Spotlight on Darrell Teal

Lafayette, IN (January 16, 2006) - Fairness, keeping the field level for all the competitors were Darrell Teal’s overall mission and passion with the CRA Super Series. As Chief Technical Inspector, Darrell strove to keep the racers honest, and ensure everyone is racing within the rules. The 2005 season is a great example of what happened when he was successful with 15 different winners in 19 races and 11 different fast qualifiers.

Teal started in the sport in the 70’s, in drag racing. When asked why he is still involved he stated simply "I like it, I got started in drag cars, then when my son Tim got into oval track racing I got involved in this also." He was retired from GM and worked as a consultant with tool making machine repairs.

He started with the CRA Series when he was asked by series founders Glenn Luckett and RJ Scott. "I knew they wanted the series to be honest and fair, so I said yes." Since joining Darrell has shown a dedication to the series that has been to the determent of his own health sometimes. During the 2005 season he put off recommended medical procedures until the end of the year and underwent a prolonged procedure to combat a rare stem cell blood disorder. Although he would tell you he was just getting ready for next year.

In recognition of his efforts the CRA dedicated a new award to him this year, The Darrell Teal Outstanding Dedication Award. He was the first recipient of this award for the 2005 season.

When he was not racing Teal liked to fish, travel, spend time with his family and work on old cars. He has a son Tim and two grandchildren. Teal is a native of Atlanta, IN. He attended school at Arcadia where he met his wife of 39 years, Neila.

Mansfield Motor Speedway was one of Darrell’s favorite CRA racetracks, because of the tech. facilities and overall atmosphere at the track. His favorite track to attend a race was the night NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

One of his favorite racing memories happened in 2005 when he talking to his tech crew about issues coming up in the race, while discussing these issues he leaned up against his radio and accidentally keyed his mike putting something out over the radio he did not intend to. It was an embarrassing moment at the time and was  the source of humor for everyone involved since. This incident gave him a chance to use his sense of humor many times through the rest of the year.