TEAM REPORTS (CONCORD, NC.) - Darnell's No. 99 Shows the Way at Daytona Test

Erik Darnell's No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment team worked hard over the offseason to put their disappointing 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season behind them, and it showed at Daytona testing. Darnell's Ford led the way in single truck runs, and consistently posted times towards the front of the pack in the drafting sessions.

"I'm looking forward to putting last year behind us," said Darnell. "We struggled quite a bit last year. We didn't really end the season on the note that we wanted to. It was nice to go out and get our first career win, but on the other hand we struggled at quite a few tracks. We had some things happen that kind of took us out of contention for a top-10 finish in the points, which is frustrating because I think we slid from seventh or eighth back to 12th in the last six races."

The three Roush Fenway Racing F-150's showed the way in Friday morning's session, but teammates Colin Braun and Joey Clanton were involved in an incident on Friday afternoon, sending both their teams home early. Darnell's team continued its test through the conclusion of the session on Sunday afternoon.

"If the first two days are any indication, we've got a really good truck," Darnell continued. "I've been able to work my way from the back up to the front a few times and it feels really good out front. I can lead up there. I can get back in traffic and the truck handles very well. I've been really pleased with it so far. Roush Fenway has had a pretty strong truck program on the superspeedways. Mark Martin won both races in 2006 and Travis Kvapil and myself both had strong trucks in this race last year, and I definitely would like to get the season started off on the right foot, and hopefully pick up a victory in our Northern Tool + Equipment Ford."

The 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series kicks off at Daytona on Friday night, February 15.

About Northern Tool + Equipment Northern Tool + Equipment has been a supplier of high-quality tools and equipment for more than 26 years, selling products through direct mail, the Internet and over 60 retail locations in 11 states. Along with a deep selection of hand, power and air tools, Northern Tool + Equipment carries a wide variety of products, including generators, pressure washers, air compressors, hydraulics, small engines, trailers, water pumps, tractors, welding equipment and much more. Northern Tool + Equipment also serves as the exclusive distributor of NorthStarTM brand equipment, which is fabricated and assembled at the company's 250,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility. For more information, visit www.northerntool.com.

About Roush Fenway Racing Roush Fenway Racing operates 13 full-time motorsports teams, five in NASCAR Sprint Cup with drivers Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; four in the Nationwide Series with Kenseth, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Ragan, Erik Darnell and Colin Braun; three in the Craftsman Truck Series with Darnell, Braun and Joey Clanton; and one in the ARCA RE/MAX Series with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.