Ronda Greer Photo

Erik Darnell brought his No. 99 Woolrich Ford F-150 home in the tenth position on Friday night, rebounding from a 33rd place starting position to score his third top-10 finish of the 2006 season.

Darnell was forced to miss most of the allotted practice on Friday after making contact with the outside wall in the first practice session. The crew worked feverishly, making repairs in an attempt to get the Woolrich Ford out for a few laps, but were unsuccessful in their efforts. The No. 99 Ford would make its next laps in qualifying trim, where Darnell posted the 33rd best time.

Hoping for an early caution, Darnell and his Woolrich crew got their wish when, on lap four, the yellow flag flew for a wreck off turn four. Darnell brought the No. 99 to pit road for four tires and fuel. He reported that the truck was skating around the track, a product of the hard tires that made finding grip around the speedway a near impossible task.

Darnell would restart the event in the 27th position, and over the next 30 laps would move himself as high as the 21st spot. The No. 99 was lapped by the leader on lap 43, but a quick caution would make him the beneficiary of the "Lucky Dog" free pass to get back on the lead lap. Darnell brought the Woolrich Ford to pit road for four tires and fuel, and was back on track in the 20th position.

Darnell continued to pick up positions as the race went on, and took advantage of a late caution on lap 101 to pit his No. 99 one last time to make a run to the front. The Woolrich Ford came on strong at the end, consistently running some of the fastest lap times over the final green flag run.

"We had a really good truck tonight, all things considered," said Darnell. "My guys worked so hard to get this Woolrich Ford put back together after it got tore up in practice. They kept working on it throughout the race, and we really had a great truck at the end. I can't say enough for the effort they all put in tonight. I couldn't be happier with the way this night went. We got another top-10 out of it, and we'll go to Mansfield next week and see what we can do there."