Inaugural Derrike Cope Fan Club Meeting Minutes by Carol Dignazio

Jeff Cope, Bob Cope, Patty & Greg Leizear, and Tony & Carol Dignazio arrived at the track about 5:30pm and parked by the third turn tunnel at Charlotte Motor Speedway to find the location of the Inaugural Meeting of the Derrike Cope Fan Club. As it turned out, the hospitality tent for the meeting was very near to the Media Center and the garage area. We could see the Bahari' hauler from our area.

Busch Grand National qualifying was happening and we could see turn 4 very well. However, it would be tough watching the race from there as you can't see very much.

It was an absolutely lovely evening. The barbeque and other picnic smells filled the air. Other fan club members began to arrive and introductions were the order of the evening. There were so many folks from around the country with NASCAR (in general) and Derrike Cope (in particular) in common. It was more like a family reunion!

Angela Walker arrived with what all of us had been anxiously waiting for -- DERRIKE COPE FAN CLUB T-SHIRTS!!! THANK YOU ANGELA!!! Winston Cup practice was then underway as the t-shirts were distributed. There was a momentary scare when someone lost an engine and a rumor started that it might have been D.C. As the green flag practice resumed, we were relieved to find the #30 Gumout Pontiac was among the practice cars!

When the track grew quiet, a nervous tension built in the hospitality area. Derrike would soon be making his way to the tent. We took a seat as representatives from Jimmy Dean Foods told us all about some exciting promotions coming up from Jimmy Dean Racing. They thanked us for our support and wished us a great evening and racing weekend.

The sun was setting behind the 4th turn grandstands when Derrike arrived. We had a great banner created by Stacey Fischer wishing Derrike good luck and it was signed by all the fan club members present. Derrike entered the hospitality area to a round of applause and told us that he just needed to catch his breath and we would get the evening started. He had been driving both the Kraft and Gumout cars all day so along with the heat, it was exhausting.

The officers of the fan club were re-introduced to Derrike and we got set to chow down on some terrific picnic fare. Derrike ate with the group and eveyone was enjoying a spectacular evening in the infield of Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track lights were on and each time we take a look around, well, it was just a thrill to be there!!!

After dinner, Derrike talked to us for quite a while about the season-to-date, Bahari' Racing, sponsorships, and recaps of some of the more frightening incidents he had been involved in this year. He then opened the floor to a question/answer session. He answered each and every question with great enthusiasm and, looking around the group, the phrase "hanging on every word" comes to mind. He was very entertaining and charming.

Derrike related a wonderful story about he and Renee's adoption of their greyhound "Tigger" and tells us of their cat "Miss Kitty" and their three horses. His love, respect and admiration for his wife was so obvious. She had planned to be with him at the Fan Club Meeting but was helping Todd Bodine's wife with some things. Todd's wife was in labor and during the meeting we found out she had given birth to a baby girl.

After the Q&A session, Derrike announced a special presentation to a fan club member who had spent a great deal of time and effort organizing the trip for everyone. Derrike shocked Patty Leizear when he called upon her to accept a framed limited edition print of his Daytona 500 victory by artist Garry Hill and thanked her for a job well done. THANK YOU PATTY!!!!

Next, Carol Dignazio presented Jeff Cope with a matted picture of Derrike that Derrike and the rest of the fan club members attending the meeting signed. The presentation was made to show our gratitude for his tireless efforts in organizing and maintaining www.derrikecope.com. THANK YOU JEFF!!!

Patty Leizear presented Derrike with a plaque commemorating the night's meeting. "The Inaugural Meeting of the Derrike Cope Fan Club -- May 21-May 24, 1998, Charlotte Motor Speedway, From your loyal fans who are with you always." There is a horseshoe on the plaque and Derrike commented that his horse-loving wife was going to love it.

A presentation of certificates honoring individual fan club members was next on the agenda:

• Fan Club Member who travelled the farthest to the meeting: Spencer Antoniak
• Fan Club Member who has cheered for Derrike the longest: Pete & Terri Farkas, Nellie Kelso, and Patti Serge
• Fan Club Member most devoted to Derrike: Nellie Kelso (for naming her daughter Derrika Renee)
• Fan Club Member to first find the Derrike Cope website: Jeff Gutshall
• Youngest Fan Club Members in attendance: Grayson Wood and Jonathan Clark

Next on the agenda was a raffle of a Gumout jacket, polo shirts, Jimmy Dean hats, and collapsable coolers. Lots of happy faces were seen! Everyone also received a goody bag with a Gumout hat, Gumout key chain, Gumout credentials holder, Gumout/Derrike Cope postcard, and a Bryan Foods pencil.

An auction for the rear fender from Derrike's #30 Gumout Pontiac California car pulled in $330 for the Fan Club treasury for future activites. Wonderful!!! Grayson Wood was the lucky recipient of the sheet metal, and Derrike personalized it for him.

Derrike sat down to sign each and every item that the Fan Club members brought along. Most had their new Fan Club t-shirts signed, along with cars, pictures, hats and other collectibles. Everyone seemed very pleased and he took the time to pose for many pictures.

We took several Fan Club group pictures with Derrike and he thanked us for the umpteenth time. He told us that this was the first Derrike Cope Fan Club meeting ever, and he is truly appreciative of the support shown to him.

This author is thinking that no one was disappointed that evening, and joins the rest of the Derrike Cope Fan Club in wishing Derrike a wonderful and safe racing season.

Good bye from Charlotte Motor Speedway's infield!