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Thanks to all of you who have made the 2011 season a great success. Times are changing. The economy has taken it's toll on car counts and so have scrap prices. That makes derby cars hard to come by (and pricey) and new drivers a rare breed. But those of you who compete understand the love of this sport, and we appreciate your loyalty. We have been working on making this sport more accessible to new comers and veteran drivers alike.

First, we brought back a basic build class - Nostalgia Class. This class is built on the premise that not every driver wants to compete in the full weld class, spending countless hours and money on one car. Nostalgia Class is a widely popular choice for those who have limited resources or just don't want to spend their life and their life's fortune building a derby car.  Nostalgia Class cars are full sized cars, v6 or v8 powered, 108" wheelbase or more (Crown Vics, Grand Marquis, Town Car, Caprice, Roadmaster), and others. Their build is very basic, can be accomplished with basic hand tools, and can be completed over the course of 24-48 hrs. These cars are inexpensive and plentiful, and fun to drive, and you won't have to bang heads with the pros.

Based on the Nostalgia build rules is our Mini Urban Assault Vehicle Class or Mini trucks. Compact pickups, SUVs, and minivans make up this class. These little powerhouses are plentiful, take a surprising amount of abuse, and are a blast to drive! Soccer moms retire them every day, so grab one and come on out and play!

To make things easier, we have a CARS FOR SALE page. Simply email us at darkhorseracingevents@hotmail.com and we'll post what you have to sell, along with the cars we are also selling. Please don't forget to tell us when it's sold so we can take it down.

And now we are pioneering credit/debit card pre-registration on line! Yes, you can pre-register for any and all derbies on our schedule right here on this site! That frees up your cash so you can enjoy the fair on race day, build and run more cars with us, or just pay bills.



As always, Darkhorse Racing wants every driver to have a great experience. We realize you have many options when choosing where to derby. Cars are getting harder to come by and more expensive. We recognize this and in an effort to maximize the life expectancy of your vehicle, we have altered our rules to allow you a stronger, more standardized build. Every promoter’s rules are a little different. We have designed our Fair Class rules and Nostalgia Class rules so you can run your vehicle at many venues with minimal alteration. As always, safety is first priority. ATTENTION!! Read over the rules carefully. There have been many changes. IT IS THE DRIVERS’ RESPONSIBILITY TO ABIDE BY THE RULES. These rules apply to both fresh and pre-ran cars. What happened last year is old news. I do not care what other promoters allow. If you’re running a DhR show, build it to DhR rules. Make your car fit our rules or you will not run. Please keep it safe, fair, and rated - “PG”, as this is a family show. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us: darkhorsederbytech@hotmail.com or 224-627-0897.

We are no longer mailing rules anymore. Welcome to a kinder, gentler, more environmentally friendly Darkhorse Racing. Okay, enough tree hugging, let's get back, to derby talk! We have updated our rules this year. Some changes have been made so that it's easier to modify a pre-ran to fit our rules. Others are to help combat the high cost of parts and cars as a whole. Please make sure you are absolutely clear about the new rules.

We have contracted with an outside tech crew to assist with tech. I’m done with the drama of the last two years. You are here to derby. Put your big boy pants on and bend your car! These guys hold no loyalty to anyone. No favoritism, no exceptions will be made. Build it right or they WILL load you. These guys don’t mess around. They are more than happy to make an example of someone.

We will be taking pre-registration for all events this year. Darkhorse Racing must receive your pre-registration 7 days before each event or it doesn’t count. Why pre-register? If you pre-register, you will receive DOUBLE POINTS FOR EACH VEHICLE REGISTERED per event. Example: you preregister 2 different cars for Lake County, you will receive double points for each vehicle. We now take pre-registration on this web site with a debit or credit card. Please note, once you have pre-registered, no refunds will be allowed.

All ages are allowed in the pits. I appreciate everyone behaving responsibly and keeping an eye out for the littlest among us, as they just might dart out into demo traffic without looking.

Our mini cars now include wheelbases up to 108”. Only 4 or 6 cyl cars allowed. No full frame cars allowed.

Mini Cars will run derby style heats (depending on the car count), so bring spare parts. Mini Trucks and SUPER Trucks will be running a one and done feature only.

Be sure to check our schedule page and clear your calendar! Also, make sure you know what classes will be featured at which shows, and at what time tech will start and end. It is your responsibility to get your car through tech before tech closes. We will not wait for you. This year there will be a posted time that tech will end for each show.

Each county fair show (Lake and Kenosha) will have a beauty contest. This will take place on the track in front of the grand stands just after the National Anthem, before the first heats. All classes are welcome. Judging is done by crowd response, so break out the paint brushes. Theme paint jobs, cartoon characters, stuffed animals, patriotic themes, sports team themes – anything PG rated. The winner will get a trophy. Paint it up good, cause it’s bad enough to get wrecked in front of 4000 screaming demo fans, but it’s even worse to get taken out by the Veggie Tales car.

During each fair’s consolation round, for each class having a consolation round, a cone or hay bail will be placed at the center of the track. Cars will be lined up at the far ends of the track, facing the bail or cone. When the green flag falls (and not one second before), be the first one to smash the cone or bail, and you’re headed straight to the feature, no further battle required!

All cars in competition must have a title or notarized bill of sale. No exceptions. In the past, we would hold your driver’s license at the pit gate, as security, that you will not leave your car after the derby. Not anymore. Some of you never pick up the license or the car! I will NOT be mailing back your licenses or titles. Pick them up or you’re out of luck.Title or notarized bill of sale only. All cars must be removed from the fairgrounds / racetrack 1 hour after the final derby of the day. After that, anything left in the pits becomes property of Darkhorse Racing, Inc. We will be happy to junk your unwanted demo car for you, as long as you have the appropriate paper work.

You get a maximum of two chances to pass tech. If your car doesn’t pass inspection, there will be no refunds on your entry fees or pit passes. We did our job by printing these rules, do your job by making the car legal, and we won’t have a problem.

We have updated our media page. Check it out for recent pics and videos.

POINTS ARE ACCRUED AS FOLLOWS:

Register your car: 5 pts

Heat Race Top 3: 10 pts

Smokin’ Pumpkin: 25 pts

Feature Top 5:

100 pts - 1st place

80 pts - 2nd place

60 pts - 3rd place

40 pts - 4th place

20 pts - 5th place

NOTE: ANY CAR PRE-REGISTERED WILL EARN DOUBLE POINTS! FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU RUN A MINI CAR AND A SUPER TRUCK AT KENOSHA AND BOTH ARE PRE-REGISTERED, BOTH EARN DOUBLE POINTS. IF ONLY ONE IS PRE-REGISTERED, ONLY ONE GETS DOUBLE POINTS. PRE-REGISTRATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED 7 DAYS PRIOR TO THE DERBY. YOU MAY PRE-REGISTER ON THIS SITE BY MAILING ONE REGISTRATION FORM PER CAR AND A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO:
DARKHORSE RACING INC
424 MEADOWHILL LN
ROUND LAKE BEACH, IL 60073


PAYOUT: (there have been some changes since Jan 1st 2012)- OUR PAY OUT IS POSTED AND GUARANTEED.

Derby-style heat race: Top 3 from heats advance to feature: qualified drivers receive $30 and a trophy.

Race-style heat race: winners receive $30 and a trophy. All classes that have a race-style heat MUST compete in the heat to run in the feature. ALL cars that compete in the heat may run in the feature.

Fair Class Feature Top 5 (one and done, no heats): 1st - $750, 2nd - $400,
3rd - $300, 4th - $200, 5th - $100

Fair Class Feature Top 5 (heats and feature format): 1st - $1000, 2nd - $400,
3rd - $300, 4th - $200, 5th - $100

Super Trucks  (one and done, no heats): 1st - $500, 2nd - $250, 3rd - $125

Mini Trucks (one and done, no heats): 1st - $300, 2nd - $200, 3rd - $100

Nostalgia build: Feature car count below 10 cars: 1st - $300, 2nd - $200, 3rd - $100 

Note: if Minis Cars, Mini trucks (nostalgia trucks), or Super Trucks have more than 10 entries in FEATURE EVENT : 1st - $500, 2nd - $250, 3rd - $125, 4th - $75, 5th - $50