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TranSouth Financial 400March 23, 1997
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| During the 1995 TranSouth Financial
400, Derrike finished fifth at the track "too tough to tame." "Darlington
is a place I've had a lot of success," said Derrike who has had three top-10 finishes
at the raceway. "I've run exceptionally well there and feel it's a place where we can
turn some things around for the SKITTLES® Race Team. Previously, I seemed to know what
the car needed at this track -- it's all about finding the compromise of the car, whether
it be a Ford, Chevy, or Pontiac," Derrike continued. "We know we have certain
deficiencies but it's a matter of applying ourselves, making the right choices and getting
off to a good start at Darlington." "We are finding out what this SKITTLES® Pontiac wants in life," said Derrike. "The key to our success is not to panic during practice and qualifying and, then not to make adjustments to the car too quickly. I'm confident this team can come up with a good combination and be very successful at Darlington." In support of Rick Hendrick and his fight for leukemia, the #36 SKITTLES® Pontiac bears the 1-800-MARROW2 hot line number. In addition, the entire team has signed up to join the National Bone Marrow Donor Program and will participate in its drive on March 25. The TranSouth Financial 400 is the first race on the track "too tough to tame" for the SKITTLES® team. The team did well to qualify for the race in the first round with a starting position of 25th to give them more time to work on the race setup. Before the 293 lap race, Derrike commented to the ESPN viewers that he might fall off a little quicker than other cars on the longer runs, but is looking for a productive day to turn things around for the year. The team pitted on the backstretch. This is where Derrike was during the race:
Derrike finished the race in 20th position, 1 lap down.
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