Erik Darnell survived a long day of rain and wrecks at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway to come home with a 15th place finish, a far cry short of what he and the Northern Tool + Equipment team expected. Darnell looked to be heading for a top-10 finish, but his run was cut short when he was forced into the outside wall by David Starr.

Darnell qualified seventh for Saturday's Ohio 250, and held his ground in the opening laps. The first caution of the day flew at lap nine for a spin involving the No. 9 of Ted Musgrave. Just as the field went back to green at lap 15, rain began to fall forcing NASCAR to display the yellow flag once again. Officials did their best to get the track dried, and following a brief delay, NASCAR ordered the trucks to return to the racetrack.

Before the race restarted at lap 37, Darnell brought the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford to pit road for a splash of fuel. Darnell restarted in the 24th position, but quickly began working his way back towards the top-10.

Things looked good for the Northern Tool + Equipment team, but at lap 96 the No. 10 truck of David Starr pinched Darnell into the outside wall, resulting in heavy suspension damage to the No. 99 Ford.

A timely red flag for another rain shower gave crew chief John Quinn time to assess the damage done. Quinn made the decision to bring Darnell to pit road before the race would resume for four fresh tires. The No. 99 showed 25th in the running order when the field went back to racing, and Darnell made the most with what his truck had left. Knowing that his truck was not as competitive as it was in the early stages of the race, Darnell patiently timed his passes and made the most of what he had left in his Ford, ringing hope a top-15 finish.

"Our Northern Tool + Equipment Ford was really good," said Darnell. "Everything was working out how we planned it, pit strategy and everything. We got on the outside of the No. 10 truck and he drove us into the wall. It was disappointing because it was pretty early in the race and it bent some stuff in the right front. That's the way things go sometimes, but it seemed pretty pointless that it happened. We'll go to Dover next week and try to
get things going again."

Darnell and the No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment team lost one position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings, slipping to 12th. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competes next at Dover International Speedway on June 1.