UAW/GM Quality 500 Live Report by James Hickey and Rusty Ellis

A cloudy, dreary Friday opened the weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway and a cloudy atmosphere rained on Bobby Allison Motorsports. A spokeswoman for BAM became quite testy when telling fans at the team's open house that DC would not be returning for 1997. "Derrike will not be with us, and we will not discuss a driver or sponsor for next season," she said.

Saturday was an overcast day with clouds looming over CMS and the racing portion of the weekend began with Derrike having a very bad day as he was involved in the lap 43 melee that injured BGN point leader David Green. Derrike was a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for that incident. When the checkered flag fell on the All-Pro Bumper to Bumper 300, the Badcock machine was listed in 37th place.

But as the sun rose over CMS on Sunday, a rainbow appeared on the horizon,......a rainbow of fruit flavors,........the SKITTLES® rainbow. At an infield press conference, Derrike's new ride, the #36 SKITTLES® Pontiac was unveiled. MB Motorsports kingpin Nelson Bowers spoke highly of DC, saying "It was more than a driver we were looking for. It was a privilege to meet and work with Derrike Cope." Derrike called the move "an outstanding opportunity", but had difficulty when asked about leaving Bobby Allison. "Well, it was difficult. It is difficult to leave.....you build relationships." Derrike and the SKITTLES® team could be a major force on the Winston Cup circuit, with not only a major sponsor, but the use of Hendrick Motorsports-built engines. The team will spend the 1997 season based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Derrike then led the media to the brightly colored Grand Prix outside the Winston Media Center and began playing with photographers by lobbing bags of SKITTLES® candy at them. After the bags ran out, Derrike opened a bag and tossed handfuls onto the throng.

As for the UAW-GM 500 itself, Derrike started 36th and as the day wore on, the attrition rate began to rise and DC kept the car out of trouble. It became apparent that this was going to be a good day for the Badcock Thunderbird. One key had to be the pitstops, as his stops were timed at under twenty seconds all day. While Terry Labonte won the race and closed up the points race a great deal, Derrike finished a respectable 18th.