MBNA Platinum 400 Live Report by John Kessler

The "Monster Mile" at Dover provided yet another exciting NASCAR race, the MBNA 400. Unfortunately, Derrike's string of bad luck continued. At the drop of the green flag, Derrike had a fast car, and he was making progress picking off cars going into turn #1. He nailed the #98 and was passing him coming out of turn #2 when the big pile up occurred just ahead of him. Derrike kept the hammer down and drove through the mess without any trouble. After the restart, Derrike passed the #81 without any problem, and I was starting to get a bit optimistic. Could this be another Dover victory? The thought crossed my mind, but there was a long way to go.

After the first pit stop, Derrike came out behind the #94 and the #3. The high point of the race for the #30 may have been passing the #3 as Gordon was approaching in his Dupont rocket. On lap 86, Derrike went down a lap. The caution came out a mere 14 laps later causing me to wonder about that first poor pit-stop. What if? Well, a little while later, Derrike was dealing with loose lug nuts and stop-and-go penalties, so it all became academic. This was to be another bad one, but I could still enjoy the awesome Dover weather and remember better days.

Some personal notes... I saw only one other Derrike fan in the extensive camping areas. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop to chat at the time. The camper was sporting a Purolater banner with "Cope #30" written across it. My friends seemed to enjoy the opportunity to comment on the "two Cope fans" at Dover! My group waited four hours after the race, but still ended up in a traffic snarl on Route 13. Later, we would drive through one of the notorious storms in Pennsylvania that was putting down twisters. It certainly provided an exciting end to another great race day! Question: How is the #3 like a tornado? I'll let you figure out the answer to that one!

The speedway in Dover continues to add more and more seats. It is a beautiful facility that every race fan should try to get to at least once. It is much better than Pocono, and in my opinion, it is just as nice as Charlotte!

Let's hope Derrike can get things working really soon. We know he has the talent. We could use a couple of good breaks. Maybe next time!