About

Question: Why is it called Black Dog Racing?

Answer: Since Darren was a small child, there has always been a black dog in his life. Prior to racing, Darren was an avid hunter of Pheasant and Duck. The current Black Dog in the Curtis family is a six year old Black Lab named Shaq. Shaq is a female and was a very good water foul hunter. Just ask Darren about some of the wonderful hunting trips that he shared with Shaq.

Meet Darren Curtis

Darren Curtis is a thirty-five year old System and Network Administrator of a Wide Area Network (WAN) that spans the globe. Afer graduating in the top ten percent from Middleton High School, Middleton, Idaho, Darren went on to earn a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from the University of Idaho and a Masters degree in Computer Science from Washington State University.

Not only did his educational background turn into a successful career in which he has received numerous awards including the APEX Award for Excellence and the 1999 Communicator Award of Distinction, it led him to the world of NASCAR Stock Car Racing.

Darren began his racing career in a high tech way. He got involved in racing on the Internet using the simulation games, NASCAR 1 and NASCAR 2. Darren progressed from there to managing an Internet simulation racing league with 20+ other drivers using software he created to manage the leagues. While Darren rarely has time to race on the Internet, his friend in New York now uses the software to manage Internet racing leagues using the NASCAR 3 software. You can find out more about the online racing on the Stock Car Online Racing Leagues (SCORL) site.

The online racing peaked Darren's interest in moving from behind the wheel of a computer simulation game to hanging on to the wheel of a full fledged race car. After attending races at the Tri-City Raceway and researching what it would take to race real cars, Darren jumped in with both feet. He purchased a used Pure Stock and entered the Pure Stock division at Tri-City Raceway as a full time driver for the 1999 Season.

Darren's first season in the real world of racing was a success. Working primarily by himself he termed the '99 season a great learning experience. Staying out of trouble, avoiding crashes, and being patient rewarded him with a seventh place finish in a division of over 30 drivers. Included in that season were several heat race wins and a trophy dash victory.

Darren will be back full time for the 2000 season in the Pure Stock Division at Tri-City Raceway. Supporting him will be his beautiful wife, Laura, his 13 year old daughter, Cara, his wonderful mother-in-law, Marlene (not shown), and the dogs, Shaq (the Black Dog) and Rocky (what else would you name a white boxer).

Darren's goals for the upcoming season are to win a main event race, finish in the top three for the season, represent his sponsors professionally, and most of all make racing fun for his team and the fans.

Darren's long term goals are to be able to use the experience gained in the 2000 season to step up to the next level of stock car competition.

QUOTE:

There is only one smartest dog in the world, and every boy has it. -- Anonymous