Pennsylvania 500

July 23, 2006
Long Pond, PA

Derrike informed us, "We are headed back to Pocono! I am hoping for a better result than last time. We are taking the same car back with a few changes. I am hoping that we can get qualified because I really love to race at this track and have had some great runs going there. I know the amount of emphasis that is put on this particular race being that it is in McGlynn Racing's backyard. I know how disappointed we all were the last time we were here. We will be ready tomorrow to get at it. I will update you after qualifying to inform you of how things went."

In the first practice, Derrike was 44th fastest with a time of 55.556 and speed of 161.999. After practice, Derrike said, "With practice over we find ourselves on the outside looking in by one spot. We kind of struggled with a loose car and trying to find some grip. We were 44th fastest and about 3 tenths of a second off the pace necessary. We made a few changes and we have a late draw so I'm am hoping to cut a great lap and get us in this thing!"

In Qualifying, Derrike did his fastest lap of 54.988 with speed of 163.672. Unfortunately at the end of the round, this put the car in the 45th position and was not fast enough to make the show.

Derrike updated us by saying, "As I am sure you all know by now, we did not qualify for the race. We were not very good from the start! We unloaded off the truck and our first laps on the track provided us with a loose race car that we could never really get the necessary grip to find the speed to match our competition. We are about two tenths of a second from really putting ourselves in a position again to make races. We are going to have to take a step back and regroup. We need to get one of our Dodge Chargers ready and try to take a more balanced race car to the track. Without the opportunity to test anywhere, we have become a bit stagnate and do not seem to be getting what we need to go fast enough. We are not bad, just not quite good enough. These other teams have the resources to strive to get better each week and we are falling behind. Hopefully we can respond quickly. From my last discussions with my car owner Ray McGlynn, it may be that we do not go to Indy. I will update you when I know more."