Russell Points

During his Winston West days, my wife Cathy and I had a catering business (roach coach) in Tacoma and Spanaway and my wife delivered lunch (he survived) to Derrike and the crew at Cope Brothers engines in Spanaway while he was building those Ford engines that took him to rookie of the year in Winston West and almost the title. Cathy told me what a genuinely nice person Derrike was then.

Our greatest joy (besides our sons' births) was listening to Derrike's Daytona win in 1990 live on the radio. Yes the radio, as our local affiliate in Seattle chose to broadcast a Sonics game instead. I still wish I could have been with the family and friends in Centralia, WA at a motel to watch it live.

I have watched every race since then and rooted through thick and thin for Derrike. We had the opportunity to meet him after his 1990 Daytona win in person locally here in Spanaway and was pleased to find him every bit as genuine and unassuming as my wife had said. He was a great hit with my sons, who were quite young at the time (they both still have their autographed pictures which they treasure).

Having grown up around stock car racing during the 70's in Eugene, Ore. with my brother David points racing against several competitors like Don Harper and using Cope Brothers engines, I admit to having some preconceived notions about these "rich folk". Nothing could be further from the truth.

I have yet to get the chance to watch Derrike live in Winston Cup but from reading many of the fans letters on this web page, I hope to rectify that soon. Although my marriage didn't stand the test of time, my loyalty to Derrike has. I hope to soon find time from my job at Boeing and being a single parent to two teenage boys (the youngest is a catcher just like Derrike and Dad) to get to one of the races out west.

Well this has lasted longer than I thought but I wanted to share my memories and thoughts of Derrike with other fans. Thanks and good luck Derrike in "98".