Sears DieHard 500 Live Report by Pam Wood

We were at qualifying at the track. The SKITTLES® crew brought out the car early on, but Derrike wasn't around. Ernie Irvan spent more of his time talking to the SKITTLES® crew than he did his own. Derrike came out about 15 minutes before his run. He signed some autographs then came out by the car.

He had a great run; he had been running 5th all day in practice. His first lap he qualified 10th then really picked it up on the second. He said that on turn three he started to run hot and knew he couldn't get all out of the car that he wanted. He said the car sat on pit road idling too long and was taped up and didn't get enough air. His run was beautiful though. The track became shaded after that which proved to be a disadvantage for those who followed.

My son Grayson and I went to the SKITTLES® trailer and picked up some new stuff, even though it was SKITTLES®, it also had Derrike's name which was what counted. They had a great poster of Derrike and some really cool hats and shirts. We wanted to be well decked out for the race.

Saturday we went to the SKITTLES® simulator car that was in Coosa, AL. The guy who I believe his name is Stan has been with Derrike since his Bojangles days. He told us that they had taken three cars to the wind tunnel and the one that Derrike drove was really a short track car. They took the skins from that car and placed it on the speedway car. He told us that the simulator car had been one that belonged to Kyle Petty last year and had been raced once. It was bought this year and the SKITTLES® colors placed on it. He told us that Derrike was excited about the move. He said that the crew this year would never listen to Derrike when he requested a change or gave advice. He said Derrike really knows the cars and knows what is right for it but the team wanted to be in control and not heed his advice. He also said the rumors that the SKITTLES® car will be a Ford next year are false, that the car is in fact a Hendricks vehicle and will not change.

Race day was great, more pleasant than a typical Talladega day at the track. Derrike really looked great even with body damage from the first brush. He was drafting Earnhardt and came right back up into the top 10. He continued on strong and was drafting Gordon around turn two just before the BIG wreck. He continued to pull on up and still was progressing until he got out of the draft of the other cars, but at this time there were alot of the wrecked cars re-entering the field.

He would have definitely had a top 10 finish and I really am convinced he would have been in the top 5 if not for the last wreck. You have to keep in mind that several of the top ten cars were in fact at the back of the pack all day and did not at times have the speed to keep up with the lead pack. Kyle Petty's car had been slow all day and he finished seventh. Just shear luck.