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Brickyard 400August 2, 1997
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| "I remember the first time I
competed at Indy," said Derrike Cope. "Exciting is not the word. There was a lot
of people, more than twice what we're use to, and the atmosphere and history behind the
track still make it one of the major races of the year. You can't compare Indy to any
other track -- it's unique in itself." "Indy is a difficult track but I'm confident that the SKITTLES® race team is up to the task," continued Derrike. "Horsepower plays a major role and the SKITTLES® Pontiac has continued to run strong during each race. You need to let up on the throttle to get out of Turns 2 and 4. The corners are more diamond-shaped with short shoots. Basically it's four straight-aways which makes for twice as many corners. A small mistake has a bigger magnitude on this track." "The SKITTLES® Pontiac has been running exceptionally well during the races," said Derrike. "A top-25 qualifying effort at Indy is a must since everybody brings their best stuff and we want to make sure the team has enough time to work on the race set-up." Derrike took the track for first round qualifying as the 41st driver among the 51 drivers entered to qualify. A time of 51.639 and a speed of 174.287 put the SKITTLES® team in the 26th position. At the end of the qualifying, the team was left in 34th position. The team decided to requalify in the second round. In final practice on Friday before second round qualifying, Derrike was fifth fastest with a time of 51.726 and speed of 173.994. In second round qualifying, the team was able to produce a time of 51.458 and speed of 174.9 which at the end of the round was good enough for a starting position in the race of 32nd. It was a short race for the SKITTLES® team. This
is where Derrike was during the race among the 43 cars:
On lap 12, the SKITTLES® Pontiac was exiting pit road at turn 2, slid on the grass, and spun into the wall causing major damage to the entire right side and rear of the car. It turned out to be the same car that the team had also wrecked at Texas. Since the television reporting didn't care enough to interview Derrike to ensure he was okay after the incident, here is the story. After the incident, Derrike explained to the team, "I apologize guys, I just lost it. I was trying to get back up to speed when exiting the pits and keep us on the lead lap." At the end of the race, Derrike was left in 41st position. Because of the unfortunate ending, Derrike dropped two positions to 27th in the point standings. The team's rough ride at Indy may have earned them a Purple Heart. The SKITTLES® car displayed the United States Marines logo on the rear quarter panels, which were damaged in the wreck. Co-owner Tom Beard is sending the 'wounded' panels to his friend John Dalton, who is Secretary of the United States Navy, in hopes that perhaps the car might receive a Purple Heart for being wounded in action.
Dick Scott and Tony Luque were at the race and provided live reports. Dick's Live Report, Tony's Live Report |
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