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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Darnell Surprised By Promotion
Erik Darnell will drive in seven Sprint Cup races between now and the end of the year...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted September 05, 2009   Hampton, GA
Erik Darnell will be entered in seven NASCAR Sprint Cup racess in 2009. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

Erik Darnell said Saturday that he was as surprised as anyone to find out that he would be driving seven NASCAR Sprint Cup races between now and the end of the year, starting with Sunday night’s Pep Boys 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Roush Fenway Racing, the team Darnell drives for in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, brokered a deal to bring Academy Outdoor Sports and Northern Tool + Equipment to the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing Ford Fusion for seven of the last 12 races of the season.

During all seven of those races, Darnell will drive the No. 96 and former HoF driver Bobby Labonte will drive the No. 71 TRG Motorsports Chevrolet Impala SS. In the other five, Labonte will be back in the No. 96. Clearly, it’s a switch dictated by sponsor dollars, nevertheless it benefits Darnell.

“Honestly, it just kind of came out of nowhere. said Darnell, who is also driving in 10 Nationwide races for Roush Fenway this season. “Everything has come together really quick. They had to go put seats in the car this week and had to go talk to the team and talk to the crew chief and try to gel with them a little bit before we came out here this weekend, so it did happen in a hurry, but, so far, everything has been going very well and I look forward to going out on the track and seeing what I can do with the car.”

Without doubt, Darnell is getting is Sprint Cup baptism under fire — and in a car that frankly hasn’t run especially well this year — but he needs to make something happen as his hunt continues for a ride in 2010.

“Obviously, I have to go there and show that I’m able to do this and I’m capable of doing this in a Sprint Cup car because this is where I want to be down the line,” said Darnell, who spent three seasons driving for Roush Fenway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. “To tell you the honest truth, I don’t know that I have anything lined up next year yet on the Nationwide side or the Cup side or anything like that, so I think this is kind of my opportunity to go out there and show that I can run in these cars.”

Wisely, though, he’s tempering his expectations for his Sprint Cup debut.

“Realistically, for this weekend I don’t think I could put a finishing position or a number on it, but I think, for us, it’s gonna be to go out, be solid in practice, make changes to the car to make it faster, qualify well and run all the laps,” said Darnell. “That’s the big goal for this weekend. If you’re sitting on jack stands, you’re not learning anything.”

Still, he’s taking his shot, starting this weekend in Atlanta. “I really feel like these seven races are gonna be my chance, my shot to show that I can make it at the Cup level and if this doesn’t work out, I don’t know where that puts me for next year, but, obviously, we had the sponsorship, they had the races open, and they said, ‘Go for it.’”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of ?Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED,? and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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