Cody Darrah will run family-owned deal full time with the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2015

Cody Darrah

Cody Darrah, winner of seven World of Outlaws races in his career, will run a family-owned car with the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2015. (Paul Chaplin | pchaplin@pennlive.com)

Sponsorship in Sprint Car racing is a dicey proposition. Even if you are a high-profile team, there are no guarantees.

Kasey Kahne Racing has felt the bite. And in turn, so has up-and-coming World of Outlaws regular Cody Darrah.

In an interview with PennLive at the end of January, KKR spokesman Justin Adams announced that Darrah -- a teammate of Daryn Pittman and Brad Sweet -- would run a part-time World of Outlaws schedule in 2015.

Now, it looks like Darrah will be going in a different direction as the 2015 racing season gets ready to kick into full swing.

Darrah will not be with KKR this season. Instead, the Red Lion driver will compete in a family-owned car with Tony Stewart's All Star Circuit Champions full time. World of Outlaws and other high-profile shows will also be on the schedule when the series is off.

"Cody didn't know how many races he was going to run or where," said Joe Darrah, who is purchasing equipment from KKR for this season.

"Doing this, we can keep him racing good races against good guys in basically the same fomat. We really think the All Stars are going in a good direction for the future."

This was not a performance-based move. According to Adams, it all came down to dollars and cents.

"We just don't have any sponsorship dollars, and we aren't going to get any," Adams said. "We figured it was as good a time as any for Cody to do some other things. We didn't want to hold him down.

"If something comes up, we would like him to drive for us. This just allows him to go after some other opportunities."

Darrah, 25, had one of his best seasons with the organization a year ago. He notched two wins for the second straight year, had 17 top five finishes and was in the top 10 a career-best 44 times in just under 90 races.

In four seasons, Darrah, who missed 2010 due to a broken leg, finished in the top 10 in points each year. He was seventh the last three seasons.

The original plan was to keep Darrah with a full-time WoO team, but sponsorship woes over the off-season have led to what could be a temporary split.

"The sponsorship money for this year never showed up, and some fell through," Adams said. "That's where we are at. If sponsorship comes through, we would be happy to have Cody back next season."

Daryn Pittman, the 2013 World of Outlaws champion, remains as the lone fully-funded team at KKR. Brad Sweet recently acquired a part-time sponsor -- it will be announced next week at Las Vegas -- to go along with Ollie's Bargain Outlet.

Still, there is more work to be done. KKR officials continue to look for sponsorship to field three teams.

As for Darrah, Adams still believes in his talent. And he thinks the young driver is going to be a fixture for years to come.

"I think he is at a tipping point," Adams said. "If he figures some things out, he is going to be really good.

"The Cody I know is the one that will be with the World of Outlaws. He is a good kid, and we think the world of him. I think he will do just fine.

"He doesn't deserve the beating he takes through social media. People forget his age and what people with similar chances have done. He has a lot of ability and is going to be good."

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