Trying to get something going

I have noticed alot of international traffic on my website and blog...Lots of visits from Russia lately. Anyone there want to respond? I am still trying and will always try. I may be shutting down my website soon as it doesn't seem to make sense for me to keep it up if there is no interest in sponsorship. I will put the video on youtube and just get a cheap to maintain webpage. It is with great sadness that I shrink into the backround and get back to work and try and forget the last 5 years of struggling and begging. I do not know what I would have done differently or could ever do in the future to get people interested. There really is just no place for an out race car driver. I pretty much ended my career by trying to do this honestly and openly. I also should have listened to my conservative family and not tried this. It is embarrasing how little financial support has come from all of this. I love my fans and please keep the great emails and words of encouragement coming! I will always try and be my best (and get sponsors) but the GLBT financial world has spoken with no interest in getting someone out there in the straight world with an open message to our youth that you can do anything. I really thought it was an important message but I guess not. We live a stereotype. Sad.

I also just think I failed with my celebrity contacting skills. I tried paying publicists thousands of dollars to just make contact with Lady Gaga, Elton John, John Travolta and anyone else that may have interest in my mission but they all failed or just didnt put in the effort. If anyone knows how to contact a celebrity let me know!

I am getting ready for my first USA Cycling race next month to get a category rating (everyone starts at Cat 5) and begin my amateur bicycle racing journey. I have raced BMX bicycles for years, Mountain bikes and now road bikes. This is a great hobby getting me into the best shape of my life. I will try and blog about my progress even though it is much more boring than blogging about racing cars on the Pro level.

Thanks everyone for being there!
Evan

The Smart Ride 8

Well now that the 13 Hour race has come and gone I am working towards my goals for The Smart Ride! If anyone knows someone with a place in Key West I could use a place to crash Saturday night as hotels are expensive! I have almost reached my goal but need a few more people to step up and donate. On the link below you can make a donation for me from $1 to $1000. Every little bit helps! Here is the link...

https://thesmartride.org/8/pledge/index.php?participantID=354&step=step3

I hope the weather is better than it was in Virginia! I have developed a head cold from the trip and I really hope it goes away so I can start training again!

13 Hour 2011

Race Update for the 13 Hour Virginia International Raceway Charge of the Headlight Brigade!

Thanks everyone for the kind words of encouragement on here Facebook and Twitter! It was a long drive too and from the race so I am a bit tired writing this. I have a large coffee next to me so I am sure I can get through it!

I arrived in Greensboro NC on Tuesday around 12 noon at the SRI Racing headquarters. The crew were diligently working on the #66 ITR BMW getting it ready for the event. I jumped in and gave a hand getting the car set up and ready for the event. I put my Trevor Project stickers on the car and had it embroidered on my drivers suit and was very excited to be displaying this very worthy charity! Wednesday we did a bit more and were pretty well ready to go. We loaded up Wed night and headed to the track for the Thursday test day.
I had brought my bicycle up from Florida as I am training for The Smart Ride mid November. When I woke up on Thursday morning I got my spandex on and stepped out of the trailer to find 30 something degree weather! It was also very dark but I got a great ride in around the VIR race facility. Nothing like the NC/Virginia countryside! The crew got to the track as did my co-drivers and we got ready for the test day. I was first in the car and the set up seemed pretty good in the dry weather but we had a fuel leak and the fumes were getting to me. We had to come in and fix it so I only got 2-3 hot laps in the car between coming in and going out trying to fix it. Other than the brakes giving us a few problems the car was great. The other drivers tested the car through the day as we had one session each and everything went really well. It turned out to be a great day but there were clouds looming on the horizon…
The next morning we woke up to cooler temperatures and a cloudy and misty day. It seemed to just get worse as the day progressed. We put a compromise setup on the car (making it handle better in the rain as there is less grip which makes it not as fast when its dry) as it was looking like a downpour during qualifying and the first half of the race. We had some glitches with the brakes locking and were trying to figure that out right up to qualifying time. We heard cars out there so I suited up and jumped right in. It was pouring but the SRI Racing BMW had the measure of it. I got in 8 good laps then the brakes started to lock on me going into T1 and off I went! I got the car slowed pretty good before hitting the tire wall drivers side first. I was able to get away from the wall but got stuck in the wet grass. How embarrassing! Sri came on the radio and told me we were 4.5 seconds ahead of 2nd place in qualifying! Good thing the car wasn’t really damaged other than minor cosmetics after pushing a few dents out! The alignment was still good and the car felt great for the remainder of the evening. We came in 10th overall and 1st in class by a big margin! I love the rain! Now we just need to get the brakes to stop locking…
Race day!! We woke up to miserable rainy and cold conditions Saturday morning and got the car prepped for a rain start. The weather showed big green blobs of rain and more on the way so on went the Hoosier rain tires. The crew got the car to the grid in a timely manner and the rain slowed. As soon as I got out on track for the start it stopped and my windshield fogged up from the lack of airflow. Ugh! I didn’t get the best start but tried to hold my position. The second place ITR car got by me (he was on intermediate tires…the right call) and I tried my best to keep the rains cool but it just kept drying out. Eventually they got so hot and slick I went off turn one again! This time I got the car slowed enough and spun around so I didn’t slam the wall…maybe just a touch but I only lost 10 seconds getting it out of the mud…I came in 27 seconds behind the now 1st place ITR car and early for my stint as we were losing too much time with the rain tires on in the dry. We refueled and put the dry tires on and tried to get the rear anti sway bar reattached but it was a bugger and cost us a few minutes on track. Dan Parker was the next one in and he has proven to be a very quick racer and was able to keep on track and did a great job in the seat setting the fast lap for our team. Catsby was in next and cranked out many good laps until the front ball joint let go stopping us just out of the pits. We were able to get the car towed back, ball joint replaced and back out on track in 22 minutes! Unfortunately it put us back to 5th. The drama continues!
Endurance racing is fun and unpredictable because you have so many variables. Lots of different drivers, crews and lots of time on the track and anything can happen. As we were getting towed back in 2 of our close competitors were in the pits fixing their cars! We went out on the same lap and it was race on! Now we were in a heated battle for 3rd. Craig Lippe was next in and did a stellar job trading lap times and positions with the #99 BMW Z3 ITR car. He had the longest stint in the car at 2 hours and 40 minutes! He was easy on the tires and brakes driving the car into the darkness. We had to stop early for dry tires and our mechanical gremlin put our pit strategy off. If my stint went on a bit longer and we didn’t have the ball joint failure…..anyways, it was Sri’s turn at it and he pulled his stint without incident but the extra pit stop put us back to 5th. It was now my turn to try and reel in our competitors!
I got into the car not knowing what to expect as the brakes were iffy for all the drivers and we had to brake in a straight line (no turning in on the brakes as they would just lock and flat spot the tires) so we had a bit of a compromise in our lap times. The car was surprisingly good considering the problems we had! The tires had a few minor flat spots causing some weird vibrations but it seemed to handle fine. I got out quick and we got word that we had a 90 second penalty for a minor (less than 12 inch) fuel spill! Noooooooooo! Oh well I came in and served my time and got out there to try and do something with our competition. Virginia International Raceway in the dark is a fun and different experience. The corners come at you quicker and you tend to turn in too early so it took me a few laps to acclimate myself to it. It was also the first time to really lap the car in the dry conditions. I caught all the ITR cars in our class and passed them. Then there was a call for oil in Hog Pen (the last corner on the track…a very fast right hander down a hill) I had just passed the Z3 and was trying to put some distance on him when I found the oil. It launched me off the outside where there was another car stuffed into the wall from said oil. I was able to get it back on without losing too much time but they threw a full course caution anyways so I was able to catch up. After the restart I was going back and forth with the #99 again and was ahead when going into turn 4 a Miata that we had passed on the straightaway before mad a bonehead maneuver and passed all of us stopping in my left rear door. I saw the lights coming and they were coming fast! I figured it was either the Prototype car that was vying for the win or the eventual winner in a very fast BMW M3 so I gave him room on the inside. It didn’t matter. He spun me 180 degrees and now I was facing oncoming traffic at night on a blind corner! I was able to restart and get the hell out of there! Luckily the car was undamaged. We all did our best and our 5th place finishing position was a hard pill to swallow after all that work! Our consolation was we still finished 18th overall out of 59 starters!

There is always next year! Thank you to The Trevor Project, SRI Racing, our crew and drivers! Hopefully we will get it next year!

Here we go!

Well the vinyl and embroidery are done all I have to do is drive 12 hours up there and do some prep work on the car for the Charge of the Headlight Brigade 13 Hour Race! Should be alot of fun and I will update afterwards with pictures and maybe some video...watch my twitter feed and facebook page for updates.

That time of year again!

Hello all, the 2011 Charge of the Headlight Brigade is almost upon us. This is a 13 hour endurance race at Virginia International Raceway http://www.virnow.com/ . I am very excited to say I will be driving a BMW in this event! I have my Trevor Project logos ready and waiting and am having some embroidery done on my suit. I will be tweeting updates throughout the race and will put links in for results and such. This is a great step in the right direction as I got some private support to move forward with Racing for Diversity!

The 2012 plans involve Pro racing and trying to get the word out on many important subjects. I am hoping to bring light to some of our bigger problems like LGBTQ suicide issues, bullying issues, our environment and health and fitness issues with adults today.

I am also excited to say I am doing The Smart Ride 8 in November! This is a 165 mile ride for AIDS/HIV funding. We go from Miami to Key West and should be a great time for a great cause! If you want to make a tax deductable donation you can go to: http://thesmartride.org/ and make a donation...dont forget to use my rider number (#354). The training I have been doing for this event has opened up a new hobby/fitness training routine that I am really enjoying! Cycling in Florida is pretty flat but we make up for it with speed and headwinds! I just started riding with a group on the weekends and they regularly hit 28-32MPH for a good distance! Its amazing how fast a group can go and how it pushes you individually. I have been dropped out the back of the group for the first few weeks but am now beginning to hang with them. Speed averages on my bike computer are now cresting 20MPH after 50+ miles! I have never been able to do that before. My overall fitnes has improved dramatically and my mountain biking skills have also improved with sheer speed and strength. My legs and butt have also reaped many benefits ;-} but I still won't shave my legs.



I am still trying to reach Elton John, Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin and others to see if they would like to be a part of my diversity project. Imagine if they helped with thier resources! I could have a green racing project that helps LGBTQ youth with a great message! It would also benefit everyone with acceptance! If anyone knows how to reach out to these people please pass the word on!


I am working with Holly Chervnsik at Stinger Sports Marketing and we are working towards some great things!

I hope to see more positive things in the near future so stay tuned!!!

Evan

Happy New Year!

Well it's January 3rd and still no sponsors. It has been a long 4 years of struggling and I thank the people that supported me through these tough times. It is a bad sign for young athletes and sports figures to see someone trying to be active in a high profile sport and not getting any support from Gay Inc. The big companies have not been very supportive and I hope times change soon and can be more inclusive so people can see that we all can prosper no matter who we are. Even though I am going back to work and cannot afford to renew my Pro license I will continue to try to get support for this endeavor and I will keep you up to date if anything changes! Also thank you to the many supporters and fans for staying with me!

Evan Darling

Tragedy

"This latest string of suicides is an indication of how society is accepting our young people into this world. Online bullying and ignorance is taking lives and something must be done to make it stop. We have to educate society to be more accepting and compassionate to our childrens needs. The education needs to start with parents not teaching their children to hate and be callous to others differences. We have a long way to go to make our society a more accepting and safe place. There are many great organizations like The Trevor Project to help kids in need and we need to educate kids and adults to see there is a place to go and get help and guidance. More visibility is also needed in front of the right demographic groups."

Evan Darling
Grand Am Race Car Driver
edarlingenterprises.com

New Idea and Great Opportunity!

I am back and starting a new marketing program. As many of you know, I am a supporter of TheTrevorProject.org and I would like to offer a program that would bring media attention to this great program and my Pro racing career. In this tough economy it has been difficult to procure enough sponsorship to race in Grand Am and be able to survive. Many big corporations have cut back sponsorships and that has made it difficult for everyone in the racing (and all other!) communities. I am reaching out to everyone and all communities with this program. My idea is to get lots of private and small corporate involvement in my quest. It is pretty simple. I need to get contributions ranging from $100 to $1000 to race next year (and this year if there is enough interest). I cannot afford my own Grand Am car so when I race it is always a different teams car. I am allowed a certain amount of area on the cars depending on how much I contribute to the team. The idea is to get 2-3 large graphics that have "TheTrevorProject.org" with everyone's names (company names, personal names etc) printed within the graphic. I would also use these graphics on my personal race car (amateur series car as Pro cars are way too $$$).

Here is a list of some of the benefits that would come from sponsorship:

• Support for TheTrevorProject.org in front of an international audience on Speed Channel
• Support for the only Out Pro Race Car Driver
• Links from my website (edarlingenterprises.com) to your organization or web page
• Photo and video media from each event
• Exposure at media events I will attend
• $1000+ sponsors will receive tickets to a chosen race in your area

For this to work I will need to reach a financial goal. I would like to launch this program immediately and will have a progress bar on my website and here when I start to receive donations. I really think this can work with all the support I have received in the past! In doing this program I believe I can generate even more media in some of the larger publications and TV media. I just need to get the ball rolling with your help!

The Demographics for this race series is very large and when you include the GLBT demographic it makes my audience one of the largest in Professional sports! Please give me some feedback on this program as I get it started! I also have a paypal link on my website so be sure to contact me if a donation is going to be made thru that so I can forward all the media to you!

Thanks and hopefully more to come soon!

Evan Darling

Updates and Ups and Downs

Well I almost completely finished my move to Florida. I have been going back and forth to NC trying to get all my stuff secure. It has been a difficult few months! I got back from VIR (Virginia International Raceway) 2 weeks ago after racing in the BMW Car Club of America endurance race. We had a great time and finally won! My co-driver, Craig Lippe, did a great job behind the wheel and with strategies. We won by .503 seconds! What a great time! This is coming off the last time I drove it. that was Roebling Road where it was pissing down rain and we won that with the bonus of an overall pole position! The car we were driving is a BMW M3 running in IP ("I" Prepared is a class with limited modifications to the car). I got back to FL and received a call from one of the top Grand Am teams. I needed to come up with some money to get up to VIR again to race in the Grand Am race! Well my fundraising skills are not so good and it was short notice so I tried to the last minute. Didn't make it. I am still pretty depressed about it but there isn't much I can do about it now but try for the next one! Someone please step up and help for Mid-Ohio in June!

I have some great strategies for sponsors and would like to put them out there for discussion. I am and always will try and support non-profits. The Trevor Project has always been very high on my list as it is one of our most important assets as a community. here is their website:

http://thetrevorproject.org/home2.aspx

I believe having info on this organization on my car in front of a televised audience would do a great job getting outlets like this in the mainstream media where it is most needed. Many of these kids are not exposed to GLBT media and have very few options. By getting the word out in front of a predominantly straight oriented market, more people would be reached! Help me make this happen!

On another note before I went to VIR for the BMW race I went to Wellington FL for the first ever Gay Polo League Polo match. Wow what an exciting sport! I had no idea...These guys move fast on these horses and play pretty aggressive! Here is a link to their website:

http://www.gaypolo.com/splash/

I have also tried to contact Ricky Martin about sponsorship or support for me and the Trevor Project but I have not heard back from him or any of his agents. It seems almost impossible to get through to some of these people. Maybe he will see this...never know!

Well that's all for now!