Daytona 500 Live Report by Angela Walker

I arrived at the track around 1:30 for first round qualifying on Feb. 6th and got my seat in the Winston Tower so I could see all the way around the track. The #30 Gumout car was already out on pit road with a pretty good crowd around it. I saw Derrike speaking with Dale Earnhardt and Bill Elliott before he took his qualifying run.

Soon it was Derrike's turn and he went out onto the track with me cheering him on. He seemed to take a lower line than he has in the past at Daytona. His best lap was 190.617, good enough for 2nd at that point. After his last qualifying lap, I heard Derrike on the scanner saying that the car "got hot" and the temperature was around 245 degrees. He was asking what his time was and I heard a voice respond "47.21, not sure." He said, "I've got the fan running" to cool the car down. A voice replied they'd take the tape off. He again asked for his time. When he climbed from the car and was interviewed, he said, "We've got a shot." I was extremely pleased.

After all the cars had taken their turn, his time put him in 7th place. I think it was an excellent qualifying run for Derrike and Bahari' and I hope that this is a sign of things to come. And what made it even sweeter was he qualified better than the #36! I stayed at the track to watch history being made as Dale Earnhardt ran under the lights at 6:30. What a job Musco did with the lighting! He made the comment that he can't wait until the other cars join him out there. Wouldn't it be something if Derrike wins the Pepsi 400 in July?!

Thursday - Gatorade Twin 125's
It was a beautiful day for racing, in the 70's and not a cloud in the sky. Before the race began, I saw Derrike standing by the #30 smiling and laughing with the crew. "That's a good sign," I thought. Soon, the engines were fired up and the cars started to roll out onto the track. Over the scanner I heard someone telling Derrike, "This is your first ride for Bahari'" and wishing him luck. Derrike said, "Let's get after them."

During the warm up laps, he said they were pulling 3800 RPM in 2nd gear. They had some radio problems but got them fixed. On lap 4, a group of 5 cars started to pull away from the rest of the pack and he was up to 3rd place on the following lap. A voice on the scanner said, "This is where to keep pushing." Derrike was concerned about the #24 falling back and then attempting a pass and a voice replied, "You're doing good."

A caution came out on lap 12 for debris on the backstretch. The crew and Derrike were talking about the restart and he said, "The thing about this track is you gotta' watch him (the #24) going to the bottom and taking people with him." The spotter made a deal with Ken Schrader's spotter that Derrike would go with him on the restart. They were a little concerned over Schrader's start at the drop of the green flag, apparently he lagged back for a bit. They then told Derrike to do whatever he needed to do and "Put your bumper against him (the #33) and push him if you need to."

On lap 18, Derrike was in 7th place but not for long. By lap 20, he was back up into 5th place and into 4th by lap 23. He seemed to like the high line on the track instead of the lower one that would sometimes form. At lap 26, 1st place belonged to #24, 2nd to #33, 3rd to #88, and 4th to Derrike. A voice on the scanner said, "You're doing a hell of a job, just stay in line and you'll be all right. Schrader's playing with him (the #24) to see what kind of run he can get on him at the end of the race."

On lap 29, the lower line was faster and Sterling Marlin got up next to Derrike and almost made contact from what I could hear on MRN. Derrike was told, "Stay with your dancing partners." On lap 31, Derrike was in 5th place and back to 6th on the following lap when a wreck occurred involving Kenny Irwin, Jr. and Dick Trickle. Derrike did not pit during the caution, and was told he was "better off staying out there. Just let the tires cool down a little bit and we'll be ready for them" on the restart.

On lap 35, Derrike was in 4th place. He was asking who pitted for tires. The race went back to green on lap 37 and he was told, "Stay in line and you're gonna' be fine." On lap 40, the caution was out again for a wreck involving Grissom and Pardus. Derrike raced Jimmy Spencer back to the line. The crew told Derrike, "At two to go, go with the #18 to go past the #88." Derrike replied, "Tell him (the #18) I got Spencer on my ass." Derrike then came on the radio asking for someone to check his left rear. He said it felt "a little mushy". Spencer came up along side and checked it out. It was fine. Derrike said, "Tell him 'thanks', must've had something on my tire, it's coming around now."

The green came out on lap 44. Derrike took a low line with the #18, #88, and #40. Derrike was concerned about Spencer lagging behind and contemplating a pass. The crew said Spencer "has a drag in the straightaways and he's faster in the corners." On lap 48, Spencer went low and Derrike was told "Dig with him, let's go, put the block to them." Another wreck occurred on the last lap involving Schrader and Benson.

Derrike was in 6th spot at the drop of the checkered flag. He got on the radio saying, "Sorry, it's my fault, God dang it." The crew said, "It's ok, we'll take fifth." Derrike said again, "Aw, it's my fault. I'm sorry." He said he got shoved and was reassured by the crew that he did a good job and "You did the best you could with those cars all around you." They said they'd go get them on Sunday.

I couldn't tell what had happened and why he lost 5th spot but he was really upset by his finish. I thought he did a great job by staying out of trouble and seemed to be able to keep up with the lead pack throughout the race. I really believe that Derrike's landed on a great team that respects him, and in turn, he respects them, based on the tone of the conversations on the scanner. I left the track feeling extremely pleased and I can't wait for Sunday!