Checker Auto Parts 500

November 12, 2006
 Phoenix, AZ

Derrike will be driving the #74 Dodge at Phoenix. Derrike told us about the upcoming weekend. He said, "After a poor weekend in Texas we will try and rebound at Phoenix this Friday in qualifying. Certainly this will be another difficult field to make. There are 51 entries and a past champion taking a spot. We will have to find the speed that we have lacked in the past few weeks. It is difficult to analyze where the deficiencies lie. We have been going faster than the prior races in qualifying, but the competition has gone faster. I hope that we can get a handle on this racetrack this time around. We have failed here in the past. I really enjoy this track, so I am hoping we can find the speed necessary to get in. Next year will be just like this with this kind of competition, and probably this or more entries at each race. So we will work as hard as we can to get better and continue to look for sponsorship that will enable us to elevate our game. We know we can do it because we were productive earlier in the year. That is what money, people, and testing can do!"

In the first practice, Derrike was 51st fastest with a time of 28.113 with speed of 128.055.

In Qualifying, Derrike produced a lap of 27.935 and speed of 128.871. This was only good enough for 50th position which meant the #74 Dodge did not make the show.

Derrike updated us by saying, "It is unfortunate but we have failed to qualify for this weekend's race. We were not very good off the truck. We had a few issues and lost some track time that could have helped, but that is the way it is. We missed the race by 4 tenths of a second. All I can say is that we will have to go to Homestead and try and right the ship. We have struggled as of late to find what it takes to make these races. We will get one more shot at it this year and try and get some direction for next year. I will let you know if I will be driving the Busch car next week as well."