CHARLOTTE, NC :: Mike Darne turned a lot of eyes at Martinsville last year when he clocked the third fastest qualifying lap and won a heat race. Now, Darne’s just looking for a little luck to get to victory lane at Southern National Motorsports Park, where he will chase the track championship, and Caraway Speedway.
For the most part, Darne’s accomplishments in Late Model Stock Car racing have gone unnoticed as he’s been racing at the now-defunct Old Dominion Speedway oval in Northern Virginia. Darne has won several big races including two victories the Youth For Tomorrow 150 (2010, 2011) and a victory in the 2010 ODS Big One where he held off Brandon Brown and CE Falk.
In 2011, if Darne was at the track, you could almost certainly write him in to win the race. He won almost every big race that season at Old Dominion Speedway including the Tornados 100 powered by On the Run, the Youth For Tomorrow 150 and the Military Appreciation Night 150. He was a favorite to win the ODS Big One that year but was taken out in an accident on the first lap in the season’s most controversial race.
Darne’s 2012 season included four wins in Old Dominion Speedway’s final season of operation, a heat race win at Martinsville and a pole in the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National. Despite some wins and some poles, the second half of Darne’s season and the start of the 2013 season hasn’t gone the way Darne had hoped.
“We were fast in Caraway,” Darne said. “We just fell off in the race and twisted a rod. Our brake caliber locked up in the first race at Southern National (on March 2nd). We finished third in the second race, got home and saw a broken rock arm so I was running on seven and a half cylinders so I didn’t have any straightaway speed. It’s a new car. It’s bound to have some bugs and new car blues but I feel confident we’ll be okay. We’ve got three races in on it now; I think we’ve got the problems cured now. Hopefully we don’t find some new ones.”
Darne has his sights set on winning the championship at Southern National Motorsports Park. While McCaskill has gotten off to a fast start, Darne doesn’t think people should be ready to hand McCaskill the trophy just yet.
“Deac is fast, there’s no doubt,” Darne stated. “We’re going to have to be on our A-game to beat him. I think when we get everything working the way it’s supposed to, we can run with Deac. He’s coming off a big season last year, kind of like I did at Old Dominion. He’s starting where he left off. We’re learning. Last time I was there was only the third time I was there. I think once we get all that worked out, we can catch him. We’re going to have to work hard at it and it will take some time but I think we can catch him.”
Darne spoke in-depth about Martinsville and Southern National, two races he felt he could’ve won.
“We had an awesome car in Martinsville but we had a part failure take us out,” Darne explained. “I think we had a shot to win. We were fast in qualifying and the heat race. We just couldn’t show our real hand.
“At Southern National, we came on some lapped traffic and Deac got to me and I should have pushed the issue but I didn’t. The second half, we made a change that would make the car tight for the first 15-20 laps but it came back to me but Lee and Deac got so far ahead and I got stuck behind Edwards. I don’t know if we didn’t have as good a car as those two. All we did was moved the left front tire to the right rear. It got away from me on gas, I made the choice not to put gas in at halfway and it bit me, my fault. I didn’t expect to go 220 laps. I expected it to go 205-210 but the shenanigans at the end really drug it out.”
Darne also plans on running at Caraway, a track he has had success at in the past.
“I’ve always been good at Caraway,” Darne said. “I think we can win there any night we go. We had a shot at winning (at Caraway) if we didn’t have the problems we had. Caraway’s a good track for me, just got to get these bugs out of the system. What happened to me is no different than what happened to Morris at South Boston. He can win any race at South Boston but a power steering problem took him out of the race. If we can get this stuff to stop happening, we’ll be able to win anywhere we go. We’ve been good everywhere we go, we’ve just got to have things go our way for a chance.”
Darne spoke of the spell of bad luck he’s had, saying it could happen to anyone.
“Deac McCaskill’s won the first two races at Southern National and everyone’s ready to give him the championship but he can have a period of races where he has mechanical problems like I’ve had and anything can go wrong,” Darne mentioned. “There are things you can’t control. Southern National’s tough anyways because they do the invert for the second race so you always have to come back from eighth or so. (McCaskill) got through the field easily last time but there will be times he gets caught up in stuff.”
Darne said his streak of bad luck dated back to the 2012 Youth for Tomorrow 150, a race where he and rival Dustin Storm were prepared to stage a duel for the victory. Darne had a water pump failure and Storm picked up the win and the $10,000 check.
“At the Gibbs race last year, we had a good car and had a water pump failure,” Darne stated. “If that hadn’t happened, it would’ve been a good race between me and Dustin Storm. Since then and now, it’s been one thing after another.”
Darne, who lives in North Carolina, plans on running Southern National and Caraway but also has plans to venture out to South Boston and to compete in some of the bigger races later in the season at Martinsville, Myrtle Beach and Southern National. He doesn’t plan on running the Dirty Dozen, saying there’s no real financial benefit.
“I really looked in to the Dirty Dozen and it pays $3,000 to win the whole thing and it means I have to go to Motor Mile, a track I’m not familiar with, and run well,” Darne explained. “It’s not a lot of money for it. It’s a lot of traveling expense to run Motor Mile. My sponsor, CGL, they’re from Washington DC so we ran at Old Dominnion because they came out to watch us. I’m from that area and it was nice to see them. I’ve always liked Old Dominion and it was a fun track to drive and we had a lot of success there.”
Darne chimed in on the plans to build a new track in the Washington, DC area to replace the Old Dominion Speedway facility, which closed at the end of the 2012 season.
“If they get the new track approved, I’m sure I’ll go run it,” Darne remarked. “I can’t say I’d run for points the first year they open, we just have to see how it goes. Old Dominion had a crazy rules package, I won’t do that again. If they run under NASCAR Late Model Stock Car rules, I’ll race, but if they go under their own motor and shock program, I won’t go. It was too much to swap all the time. Fortunately, I could run Ronnie Wolf’s car up at Old Dominion and not have to switch. Around here, I can go to any track and run the same thing. ”
Darne is working with Wes Burton Performance this season and he feels the winning combination is in place.
“We’re working with Wes Burton this year,” Darne said. “He’s the brains behind what we’re doing with the setups and stuff right now. It gives me a better shot to win with that kind of brain behind you. Steve Darne, my brother, is also coming back working with me full time. Ronnie still helps me. I’ve got a really good team in place. I think we’re going to be a threat.
“Hopefully, halfway through the season, we’ll be a threat to win any race. We’ve made a lot of changes, it’s a new car and we have a lot to learn. I hope I figure it all out. That would be nice. This sport has gotten so expensive to run. We’ve got sponsors that help us, people that help us.”
Darne also had some nice words about RACE22.com.
“From a drivers standpoint we appreciate everything you guys do anything to get exposure is great,” Darne commented. “We appreciate everything you guys do, giving up your weekends to go to racetracks. I’ve gotten so many friends and family that knows just what’s going on by your site.”
Darne’s efforts in the 2013 season are supported by CGL Firm, Wes Burton Performance and KT Engine Development (engine supplier). His car is a Jim Dean racecar.
With a streak of bad luck in his mirror, Darne now looks forward to the remainder of the season hoping to chase the championship at Southern National and collect a grandfather clock at Martinsville later this year.
