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Mason Williams back with SWB RailRiders, undeterred after being DFA’d

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Mele’s Musings: Blackout brought out worst and best in New Yorkers in 1977

<p>The car that kept conking out on him is finally ready to roar.</p><p>But Darryl Danko isn&#8217;t.</p><p>The former course record holder who has won more than anyone in the history of the event won&#8217;t be running in this weekend&#8217;s Giants Despair Hillclimb after suffering a torn muscle in his upper torso.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s off for four to six weeks,&#8221; said his father, Jack Danko Sr., the Giants Despair committee chairman. &#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you how disappointed he is.&#8221;</p><p>Especially since Darryl Danko, 47, appeared primed to make more noise on his home course.</p><p>Driving a Lola TB900, he set the course record with a fastest run of 39 seconds in 2006, then broke it again the next year by zooming up the Northampton Street course in Laurel Run in a time of 38.36.</p><p>It was part of a fascinating journey that took Darryl Danko to five consecutive Giants Despair victories from 2005 through 2009, and when he won twice more in 2010 and 2011, he boosted his total to seven overall Giants Despair victories that still stands as the all-time course mark.</p><p>Then John Burke showed up.</p><p>Revving his 1997 Reynard Champ Car that came straight off the IndyCar circuit, Burke sped in from his native New Jersey in 2013 and won the past four Giants Despair Hillclimbs.</p><p>He became the new king of the hill by breaking Darryl Danko&#8217;s mark with a run of 38.024 seconds in 2014 and appears primed for a fifth straight Giants Despair title this weekend, when drivers attempt to conquer the mile-long Northampton Street course from approximately 9 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.</p><p>To make up some ground, Darryl Danko exchanged his Lola for an IndyCar of his own, firing up a Reynard in the 2014 Giants Despair.</p><p>It backfired badly.</p><p>Balky boost lines on the Reynard forced Danko to abort his second attempt of 2014 and limited him to three tries that year &#8212; the last two which had the car wheezing up the hill.</p><p>The Giants Despair didn&#8217;t get much better from there for Danko and his Reynard.</p><p>He made one attempt in 2015 before mechanical trouble shut the car down for the weekend. And last year, Danko&#8217;s Reynard didn&#8217;t even make it off the starting blocks when a faulty clutch stopped him from competing at all.</p><p>This time, though, the car seemed peaked for high performance on the hill. But physically, Darryl Danko wasn&#8217;t.</p><p>&#8220;We have a really fast car, a Reynard like his (Burke&#8217;s),&#8221; Jack Danko Sr. said. &#8220;We just got it all straightened out. We were hoping to take the record back this year. Now he (Darryl) tore a muscle and can&#8217;t make it.</p><p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s like when your baseball team loses. There&#8217;s always next year.&#8221;</p><p>Still, this year promises a banner weekend for the Giants Despair Hillclimb.</p><p>Jack Danko Sr., who will once again drive his English Roadster in the race, said a record field of 112 drivers are entered for this weekend&#8217;s competition.</p><p>&#8220;The cut-off is supposed to be 100,&#8221; Jack Danko Sr. said, &#8220;but we hate to turn anyone away.&#8221;</p><p>Even without Darryl Danko&#8217;s presence, there&#8217;s still some intrigue hanging over the weekend.</p><p>Since setting the single-run speed record in 2014, Burke has been trying to break his own mark &#8212; and came pretty close last year.</p><p>His son, Connor Burke, is closing in pretty fast. He finished second overall to his dad last year while using a 24-hour Riley &amp; Scott LeMans car &#8212; an odd choice for a hillclimb. According to the Burkes&#8217; crew chief Kenneth Company, Connor Burke has returned to the Swift he used at Giants Despair in 2014 and 2015 and should be better equipped to challenge John Burke for the title.</p><p>That should add at least a little suspense to a weekend John Burke seems to dominate on a yearly basis, almost making the Giants Despair crown seem like a given.</p><p>&#8220;It does,&#8221; Jack Danko Sr. said. &#8220;That&#8217;s why I didn&#8217;t like the Yankees way back because they kept winning. And I still don&#8217;t like them. You&#8217;re always rooting for somebody else to take over.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">For the third straight year, Billy Feist is expected to drive the Corvette that honors his friend, former Wilkes-Barre resident Donnie Bachman, in the Giants Despair Hillclim. Bachman was the victim of an unsolved murder before realizing his dream of driving the Corvette in the Giants Despair race. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_bachmanracecar02.jpg</photo0><caption0>For the third straight year, Billy Feist is expected to drive the Corvette that honors his friend, former Wilkes-Barre resident Donnie Bachman, in the Giants Despair Hillclim. Bachman was the victim of an unsolved murder before realizing his dream of driving the Corvette in the Giants Despair race. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_gd1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">John Burke has won four consecutive Giants Despair Hillclimbs and appears primed for a fifth straight victory in his &#8216;97 Reynard IndyCar. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/web1_gd1.jpg</photo1><caption1>John Burke has won four consecutive Giants Despair Hillclimbs and appears primed for a fifth straight victory in his &#8216;97 Reynard IndyCar. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis file photo | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Giants Despair record holder Danko out with injury</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Without Darryl Danko, John Burke has clear path to top of Giants Despair