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A FIRST AND SECOND FOR DARRELL PORTER AT DELAWARE SPEEDWAY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 16, 2006
(Dorchester, Ontario) - Darrel Porter and his Perth Auto Dismantlers / L-82 / A & A Sanitation Chevrolet were ready to tackle the competition at Delaware Speedway on July seventh, as the Challenger Truck Division starts their push through the second half of the season and the crowning of a 2006 champion. Porter was coming off a hot streak of two second-place performances, which were on the heels of a pair of third-place runs, allowing the Dorchester driver to creep back into the title picture after a terrible opening night.
The evening started off with heat race competition. Porter started at the back, but was able to slice his way through the field, and brought his # 8 machine home with a seventh-place result. “We were tight in the heat race. The guys are going to make some changes to it for the feature, and hopefully we’ll hit on it.”
The 25-lap feature would become a matter of attrition as Porter rolled off 14th in the main event. On the first green flag, a pile-up occurred right in front of Darrell, but he was able to avoid it and would restart again in 12th. On this start the crash would happen in turn three and once more, Porter was able to skate past with no contact. The next restart saw Darrell roll from 11th, and this time the field managed to get one entire lap in before wreck number three. It was also evident that the crew had hit on a great setup, as Porter climbed all the way to sixth on the opening lap.
After getting boxed in on the next restart, Darrell broke free on the outside and started zipping to the front, taking fourth on lap three, and moving to third one lap later. Another caution would slow the field on lap six, but on the restart it was all Porter as he moved around another truck to sit second. He then started to go to work on leader Randy Thompson, moving to the inside down the backstretch on lap eighth. Darrell pulled off the pass, but slid up the track, allowing Thompson to challenge back on the inside. After a little contact, Porter straightened his truck out and set sail. He would survive a couple more restarts over the remainder of the event, as Thompson was too busy trying to hold off Shawn Johns for second to mount a challenge on the leader.
For Porter it was his first win of the season, and also his first feature win since Labour Day weekend in 2004. “It’s so awesome to be back in victory lane. It’s been a long time since our last win, and I wanted it so bad.” Darrell spoke about his battle for the lead, “Randy was blocking on the low side, so I went high. When he went up there to block me I was able to get him on the bottom. I slipped up a bit after I got by him, and he got into my back end trying to get me back, but he let me get straight. After that, the truck was so good, that I only had to hit my marks and the win was ours.”
As for ending the winless drought, Porter explained, “I didn’t think it would take this long to get a win again, so when I crossed that line I screamed as loud as I could, and then just kept telling myself, ‘don’t forget anyone in victory lane’.”
Coming off a feature win the week before, Porter and his # 8 machine made a return to Delaware Speedway on July 14th. The previous week’s win moved him to sixth in the championship point standings, a mere five markers out of the top-five.
The night started off with a qualifying heat and based on his win, Porter would start shotgun on the field. He picked up one spot off the bat, but was caught on the outside groove, and shuffled back to the tail of the pack. “Everyone was two-by-two, and there was nowhere to go.” As the field strung out, Darrell was able to pick up some positions, and made a thrilling pass to gain three spots in the final corner. “I saw the #32 truck slow and everyone climbed on the brakes and slid up the track. That let me get all three of them on the final corner.”
After rolling off 13th in the main, Darrell was quick to challenge three wide in a couple of battles, finding himself in the top-five in just five laps, and was sitting third on a lap nine restart. Norm Roy would take the position from Porter on the restart, but Darrell deftly passed him back for the spot before trying to catch second-place Jeff Showler. Porter finally caught him on lap 19, while leader Paul Fothergil had checked out on the field. Porter kept pressing Showler for the silver medal when another yellow appeared on lap 21. It would relieve the pressure from Showler for a couple minutes, but when the green dropped again it also gave Darrell one more chance to take a stab at Showler with cooler tires and possibly the leader Paul Fothergil “I was glad to see that caution. On the restart Norm got me, and that really cost me. By the time I got by him, the front two were a ways ahead. I was glad to see another yellow to give me a shot at it, but I knew Paul’s truck was pretty fast.”
When the field went green for the final time it only took Darrell two laps to claim second spot, but he couldn’t catch Paul, who won his second feature of the season. “We were still pushing at the end. The more cautions the better, because the truck would come back a bit. When it started to sprinkle it actually helped us, because the truck got looser.”
The finish also moved Porter into the top-five in the standings, just 27 markers behind the leaders. “My guys worry about it, but I don’t. I just take it race by race and try to win every time out.”
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