   |
Pepsi 400 Live Reportby Helen Cope |
My husband Glenn and I arrived in Daytona around 12:00 noon to be sure we got a parking spot as close to the speedway as possible. We did find a spot behind the Hampton Inn which wasn't too bad. It was FREE!
The weather was sunny and breezy in the high 70's. After lunch, we visited a race shop. When he found out who we were interested in, he did make the comment that Derrike was good in speaking to the public. We didn't find anything there that we didn't already have.
We then went to K-Mart and bought the #30 Gold Car(s). Merry Christmas to Jeff and Bob! (Editors note: Thanks Mom.) Actually, they still had more.
After a short rest and more shopping, we went to the track. We arrived at our seats in the Depalma section which is across from where they enter the pits. The first thing we noticed was that there were new aluminum bleacher seats - the rest was the old wood.
They have added a large screen TV to the left of the top 10 sign which was another nice addition. We arrived just in time for the replay of Derrike's win in 1990 at the Daytona 500. This was around 5:00pm.
One other thing we noticed was that they added some type of a covered area with seats and dinner tables on the north side of the infield so we are no longer able to see what is happening on turn 3.
Shortly after 6:30pm, they began to cover the cars lined up in pit road which was a clue of what was to come. The rain lasted a short time as the strong breezes blew it away.
There was a fly over and a tease of the fireworks that were going to come later. When the drivers were introduced, there were the usual cheers and boos.
We noticed immediately that the American flag was not lit - we could not believe it and plan to write to the speedway about it.
Jeb Bush, the candidate for Florida Governor, was the person to give the command. He was the Grand Marshal. Flash cameras were evident all the way around the track.
We turned on the scanner - ready to do our job. For some reason it wasn't set quite right but after assistance from our friend Butch, we were ready. Derrike was having trouble hearing the spotter and the pits but within a few minutes, that was cleared up before green. Green the second time around and everyone was told to key your mike and that will help.
They told Derrike that they will be there with him 100% and that the pit area was quite a ways down pit road. They wished him good luck and be ready. The race started.
| Lap | Position | Comments |
| 5 | 7 | "Drive Away" |
| 7 | 6 | Derrike - "Rain on the back stretch" |
| 9 | 5 | "Get stuff covered up - it's sprinkling." |
| 11 | 6 | "Stopped sprinkling" |
| 12 | 8 | Caution. Derrike - "Car isn't too bad. They're pushin' and shovin'." Pit - "Stay out unless everyone in front of you pits. Keep her lined up and we'll race them in the end." |
| 13 | 8 | They told Derrike that 3, 2, and 31 were lining up to get away so be prepared - going green next time. |
| 15 | 8 | "3 wide on the back straight away - help is behind." |
| 17 | 8 | "Hang on - hold that line" |
| 19 | 8 | "Stick with 24 - clear all around" |
| 20 | 8 | "Group is quicker - you'll catch them" |
| 22 | 8 | "Great job - keep following 24" |
| 24 | 8 | "Get comfortable - you'll be okay" |
| 29 | 8 | "Give me the temperature when you can." Derrike - "A little over 200." "Good" |
| 30 | 8 | "Hang in there - keep digging" |
| 32 | 8 | "Bad accident on turn 2 - caution" |
| 33 | 8 | "Going to put on 4 tires when in the pits" |
| 37 | "Green next time - 122 laps to go" | |
| 38 | "Plenty of time to get back up there" | |
| 43 | "Good job - stay right in line. You're catching up to time - real fast!" | |
| 47 | "Hang in there - it will sort out" | |
| 54 | "Clear low - if you want to." He did. | |
| 57 | Derrike - "It's really loose." "Hang with it" | |
| 58 | "Be patient. You're fast enough to get back in there. You'll catch back up." | |
| 61 | Derrike - "Water on my windshield" | |
| 63 | "Tire down - right side tire down" | |
| 64 | "Kenny Wallace went up into me" | |
| 65 | "Can't see out the windshield" | |
| 66 | "Derrike, do you believe this?" | |
| 67 | "Take your time and we'll fix it right." | |
| 68 | "Taking 2 tires - roll it easy (from pit)" | |
| 69 | "Take your time and fix it right." Derrike - "Track bar is broke." "Come back in the pits." | |
| 75 | Derrike - "Put it back down and I'll go back out and see." | |
| 77 | Derrike - "Something still wrong. Shall I go back to the same spot?" | |
| 80 | Back out | |
| 81 | "It's locked. Coming back in - to our garage?" | |
| 83 | There was big time confusion as to where they wanted him to go. | |
| 84 | "Where is the crash car? We are already down 17 or 18 laps." | |
| 85 | Derrike - "Might want to save it for next year. Let's park it." |
After this, we lost all enthusiasm in the race and turned the scanner off. The most exciting thing after that was when they stopped the race for rain and they parked all of the cars directly across from us and all the drivers got out and visited among themselves.
After the race, they had the fireworks but we didn't stay because of the long drive home. We got out of our parking spot in good order - after jumping the curb as all of the roads were blocked with cars. We arrived home at 2:30am.
Observations - The security at the fence line was very poor with people constantly at the fence line - sticking hands through, etc. We had a mercury street light in front of our section of the bleachers - about 6 feet from the track and a man climbed up it to touch the light itself. There was absolutely no security in sight and no one said anything to him.
In the past Pepsi 400 races, the fans have an afternoon to drink. Now under the lights, they have all day and all night! Will stay home to watch it next year (said that last year).
Top