Danny Efland Racing
Irmo, South Carolina
May 12th, 2010

In NASCAR's eyes, I was not a Darlington rookie because I had raced there before. Now I am an official veteran because my car proudly wears a Darlington stripe.

Friday morning of race day began for us - again - at the crack of dawn, and the green flag for practice waved at 8:30 a.m. By 8:40, before I had ventured onto the track, the first accident occurred when a driver got his Darlington stripe, but hit the wall too hard to continue. Fortunately for him, he had a backup car - a luxury my team cannot afford.

During the 2 1/2-hour practice session, I ran 37 laps, mostly two or three at a time. Because there were 46 cars vying for 43 starting spots, it was necessary to work on qualifying setup and speed. At the end of the session, my crew bolted on new tires and put the car in full qualifying trim.

On my mock qualifying lap, the car sailed through turns one and two with ease, giving me so much confidence that I over-drove in turns three and four. The car drifted to the wall, where we normally run about 1 foot from disaster, and then slid up against the wall. I had my Darlington stripe.

The crew spent most of the rest of the morning straightening up the appearance of our car - nothing was damaged mechanically.

Then it was time for pre-qualifying tech. This tech is similar to the initial inspections we went through when we unloaded Thursday, but it involves only body templates, heights and weights. Our car's body did not fit some of the shapes perfectly due to my new Darlington stripe. I think the officials sort of looked the other way on some issues, and we were passed through and sent to pit road to await qualifying.

I qualified 37th in my C3i Sports Chevy Impala. Remembering my previous lap in practice, I was probably a little hesitant in turns three and four and did not get the maximum from the car.

Now I had to wait for the 7:30 p.m., but the time flew by while I met with disabled soldiers serving as honorary crewmen through a program administered by Americans Honoring Americans. I also met with fans, did several interviews and tried to rest a little.

The race was almost anti-climactic. We held our own for the first half as planned. During a caution about halfway through, my crew chief, Micah Horton, and I decided to make some changes. It turned out that those changes didn't work, and I got behind while waiting for the next caution so that we could undo the changes.

The last 25 laps were spent avoiding the numerous accidents that seem to occur at the end of most Nationwide races. We finished 26th - not as good as we had hoped but a lot better than many others.

Wide awake and riding an adrenaline high, I contemplated the day's events. My conclusion? I cannot wait for my return to the Lady in Black.

See you at the Races!
Danny Efland Racing

You can read the rest of Danny's dairy in The State paper here:
May 2nd
May 6th
May 7th