Ben Clark

I first met Derrike at a party in 1990. I was never into NASCAR but I was told I had to watch the Daytona 500 that year. We are were all rooting for Derrike because none of us had anything to do with racing before that time. I remember that final lap, watching Derrike go around the fourth turn. The atmosphere around the house was so intense it was awesome.

That same year in March on my birthday I was so in awe that Derrike had given me an autographed shirt and hat. Two years later we moved down to Atlanta and I got lucky enough to run into some tickets for the fall race. We went down to the pits and ran into Derrike and and he remembered my name. That was pretty surprising considering I had not seen him since my birthday.

I have been following him ever since, even when I was in the Navy stationed over in Japan. So good job, and keep up the good work. I am behind you all the way.