ACDelco 400

October 26, 1997
Rockingham, NC

At the oval track in Rockingham, Derrike has posted six top-15 finishes, including two eighth-place finishes. Having run strong in the past several races despite numerous miscues, the SKITTLES® team remains optimistic about their chances at Rockingham.

"The SKITTLES® team has been putting together some really strong race cars and we've been able to move to the front," said Derrike Cope, who finished 18th during the DieHard 500 in Talladega despite getting involved in two incidents including "The Wreck" that involved some 23 cars.

With five top-10 qualifying efforts on the intermediate speedway, Derrike has found the right formula for qualifying and, along with the successful qualifying combination of late, Derrike could easily find himself taking the green flag from the front.

In the last two races, Derrike Cope has found himself starting the SKITTLES® Pontiac in the 13th and fifth positions. Most recently, his fifth-place qualifying effort at Talladega was the SKITTLES® team's best start of the season. His best start at Rockingham was in 1994, when he started fourth for the ACDelco 500.

"We have taken the information we learned from the first race at a track and applied it toward the second," said Ryan Pemberton, crew chief for the No. 36 SKITTLES® team. "I think it shows from our recent qualifying success and strong runs that we have been able to capitalize on our previous experiences."

In first round qualifying, Derrike Cope came on the track as the 27th of 47 cars and produced a time of 23.589 and speed of 155.208. This was good enough at that time for 8th position. At the end of the first round, the SKITTLES® Pontiac was left in 14th position where Derrike will start the race.

After a day delay because of rain, this is where Derrike was during the race among the 43 cars after starting 14th:

• 20th position - lap 38 of 393
• 27th - lap 62
• 18th - lap 146
• 23rd - lap 209
• 18th - lap 278 (after pit stops during a caution)
• 19th - lap 352 (after green flag pit stops)

Derrike finished the race in 20th, 2 laps down. The finish enabled Derrike to move up in the point standings to 27th.

Patti Serge was planning on being at the race and providing a live report later, so be sure to check back.