the time trials with the fastest lap time of 14.409 seconds (75 mph). The top 10 fastest cars draw for starting positions in a 10-lap race to determine their starting spot in the main event. Daryl drew 4th and finished a strategic 5th for an inside starting position in the 100-lap feature.

The main race began inauspiciously with another car dumping oil on the track in lap 1- quickly coming to light in lap 2 when the 66 and a few other of the top 5 competitors spun out. Eventually, as the track was cleaned up and the offender parked, the officials decided to give the affected drivers their positions back for the restart.

With the delays, it was now getting dark and cold. After 10 laps the 66 started getting very tight. Halfway through the race the engine started cutting out through the turns- not helpful! Within a couple of laps an incident brought the caution out and Daryl pitted to fix the ignition problem. As the incidents on the track continued, and Daryl successfully avoided them, the team used the cautions to free up the car for better handling. Daryl raced back to 10th spot before getting caught up in a turn 3 crash with 15 laps to go. This required one final pit stop to pull the quarter panel off the tire before Daryl finished the race in 12th place.

Our next race is in Antigonish, July 17th- the first of three 250-lap Triple Crown races. Hope to see you there!

Daryl and the 66 team

Saturday took the 66 team to PEI for race two of the season. The car was great in practice, landing in the top two in 2 out of 3 practices.

Qualifying was interrupted by rain; it resumed later in the evening but the heavens opened up once again postponing the event until Sunday.

After part 3 of qualifying at midday, Daryl took to the track for his heat race. The car was handling really well and Daryl won the race.

The 66 started the 100-lap feature race in 13th spot. Oyster Bed Speedway favours one-groove racing, but Daryl steadily moved up the pack to 6th before getting rammed, the right front wheel banging hard into the wall. With 20 to go, Daryl had to race with the damage, and finished in 14th place.

The team has been pleased with car’s performance this year- the 66 has been handling really well, running in the top 5-10 before getting caught up in incidents. The work on the car over the winter and time spent down south studying set-up has been worth it- the plan is to avoid the racing incidents and get the finishes in upcoming races!! Our next race takes place this Saturday at Scotia Speedworld, Halifax- hope to see you there.

The race season finally got underway Saturday, under sunny skies at Riverside Speedway, Antigonish. Daryl had a fantastic qualifying lap, 3rd fastest in the field. In the random draw for starting position in the 10-lap Dash, Daryl drew 10th (!), and started the 100-lap feature from the 9th spot. The green flag stayed out for the first 54 laps and the 66 car gained position, working well on both the bottom and top of the track. Ten laps later, the competitor under Daryl suddenly moved hard up the track, and as a result the right front wheel of the 66 car slammed hard into the front stretch wall. Daryl kept the car going but it was clear something was broken. Under the next caution he brought it to the pits and found a broken hub, spindle, and bent A-arm . Not fixable under caution, but Daryl felt he could finish the race despite limited braking ability and severly damaged right front suspension. He finished 19th for the night.

Join us at our next race is this Saturday, June 26th in Oyster Bed Bridge, PEI!

As the race season draws to an end, we would like to thank all of our supporters, and in particular, our sponsors. Overall, it was a good summer for the 66 team. We attended all of the big Triple Crown 250 races, numerous events throughout NS and NB, and enjoyed a second place finish.

Our last event for 2009 was the 200-lap season finale at Scotia Speedworld. We battled back for an 8th place finish after involvement in an early crash that bent up the front end of the 66 car, leaving it handling ‘like a dump truck with 4 flat tires’. The crew worked hard on the car under numerous cautions to get the car working again, and Daryl spent the second half of the race getting back up to the front for a solid finish.

The team will be spending time over the winter preparing the car for 2010.

Thanks again for your support in 2009,

Daryl and the 66 team