Daryn Cockram is looking forward to getting back in his racecar on Saturday night after being sidelined most of the year because of injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
The 40-year-old from Floyd, Virginia will compete in the 100-lap Limited Late Model race in Saturday night’s Spooktacular at Southern National Motorsports Park. Saturday night will his first race at Southern National since 2014 and his first race since an automobile accident earlier this year where he ripped a ligament in the right arm and dislocated his shoulder.
“I pretty much told the guys we were loading up and using this as a test for the big races in November,” Cockram said. “I’m hoping to bring the car back in one piece. If we do that, we’ll be happy. It’s been three or four months since I’ve been in the car. Had a pretty big injury. If we can come here and everything gets settled out, that will set us up real well for the Thanksgiving Classic.”
Cockram started the season with second place finishes in two of the first three races of the season in the Limited Late Model division at Motor Mile Speedway before being sidelined.
“We’ve had pretty good luck at Motor Mile,” Cockram remarked. “We started the year out and did pretty good. We finished second behind Karl in two of the first three races and then I was in an automobile accident which knocked me out the rest of the year. I went back one time and my shoulder hadn’t healed up and I wasn’t 100 percent so I parked the car.”
Cockram says he’s feeling 100 percent now and is ready to race once more – and Southern National Motorsports Park is an optimal venue for his return. Southern National has many similarities to Motor Mile, from the track layout to the length of the speedway.
Cockram ran at Southern National twice in 2014 – having strong runs derailed in both instances. The first time he ran in July 2014, a top-three performance was derailed after an incident with eventual champion Haley Moody and the second time, engine problems soured his day.
“First time we came down there, we came down with the Motor Mile setup and ran really well and had bad fortune,” Cockram explained. “We came back for the Thanksgiving Classic and, once again, that little Grim Reaper reached up and grabbed hold of us again. I hope we’ve got the monkey off our back and can pick up where we left off the first time.”
Cockram’s return will take place during the 100-lap Limited Late Model race, which will be the nightcap on the 4th Annual Spooktacular at Southern National Motorsports Park on Saturday night, October 7th.
For more information about the Spooktacular, visit the event page at http://www.snmpark.com/spooktacular.
