Dura Lube/Kmart 500 Live Report by Chuck McCoy

Saturday 11:00am

My wife Theresa and I arrived at the track, excited about the news of possibly meeting Derrike that night at a party. My type of work does have great benefits at times, allowing us to have Suite tickets for the Saturday truck race and the Cup race the next day. In looking through the concessions we scored on some 1/64 scale collectibles (like I need more) and a rare find! A Derrike Cope T-shirt! It was located in the Waltrip trailer. Wanted a white one, as the Arizona sun can be brutal on black clothes, but extra small or extra, extra, extra large didn't fit my needs, so the black one did well. Nice looking! We left a little early, as the motel we were in was not the same as Derrike's, mostly for monetary reasons! :-)

Saturday 6:00pm

We arrived at the Plaza and my nerves were a little shaky, so we dropped into the little bar in the motel. Nothing a little margarita couldn't cure! hic... Anyway, at 6:30 the doors opened to the area for the corporate employees and honored guests to arrive. Finding that word was left at the door about Theresa and I attending, we were given name tags and allowed entry. I immediately hunted down Jim Garrick, Director of Motorsports, who made this all possible. Upon finding him, we embarked on a who's who mission, of which I met corporate leaders like Tim McClearin & James Gilmore (of State Fair), along with Chuck Rider and his wife Carolyn.

Saturday 7:00pm

We soon sat down and without stating the obvious, dealing with "Food People", we sat down to a delicious dinner. Derrike entered slightly earlier and was sitting next to the podium. At our table, we were joined by select employees, brokers, and the such from Kansas City. This was incredible to me as my roots are in Missouri. We all hit it off well. FOX sports was there with a camera crew to interview Derrike, regarding the trials and tribulations of racing, and how the partnerships operate with the drivers and corporate sponsors. Hopefully someone caught this on Sunday night. I would have told someone sooner, but I don't own a laptop!

Saturday 8:00pm

Derrike hit the podium, and as always gave a professional speech. Us leaving the track early to catch this event, it was then we found out about the altercation between Derrike and DW during practice. I said things like shoot and darn under my breath (yeah right!). He too was upset as the car he would be driving, never had a chance to turn a lap at Phoenix that weekend. I guess its not good to hope for "yellow flags" but you have to tweak the car somehow. Shortly after the speech, Derrike was called back to the podium for a surprise. The doors to the kitchen were opened and out wheeled a large cake. Derrike received a new racing jacket (I would kill for) and a new briefcase. It was obvious he was surprised.

Saturday 9:15pm

The event was pretty much adjourned and the crowd started dwindling. That's when Theresa and I approached Derrike. His Daytona ring was shining bright! We introduced ourselves, and tried not to babble, as obviously he cant remember prior meetings with everyone. I then asked about his crew chief. Rumor was right, that they had found a new one, but the official announcement wouldn't be until next week. darn....wanted an exclusive! As far as sponsorship he pretty much indicated the room decor spoke for itself. Upon wishing him all the luck, we excused ourselves and returned to our new friends at the table. They weren't done for the evening and we then left back to the little bar at the Motel. Theresa and I left at about 11:00 and rumor has it they closed the place ... and then some!

Sunday 6:45am

Still wasn't enough time to see Derrike and get pictures in Corporate Village. They told us we just missed him. My poor wife had to listen to me grumble for about an hour! :-( Oh well, it was a nice day, the race was yet to start and the sun was out.....uh, at that time anyway.

Sunday 12:00pm Race Time

As usual, the first time around the track with all the engines lit, sends goose bumps down my spine! No earplugs for the first lap, that's a rule! At lap 23 I heard on the scanner that Derrike's brakes weren't working very well. He did drop back a little. At the first caution at lap 43, they switched tires and made an air pressure adjustment. A rubber wedge fell out of the right front and after tagging the field, he came in to have it replaced, all under the same caution. At lap 102, he was a lap down. Rusty was on a rail. About lap 257, it was all over. Rain in Arizona. Geeeez.

Rain and mud parking lots are not fun, but the weekend was excellent. It's not just the race itself, but the feel you get with all the fans, true fans, that literally come out of the woodwork. The hype, the concessions, MEETING DERRIKE AGAIN, and all the rest. I do have to admit though, once a year in Phoenix with a little over 100,000 of your friends is quite enough. ......and then there's next year! :-)