CHICAGO — Former stock car racer Wilbur “Bay” Darnell passed away Feb. 28 at the age of 91. A resident of Chicago’s northern suburbs, Darnell raced modified stock cars before moving to the United States Auto Club stock car circuit for more than 20 years.
Darnell began his racing career in the 1950s. He was on hand at Santa Fe Speedway in Willow Springs, Ill., in 1954 when NASCAR’s Grand National series visited the Chicago area for the first time. Darnell and his 1950 Ford finished 23rd after starting 17th in the 23-car field for the 200-lap race on the dirt half-mile.
“It seemed Lee Petty lapped me every four laps or so,” said Darnell years later. “I remember I had a lot of trouble. It was a long race. I just started racing back then. I had an old Ford with a flat head engine.”
Racing out of Deerfield, Ill., Darnell competed in the modified stock car ranks at tracks like Illinois’ Waukegan Speedway and Wilmot Speedway in Wisconsin, racing and winning in the late 1950s and into the 1960s.
Darnell began racing in USAC stock car competition in 1962, wheeling a 1961 Ford. He made his first start at the Milwaukee Mile on July 15, 1962, finishing 14th in a 200-mile event aboard his No. 58.
From then on, Darnell was a regular on the USAC circuit before making his final start in 1983. He was the series’ second ranking driver in 1979 and 1982 and finished third in the points in 1973, 1978 and 1980.
Darnell competed in USAC for some dozen years or so until winning his first USAC race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds one-mile dirt oval in Indianapolis on Aug. 25, 1974, wheeling his bright orange 1974 Dodge No. 12 to the victory.
“I’ve been trying to win a race, any race, for 13 years and I’m glad it happened at Indianapolis,” said Darnell after his first USAC victory. “They say the first race is the toughest one to win and I believe it.”
Darnell won three more USAC stock car races during his career, those coming at the DuQuoin (Illinois) fairgrounds dirt oval in 1976, at Texas World Speedway in 1977 and at the Springfield, Illinois mile dirt track in 1982.
Darnell was racing in the Automobile Racing Club of America event at the Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway in February of 1964 when a long slide down the back straightaway eventually put Darnell and his 1964 Ford in Lake Lloyd in the track’s huge infield.
Darnell’s son, Danny, competed in stock car competition for a number of years, competing with USAC, ARTGO, ASA and a number of other racing organizations. Danny Darnell was still behind the wheel in recent years, competing with the Wisconsin-based Midwest Truck Series.
Bay Darnell’s grandson, Erik, enjoyed a successful career in NASCAR racing, running in Cup Series, Craftsman Truck Series and Xfinity Series competition. During his career, he won two NASCAR Truck races. Carrying on the family tradition, Erik’s young son, Jackson, races go-karts in North Carolina.