Bren Darroch

Darroch, a two-time championship runner-up, came to Tennessee with a brand new motor and a brand new clutch after breaking the car the week prior. Despite the new parts and pieces and several big issues early, Darroch finally got the monkey off of his back this weekend and picked up his first career championship.

“This means everything. We have been working so hard for a couple of years chasing points and I have been second in the world twice. To get the monkey off of my back was incredible,” Darroch said. “After the troubles we had with the new engine and clutch, to win the whole thing was very unexpected. But I am not a person who gives up. If it is not hard it is not worth it and trust me we worked hard for this one.”

Darroch, who got into the TOC thanks to his divisional championship in Division 3, went five rounds on Saturday with big wins over Rob Bihl, Jacob Pitt and finally B.J. Bianchi in the final. With a championship on the line Bianchi got off the line first .008 to a .022, but Darroch ran the numbers with a 10.608/118.18 on a 10.60 dial while Bianchi broke out by .005.

Two drivers that suffered the cruelest twist of fate at the World Finals were Michael Ruff and Wesley Washington Jr. Both drivers entered into the Tournament of Champions earlier in the weekend and both drivers lost in the first round, setting them up for a potentially bad weekend – that is, until Saturday.

Wesley Washington

Washington was most affected by the early weekend woes, not because it hurt the car or his confidence, but because he did it one day and immediately had to race on the 13th the next which, for a superstitious man like Washington, was not a good thing.

“I am very superstitious and racing on the 13th was not something I particularly wanted to do,” Washington said with a laugh. “I didn’t think we would be racing, but then things got moved up due to weather and I thought we were in trouble, especially after losing on Friday.

“But once I won first round it was like a monkey was lifted off my back and we got on a roll. This is a great thing Summit puts on to support us class racers. I had an up and down year, but thanks to them, I am able to say I am a champion.”

Washington snuck into the tournament via a third place finish in Division 1 on the Summit Pro-Am Tour and went five rounds in the Tournament of Champion’s deepest class to pick up the win. Washington had wins over Claude DeBonis, Jeremy West, Brett Nesbitt, Jamie Tupper and Greg Slack – all heavy hitters – to get the win. In the final Slack made it easy for the North Carolina native, going red by .017 to give Washington the win and his first career championship.