INDIANAPOLIS – Moments after Dave Darland announced his retirement, tributes poured in from every quarter. That’s how it should be.
What constitutes an era is a bit elusive because time rarely has clearly defined start and stop dates. That said, Darland, Kevin Thomas and the late Tony Elliott were the three giants who carried the flag for traditional sprint car racing at a particularly perilous point in the discipline’s history. That chapter is now closed for good.
In time Darland’s prowess in the Silver Crown, sprint car and midget ranks made him one of USAC’s most popular stars. The numbers are there for all to see. He is the winningest driver in USAC sprint car history, a member of the Triple Crown club and is already enshrined in several Halls of Fame. Rest assured many more honors will follow.
Numbers and statistics tell one part of the story, but in this case, they are woefully inadequate to complete the picture.
The late Hall of Fame USAC official Dick Jordan loved to counsel young and aspiring drivers. When Jordan saw a racer might have the requisite talent to shine, he would warn them that there was a difference between topping the standings and being a true champion.
One might go a step further and add that there is also a difference between being a great racer and a great person. Dave Darland crossed both thresholds. I have been in this game a long time and I can tell you that few men have ever been as universally beloved as Darland.
One crucial point needs to be made. Darland’s national acclaim was built during his glory years with USAC. No one disputes that. However, he built a legion of fans at places like Kokomo, Lincoln Park and Bloomington long before he scored his first USAC victory.
It was appropriate that his first sprint car win came at Kokomo. To make it all the sweeter he beat Bob Kinser on Father’s Day. Soon he was an Indiana bullring legend. He won the track championship at Lincoln Park in 1991 and ’92, and he took or shared the track title at Kokomo in 1987, ’91, ’93 and ’94.
Yet, what made Dave Darland such a star is that he was innately relatable. Even at the top of his fame, he just seemed to be one of us. As a racer he was humble almost to a fault, and because of the person he was, his fans were fiercely loyal. So much of this could be explained by the way he was raised.
To suggest that Darland was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth may be one of the greatest understatements of all time. His father, Bob Darland, was a man of few words. If you knew Bob, you realized he spoke with his eyes. If unhappy they would burn like coal, but when pleased they twinkled. When it came to his son, his eyes twinkled a lot.
When Darland first showed up at the Kokomo Quarter Midget Club, he was all arms and legs. His dad stuck him with the nickname “Tiger Dave” — and he was all of that. He won more than 150 main events at this level, but more than this he got a constant lesson from his father about how to conduct himself on the track. There was a right way and a wrong way to race. Dave got the message.
Years later current USAC star Justin Grant observed that he started racing in Indiana at what he deemed the end of the respect era. He noted that when he put himself in harm’s way, guys like Darland gave him enough room to bail himself out. In Darland’s world it was just the right thing to do.
Time after time the best in the business tabbed Darland as a man they loved to compete against. Once at Indianapolis Raceway Park his error resulted in a crash that ultimately took out Bill Rose and Jack Hewitt. Graciously consenting to an interview, Darland shared that the accident was entirely his fault and that he owed some people an apology. The crowd erupted in applause for his stand-up approach.
Hewitt and Rose all but said that Darland’s character more than compensated for any momentary error in judgment.
Some of the remarkable facets of his days behind the wheel will be recounted in the myriad stories that will follow. Still, there are a few details that are worth highlighting. Despite the perception of Darland as one of the best we ever saw on dirt, he was also terrific on pavement.
Over the course of his career, Darland took the checkered flag at paved tracks such as Winchester, Salem, Anderson, Toledo and Hawkeye Downs speedways. Because of his greatness in sprint cars, it can be argued that his two national championship in midgets and Silver Crown title are overlooked. He won 14 Silver Crown races, including on the miles in Indianapolis, Springfield, Ill., and Sacramento, Calif.
In the smaller cars, he was best at both the Turkey Night Grand Prix and Belleville Midget Nationals twice. In what is a record, he won a USAC national event for a staggering 24 consecutive years. The various awards he has amassed are too numerous to recount here but they speak to his performance on and off the track.
Still, to some degree all the facts are mere window dressing when it comes to discussing the impact Darland had on the sport. As I noted in his induction to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame, this isn’t just a racing tale; it is a great American story.
Dave Darland never forgot where he came from. Ever. He could be characterized as shy, and maybe a bit unsophisticated, when he first hit the scene. That all changed. He not only grew as a man, but he also became one of the great spokespersons for this sport.
I have been fortunate to have announced races literally across the country at some of the nation’s biggest tracks. All that aside, my fondest memories by far were the years I worked on Sunday night at Kokomo Speedway (when it was flat as a pancake) and watched Darland, Elliott and Thomas in their prime.
Likewise, in my public relations role at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I have rubbed shoulders with the top national and international stars. All that is well and good. However, in my mind none of those people held a candle to Dave Darland.
It was a privilege to watch him race and an honor to call him my friend. That he was able to get back to victory lane in 2023 makes it a bit easier to let go. Yes, he goes out as a winner. Better yet, he walks away on his terms.
This story appeared in the Oct 25, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
