Darland looks for Ft. Wayne Rumble repeat

DARLAND LOOKING TO REPEAT AT FT. WAYNE IN RUMBLE RACES

INDIANAPOLIS -- USAC Triple Crown champion Dave Darland will look to repeat his "Rumble in Ft. Wayne" victory after all.

Darland, who shared the two-night honors with Tony Stewart in the 2004 edition of the race at the Ft. Wayne (Ind.) Memorial Coliseum Expo Center, secured the same ride he charged to victory last year for the Dec. 29-30 races on the indoor track. Michigan natives Bob and Diane Bohn own the No. 0 Shore/Autocraft, which sports Peterbilt of Northwest Ohio sponsorship.

"We won last year on the second night and ran second on the first night, and we're looking to do well again this year," the Lincoln, Ind. native said. "We finally got it dialed in pretty well, and don't plan on changing much. Hopefully everything keeps going well."

Darland had never won a USAC race indoors before his 2004 triumph, but had piloted the same machine to victory earlier in the year in the non-USAC-sanctioned "Rumble in the Dome" at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.

Darland won two National Midget Car Series races in 2005, and has signed to compete for Steve Lewis in the No. 9 Toyota Midget in 2006. Darland won two National titles with Lewis in 2001 and 2002.

Darland joins Stewart as a Ft. Wayne entrant. Stewart won the first feature last year, and returns in 2005 with the famed "Munchkin."

Tom Bigelow and Larry Rice will serve as the respective grand marshals for the event, which will feature a full USAC program with qualifying, heats, a semifeature and 60-lap features each night. National, Regional, Ford Focus and Kenyon Midgets are expected to compete in the "special events."

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