CHRISTIANSBURG, VA :: Derrick Lancaster Racing is getting a fresh coat of paint in 2013. New crew chief, new look, new website and driver Derrick Lancaster has his game face on.
As the 2013 season quickly approaches, Derrick Lancaster Racing is hard at work getting their fleet of Late Model Stock Cars ready for the new season. This new season will bring about a myriad of changes for the team as new leadership is in place. Not one, but two new crew chiefs will lead the DLR team into a new season that promises to bring new challenges as the team heads to new venues.
Don Akers and Dwaine Skinnell will be co-crew chiefs on the primary cars at Derrick Lancaster Racing for driver Derrick Lancaster. Akers comes in with not a lot of experience at the track, but with a strong work ethic while Skinnell comes in with a strong resume and many trips to victory lane. Skinnell, in recent seasons, has led drivers such as UARA-STARS Series top contender Scott Turlington, Three-time Langley Speedway champion CE Falk III and top shelf driver development team FDJ Motorsports.
Skinnell and Akers are looking to lead Lancaster back to prominence. While Lancaster has had little to no success in Late Model Stock Cars, he is a two-time Limited Sportsman track champion at Motor Mile Speedway in Fairlawn, VA. Lancaster accumulated over 30 wins in a four year period while competing in Limiteds but hasn’t found the same kind of success since moving up to Late Model Stock Cars.
He’s gone through a host of crew chiefs over the years but, other than a couple of strong runs in 2012, he hasn’t found the chemistry that his Limited years provided. He’s hoping that having Akers and Skinnell full-time in his shop will turn things around.
“We’re turning over a new leaf this year at DLR,” said an excited Lancaster. “We found a bunch of problems with the cars over the winter that we think could have contributed to us not running any better than we did last season. These guys I’ve got in here now are working their butts off to make sure that we can get off to a fast start this year.”
Lancaster’s 2012 season was highlighted with a third place finish around the midpoint of the season in the second of twin races on June 2nd. He’s hoping that the new crew chief combination will bring more of those types of runs but he also wants to get to victory lane.
“We think we’ve got things headed in a better direction this off season,” continued Lancaster. “We feel pretty good about getting off to a better start this season. We’re going back to red and white decals this season like we had in the Limited days. We’ve got the cars back in our own shop and people are working every day to get our program better. I haven’t felt this good about it in a long time.
“But, you know, we’ve got to get to where we’re not just running up front but winning races. We’ve done it before in Limiteds and we know what it feels like to win. That’s a feeling every racer wants in every race and I know the competition at Motor Mile doesn’t ever get soft. I’m just hoping we can get stronger as a team and get back to victory lane.”
In addition to all the shop changes and changes in attitude for this season, Derrick Lancaster Racing is ready to launch an all-new website for the team. In association with RACE22.com and Bad Fast Media comes the launch of http://www.derricklancasterracing.com/. That will be the place to find out everything you want to know about Derrick Lancaster and his race team this season with a weekly updated schedule with start and finish positions, a photo gallery and so much more.
“Our program is getting improved in every aspect,” continued Lancaster. “We’ve needed to work on the business side of our program as well. Hopefully with the launch of our new website our sponsors and fans get keep up with us better and know when we’re hitting the track.”
In addition to the new website, Derrick Lancaster Racing will also be staying on top of using all of the tools available today. Look for a Derrick Lancaster Racing Facebook fan page to be launched before the season begins as well as an update to the team twitter account @lancasterracing. Derrick Lancaster Racing will have a strong social media and website presence, according to Bad Fast Media web designer Langley Austin.
“We’re going to get Derrick Lancaster Racing up to speed on the media end of things,” said Austin. “This new website is a great first step but we’ve also got to get the team up to date on the always important social media outlets as well. We’re proud to have him as a part of the “Bad Fast” team.”
Derrick Lancaster Racing is sponsored by Total Car Care and Truck Service, RGM Erectors, New River Recycling, Southern Printing, Elite Fabrication and Machine and Wade’s Food Stores. For more information on Derrick Lancaster Racing, check out their website at http://www.derricklancasterracing.com/ or contact Bad Fast Media at (276) 613-4208.
