Jeff Jansen

It happened up in Michigan in August of 1994. Derrike was released from the Cale Yarborough's Fingerhut (formerly Bojangles) team and was picking up a short term ride with under financed T.W. Taylor (#02 Car). Bobby Allison was struggling with no sponsor and Chuck Bown was out for the season with an injury. Bobby and Derrike hooked up together starting that Michigan weekend.

I was there that day for the first time they qualified together. Everybody knew how much Bobby Allison had struggled and how Derrike had gotten the raw end of the Yarborough deal. After several cars qualified they rolled the "12" machine up pit row with a different color scheme from the usual basic sponsor less black car. It was a beautiful blue and was ready for the "Straight Arrow Mane and Tail" lettering. You could tell the crowd was buzzing and people were wondering who was driving. There was a lot of general talk of not seeing this car ever before and people looking at each other trying to figure it all out.

Pretty soon you could hear the "12" machine fire and roll off and the announcer say " well look here, on the track now we have Bobby Allison's machine with Spanaway, Washington's Derrike Cope at the keyboards." The crowd gave a pretty big roar and anxiously awaited to see what Derrike could do. As Derrike came around, he really seemed to have come up through the gear box and had come to full song. There seemed to be electricity in the air and the crowd really took notice. After he came back to take the checkered flag it was clear he had cut a pretty good lap. There was a long delay as if the track announcer couldn't believe his stopwatch! When he announced the time and speed, the crowd went crazy!! No it did not put him on the pole, but it was good enough for the top 15 and it truly electrified the crowd.

Bobby Allison and Derrike Cope truly were an underdog that weekend but there wasn't a soul in the place who wasn't pulling for them on that qualifying lap. I remember that day well. My brothers will too. You see, it was the first time they had actually seen a tear roll down my cheek...