Darrell Russell

Competitors in Top Alcohol Dragster and Funny Car during this weekend's O'Reilly Fall Nationals presented by Castrol at the Texas Motorplex will be eligible for the Darrell Russell Memorial Low ET Challenge. The award will be presented on behalf of avid Top Alcohol fan David Smith and Darrell's brother, Chris Russell. The award is sponsored by DarrellRussell.com.

The award is in memory of Darrell Russell, who won four Division 4 Championships while competing in Top Alcohol Dragster during the '90s. He made the move to Top Fuel in 2001, NHRA's premiere class, winning his first event and earned the Rookie of the Year honors. He went on to win five more national events before he was tragically killed in an accident this year at St. Louis.

Smith chose the Dallas event since Russell was a Texas native, and very proud of it.

"We started doing the low e.t. award this year at select events since the low qualifier money was pulled this year for the alcohol cars," explained Smith. "For the Dallas race, we decided to honor Darrell's memory with the award at a Texas race. If you ever watched Darrell, whether racing or back in the pit signing autographs, it didn't take long to figure out he was from Texas."

Chris, who served as Darrell's crew chief when they raced the alcohol ranks, added, "This all still hurts pretty bad but it helps when guys like David do things like this to honor Darrell. This award would have meant a lot to Darrell because he always loved the people in the alcohol ranks, and of course he loved being low qualifier at the races just as much. My family wants thank everyone who keeps Darrell's memory alive, we really appreciate it."

The award will be given to the quickest elapsed time by a Blown Alcohol Dragster, A/Fuel Dragster, and Top Alcohol Funny Car at the conclusion of qualifying on Saturday. Winners will receive a plaque and $250.

A website has been established at DarrellRussell.com where Darrell Russell memorabilia such as t-shirts, decals and more can be purchased. All proceeds go towards the Darrell Russell Memorial Fund which exclusively helps Darrell's wife, Julie. Additional donations may be sent to Darrell Russell Memorial Fund, Partners Bank of Texas, P.O. Box 60369, Houston, TX 77205; phone (281) 964-3000.