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Goody's Headache Powder 500August 22, 1998
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(Aug. 19, 1998) -- Believe it or not, the truck driver for the Gumout Racing team was ready for the brutal, non-stop, 16-weekend stretch to conclude the NASCAR Winston Cup season. David Smith, on the job three months after moving over from the same duties for Busch Series driver Mark Krogh, was prepped by the Grand National Division's nine consecutive weekend binge to start the season. Jokes Smith, "If I had to work for a living I wouldn't mind doing this." "When I came on with this team there was one break, not counting the smokeout at Daytona," Smith said. "Basically, this whole summer has been nonstop for me." And Smith says he's already beyond the toughest stretch. That began when he and a co-driver trucked across country for the road course race in Sonoma, Calif. The roundtrip journey took six days, ending back at the team's shop in Mooresville, N.C., for a one-night stop-and-reload. Then they headed to Daytona for the Pepsi 400 which was eventually postponed due to the Florida wildfires and followed that with a trip up to New Hampshire for the race in Loudon. Total mileage? Some 9,500 miles. No wonder this Saturday's Goody's Headache Powder 500 at Bristol, Tenn., is viewed as an easy trip by Smith. He'll embark for a NASCAR 50th anniversary parade in Bristol by noon Thursday, get a good night's rest and be at the track by 6 a.m. Friday. He should get back to the team's shop in order to unload the hauler by 3 a.m. Sunday morning and have half the day off. He's really looking forward to the 2,000-mile roundtrip to Loudon. That will give him a chance to visit with his four children who still reside near there. "Because the Busch Series ran up there earlier this year, I've been able to go home three times this year," Smith said. "But there are no more weekends off now. The rest of the time the only way I can visit with them is by phone." The owner of a moving and storage company in Lebanon, N.H., Smith couldn't resist taking a stab at his long-time dream of working for a Winston Cup team. A veteran driver of the modified and pro stock scene in the Northeast, Smith landed his second job through racing connections tied to Krogh. A year later, he's in stock car's major leagues. Smith says the biggest challenge on the job doesn't come with the frustrating breakdowns or blowouts on the highway while trying to stay on a tight schedule. "It's learning how to be beneficial to the mechanics as far as supporting them," Smith said. "They do so much in one day it would blow most people's minds. You have to make sure to get them the right equipment. You've got to be a step ahead of them." In many ways, Smith has the same challenge as the driver of the Gumout Pontiac, Derrike Cope. "You have to handle your vehicle properly," Smith said. "Getting everything back in one piece. That's your reward."
In first round qualifying, Derrike took the track as the 37th of 47 drivers and produced a time of 15.663 and speed of 122.505. This put Derrike in 15th position at the time. At the end of the round, the Gumout Pontiac was left in 20th position. This was good enough to make the top 25 and to let the team pit on the frontstretch.
Derrike started the race in 20th. This is where he was during the race among 43 drivers:
Derrike finished the race in 36th position, 147 laps down. Derrike kept going down many laps at the end so I'm guessing they had to pull it in the garage before the end of the race.
Robert Retzler was at the race and provided a live report. Robert's Live Report |
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