Erik Darnell On Racing At Homestead-Miami Speedway

Erik Darnell on racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway: "I cannot believe Homestead is all ready here. Even with the limited schedule the season has flown by. I really hope we can put together something special for the fans and for Northern Tool + Equipment on Saturday. We had really high expectations going into the season, and came out on fire for the first seven races. The last few months though have been a struggle. This will be my first race with Dan [Stillman] since he took over the crew chief duties a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to work with Dan and I know he'll do everything in his power to get our No. 6 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford Fusion into victory lane. It sure would be a great way to end the season. "

Crew Chief Dan Stillman on racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway: "I'm looking forward to working with Erik this weekend. I've been with David [Ragan] for the last two races, and there was some great chemistry between the two of us. Hopefully that will carry over to this weekend with Erik. We are bringing a really fast race car down to Homestead. David just missed grabbing the pole with it down at Texas. He kept it in the top 10 for much of the race capturing an eighth-place finish. Even with the crew changes, the No. 6 team hasn't missed a beat. We just need to give Erik the best opportunity possible to stay up front Saturday afternoon. If he can keep it up there, our Northern Tool + Equipment Ford Fusion has a really good shot of giving Erik his first Nationwide Series victory."

FAST FACTS

• Darnell will be making his first Nationwide Series start at Homestead.
• In three previous starts at the track while in the Camping World Truck Series, Darnell's best finish was a third place in 2006. He had an average starting position of 5.7 and an average finishing position of 12.7 in those races with a lap completion of 99.5% (407 of 409).
• This will be Darnell's fourth race this season on a 1.5-mile track with an average start of 7.6 and an average finish of 21.0.
• In 15 starts this season, Darnell has accumulated one pole, two top-five and five top-10 finishes.