Jo and Tom Underhill

One day we sat down and found this NASCAR race and started to watch it. When they were introducing the starting lineup, they introduced Derrike from Spanaway, WA (driving the Purolator car). We live about 30 miles from there. I told Tom, "That's a homeboy so I'm going to root for him." That's how it began.

We are devoted to Derrike through the good and the bad times. Seems like he has had a run of "bad times", but we know that he's a winner and can't wait for him to turn it all around to victory.

One day my husband saw a program with Derrike and Renee being interviewed. I was at work so Tom quickly put in a tape and recorded it for me. Would you believe that in Tom's haste he grabbed a video tape of our wedding and recorded the program on it? (Good thing we have two tapes of our wedding). I was kind of upset, but since it was of Derrike and Renee I didn't feel sooooo bad.

I saw Derrike race one time at a little track in Washington (Tenino). He was racing in one of his cousin Ernie's cars. I didn't get to meet him. I had accepted the fact that our life circumstance is such that we'd probably NEVER get to go to a "real" NASCAR race and meet Derrike 'till we retired. Well, a miracle has happened. My boss is sending me to Atlanta for a class Oct. 6-8. As luck would have it, October 11 is Taladega. I called and got tickets immediately. Since all of you fans have written how nice and cordial Derrike is, I'm determined to meet him. I'll certainly update this fan profile when I get back. I'm going to need some tips on the "do's" and "don'ts" since we've never been to a real race. I'll write up my questions on the "Forum" page of the Derrike Cope Fan Club website.