New Look for Lake in 2009

On the Hunt for the Number One Plate

Long before he became Mr. September and captured 18 Nextel Cup wins, Harry Gant was Mr. Second-Place, finishing as a runner-up in 10 races before notching his first win. Darrell Lake has almost become the second coming of Gant, as for the past three season, Lake has finished second in the championship points standings each year in the Delaware Speedway Super Stock division.

In 2007 and 2008 Lake was runner-up to Ray Morneau, but with the defending champion on the sidelines shortly after the 2009 season started, the division would be wide open and looking for a new king. Lake said, "We had heard that Monreau wasn't going to race for the full season before. We were kind of waiting to see what he was going to do, and when he dropped out, we thought this could be the year.

Then Jason Lidster came on, and we couldn't overcome three DNF's. We had a flat tire with three to go, got hit late in another race and blew a clutch line, and had the throttle pedal snapped right off. Those three races sunk us." Lidster would end up capturing the championship while fighting head-to-head with Lake through the second half of the season.

From the tone in Lake's voice, 2009 was a season that he looks to exceed in 2010. "We didn't win a heat or a feature, so we're going to change things up for this year. Our car has been blue and yellow for years, but this year it's going to be a �silver bullet', with maybe a little bit of red. It won't be ready for the CPT Racing Experience [Jan. 16-17], but we think we're going to be able to get it painted in time for the London Auto Expo [March 26-28]."

Despite the fact that he's just 23, Lake has six years in a Super Stock, and 14 years total of driving under his belt. He started turning circle early as he took to the dirt at the now defunct Wilton Grove Speedway when he was just nine years old in a former Mike Ling driven Micro Sprint that Darrell and father Matt worked on. Father and son also raced a Junior Late Model at Delaware before stepping up to the weekly Friday night program.

Lake talked about how the sport was now part of his DNA through his father, a well respected former official for CASCAR and Delaware Speedway. "Right from day one, my Dad was such a big race fan, and as soon as I was old enough to race it was something that we did together. In fact, I was named after Darrell Waltrip, because that was my dad's favourite driver. Dad and I have had so many good times racing together over the years."

While he did get an early start in racing, Lake admits that it was still a giant learning curve when he climbed in a Super Stock. "The cars are so much heavier, more powerful, and have a full suspension. The Micro Sprint and Junior Late Model classes are a great place to start, and give you a head start. By the time you get to a full-size car you have an idea about flags and running a race, as well as handling of the car, like the toe, and tight and loose. It gave me a little bit of a head start to be able to give that information back to my crew."

Darrell also had someone else that he was very close to during the early stages of his Super Stock career, Dave Lawrence, a division legend and multi-time champion. "He was really something, and taught me how to drive. He would offer constructive criticism, and help anyone out that needed it. In my rookie season he came up on me and I let him go, and after the race he was the first one to my car, asking me why I didn't race him. He loved a challenge."

Lawrence was also the one who initiated Darrell's nickname � Hollywood. "I came into the shop, and had just got back from Mexico, so I had a tan and my hair was bleached blonde. He just started calling me Hollywood, and it stuck. Another time, I was so hungry when we left the track that I went right to the drive thru window at Wendy's with my suit on and everything. After that, every night he would ask if I was going to Wendy's. We still go three or four times a year after the races, but at least now I take the top of my suit off. Dave was just so much fun to be around."

In addition to Matt and Dave, Lake has also had help from his long-time sponsors, London Drive Systems, and Siskinds. "We also picked up a couple of great crew guys over the past few years. Nate Lloyd came on three years ago, and two years ago Mike McCracken started on our crew. Between them and my dad, they are able to give me a great car every night. I don't have much to do with the setup, I really just give them all the information and they make the adjustments."

About ten years ago, a fellow that this author used to work with at his day job and quasi race fan, told me about the night he saw a father and son working on their Junior Micro Sprint in their garage. That pair turned out to be Matt and Darrell Lake. Now the stakes are much higher, but most nights you can find Matt and Darrell doing what brings them together when it's not race night � working on the car side-by-side.

Story by Jamie Maudsley

Photos byMaudsley Motorsports