Winston Preview Live Report

by Carol Dignazio and Patty Leizear

Hello! Thanks for stopping by to read about the Winston Preview! Carol Dignazio left her home at 9:10am on Friday, January 9th. She was actually ready to leave at 8:00, but got to test her AAA membership effectiveness by locking all three sets of her truck keys inside her truck! *Whew,* that out of the way, the trip to Maryland to Patty & Greg Leizear's house was rather uneventful. Carol arrived at the Leizear's just a few minutes before Patty pulled into the driveway, having just met Jeff Cope at the airport after his trip from Houston. After a tour of the house, and a most amazing collection of racing memorabilia, Barbie dolls, Beanie Babies, and bicycles, we were on our way.

The trip to Winston-Salem took about 5 1/2 hours (354 miles). This leg of the trip was uneventful except for a wrong turn before Greensboro, NC that set us back into the hill country a bit. We ended up in a small town, or actually more of a hamlet, called Fah King. The kind Fah King police officer we saw, gave us directions back to the Interstate and we were on our way again. Time passed quickly for the fellow Derrike Cope Fan Club members, as they listened to Derrike singing from the Race Tracks II CD.

The crew arrived at the Marriott and headed to Bennigan's for a delicious dinner and sampling of their many brews. (Hint: Do not try Woodchuck Draft Cider!) Then back to the room for some rest, 'cause there was a big day waiting ahead.

We got up at 6:00am and headed off to Dunkin' Donuts, breakfast to go, and got in line at the Coliseum. It was chilly with frost on the ground but the excitement warmed the air. We could hear the music from the Coliseum. It was the music that they played at the NASCAR Awards Banquet in December. The doors opened at 8:30am with a steady stream flowing into the arena. We moved to sections 109/110 to be seated for the autograph session with Derrike and Bobby Hamilton.

The arena was decorated in red, white, and black balloons, and a 4-sided video block was showing videos of big crashes and finishes during the 1997 season. The crowd roared its approval and disapproval as the images flashed on the screens. There was a band playing on center-stage and on the left of the stage was the Jeff Gordon #24 Chevrolet along with the Winston and Anniversary edition cars. It was a sight to behold!

Patty and Derrike

At 9:10am, the first group of drivers were introduced. Each driver was accompanied by a lovely young lady to their autograph table. At about 9:30, the first autograph session began and we waited our turn in line.

Carol and Derrike

Derrike allowed us an opportunity to have pictures taken with him, and asked us to wait until the session was over. Mark Martin signed autographs to our left and Dale Jarrett to our right. There was an auction going on to benefit a local children's hospital. There was a lot of sheet metal being sold. During the autograph session, we met fellow fans Jeff Gutshall and Robert Adkison. After Derrike was finished signing autographs, he asked us to accompany him down onto the arena floor. We then went backstage at the Winston Preview!

In the back, we saw Ricky Craven, Cale Yarborough, Randy Lajoie, Dale, Ned, and Glenn Jarrett, not to mention Darryl Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, ken Schroeder, Mark Martin, Buddy Baker, Geoff Bodine, Steve Park, and Dale Earnhardt. But the most amazing thing was the amount of time Derrike spent chatting with us. We talked about the fan club, the May Charlotte race (where a group of fans will be meeting again), ideas for fan club t-shirts, and the website. Patty Leizear offered Derrike a Beanie Baby dolphin named Echo. She explained that it was for good luck and he was supposed to keep it in the car. He thanked her and said, "My nieces will love this." Rick, Bahari' Racing marketing representative, assured us that the dolphin will, at the very least, make it on-board the hauler! Derrike had to leave for a brief interview with CBS, but asked us to wait for him (as though we wanted to go anywhere else). When he came back, we posed for a group shot, and he introduced us to Drew, the public relations person for Pennzoil. It was more than any of us could have hoped for, and many thanks go to Derrike for spending the time with us!

L-R: Carol Dignazio, Patty Leizear, Derrike Cope, Jeff Cope, Robert Adkison

Patty & Greg Leizear, Jeff Gutshall, Kevin Meador, Carol Dignazio, Robert Adkison, and Jeff Cope met for dinner that night and a relaxing fun time topped off an absolutely amazing day.

Sunday was time to head home (unhappy faces). But the trip home included a stop at Bojangles (Jeff was really starving for Bojangles food) just down the street from the Richmond International Raceway brought the trip to a close. Carol headed back to Pennsylvania and Jeff got on a plane back to Texas. Can you say fun????