A Statement from Derrick Townes

I would like to thank everyone for all the overwhelming support and concern. This weekend obviously did not end as we expected but it could have been a lot worst. The car was continuing to run faster and more consistent every week thanks to my crew. They have done a great job preparing the car week in and week out. I couldn’t be happier with our progress as of late. Saturday evening during the semi finals against Tyler Hard, we left the starting line with Tyler taking a slight .010 advantage. The car was on a good mid to upper 6.0 pass when it started drifting towards the wall. I tried to stay with it as long as I could and unfortunately I stayed with it a little too long. I knew I was in trouble so I pulled the chutes and tried to keep from hitting the other wall head on. I was very fortunate that it hit the wall the way it did and did not roll over. The damage to the car was mostly body damage and the upper strut mount looks to be bent up a little. We will probably hang a new body on it and try to shed a few unwanted pounds and return to racing. This is going to be tough task because this clearly was not in our budget. As for me I came away with just a sprained ankle.

This weekend through the adversity showed me again why we Race. While lying in the bed of my motor home with ice on my ankle 10 minutes after being released from the ambulance, This racer came in my motor home and jumped in my bed with me, with more fear and concern than I had, checking on my well being. I can’t tell you how many more followed with genuine concern, from racers to officials to fans. This is my racing family,Northeast Outlaw Pro Mod Association [NEOPMA] and this is what we do. I also cannot say enough about to Capitol Raceway, Jimmy Bradshaw and his crew. The ambulance and safety crew were right there when my car stopped. The track was over 130 degrees during the day and there were several sub 6 second passes. The Track prep was great. We will return.... Regards, Derrick Townes