Robert Boisselle

In 1989, while I was President of the Keene (NH) Chamber of Commerce, one of our members was A.W. Whitcomb, Inc. The owner, Bobby Whitcomb, had sold the business and purchased a Winston Cup Team. Of course, I knew Bobby through the Chamber (he was a past Chairman of the Board).

My soon-to-be wife was a huge race fan and had even served on the pit crew of a super sprint car in Central Pennsylvania. I knew little about racing, but I knew Bobby Whitcomb. We were able to watch two races from the Purolator pit thanks to the hot pit passes he gave me. And the garage passes allowed us the opportunity to not only meet Derrike, but to be introduced to other drivers around the garage.

We've been fans of Derrike ever since and have followed him and his career through all of the ups and downs as his sponsors have changed from Purolator to Bojangles to Fingerhut, to Mane 'N Tall, to Skittles to Friendly's et al.

This picture that hangs on the wall in my office is one of my most prized possessions. As you can see, it was personalized and signed for me by both Derrike and Bobby Whitcomb soon after the big win at Daytona. It serves as a constant reminder of some very happy times for my wife and me. That year, Bobby was the guest speaker at the Chamber of Commerce's Annual Dinner, and he brought along a tape of the final laps of the race. What a proud night that was for Keene, NH.

Daytona 500 picture

Two things stick out in my mind from back then. The first is the fact that Derrike was dead set against considering a sponsorship from a beer company because he was afraid it might send the wrong message to his younger fans. The second is the time when my son was a Cub Scout and carved one of those small pinewood derby cars into the shape of a race car. He then painted it red and white and put Purolator decals (taken from a model of the Lumina) on it to make it look like Derrike's car. He won the prize for best looking car and took third overall in the race. Yes, Derrike always has and always will be a great role model for race fans, young and old alike.