Army Of Darkness Wins Overall WERA Endurance Four-Hour Race at Barber Motorsports Park, Clinching 25th National Championship

Army Of Darkness Riders Taylor Knapp, Gabriel Da Silva, and Chuck Ivey used Dunlop tires to good effect, winning the October WERA Endurance four-hour race at Barber Motorsports Park by over seven laps. Taylor seized the lead from the green flag and laid down a relentlessly fast pace. Backed up by the flawless pit stops of the AOD crew, Gabriel and Chuck continued to lap faster than any other team all the way to the checkered flag.

The victory was AOD’s 10th win in a row, marking a winning streak that has now extended across three seasons and seeing them clinch both the 2026 Overall and Heavyweight Endurance championships.

Crew Chief Tim Gooding breathed a sigh of relief and observed: “I’m always worried that we missed something – some part that is about to wear out, a fastener that broke its safety wire yearning to be free – but fortunately we keep finding the issue that would cost us the race BEFORE we take the start rather than chasing after it under a green flag.”

Taylor commented: “The bike looks unusual and it does take a little bit of getting used to but, at the end of the day, it’s really good. The data said I was leaning it to 57 degrees and was spending 6.6 seconds a lap past 54 degrees. And that’s on the hardest tires Dunlop has to offer!”

Gabriel Da Silva noted: “Captain Sam had said that endurance racing is about being able to go fast at the end of the stint. I didn’t really appreciate what that meant until the pit board is telling you there are 30 minutes left in your stint and it’s 100 degrees F! This crew puts in so much effort that it gives us the confidence to ride hard, and I had to redouble my physical training to be able to push for that last fifteen minutes of each stint.”

Chuck Ivey reminisced: “I remember going to the racetrack as a novice and seeing the skull and cross pistons and the Army Of Darkness T-shirt and thinking, “Who are these guys?” Over the years we became friends and I was so happy to join them in their championship defense this year. They really aren’t that dark. We go get ice cream if we win the race. ’Only winners get ice cream’ is as dark as they get.”

AOD is sponsored by Dunlop Tires, Hindle, Stick Boy Racing, Vortex, Thermosman, Champ School, Woodcraft, Industry 13, WERA, and Roadracing World.