Daytona 500 Live Report by Carola Farb

After 8 gorgeous days in Daytona, the long anticipated Daytona 500 race finally arrived. Saturday's Busch race was warm and very sunny but Sunday morning was cold and cloudy. As we departed for the race track, the wind blew even colder. No sunscreen today!

Normally we arrive at the parking sites no later than 7:00am, but this year is different. No early hours. We didn't even leave for the race until 9:30 - think I'm not frantic! By 10:45, we are in our seats in the Oldfield Tower. This is a piece of cake!

The pre-race festivities included the "Blues Brothers", fireworks and finally introductions of the drivers. Starting 20th, Derrike Cope appears in his gold uniform and I cheered wildly. All 40 Earnhardt fans turned to stare! They already knew how I felt about #3.

Then, the long awaited words were drowned out by the roar of the crowds. The smell, sounds and excitement of being one of 190,000 fans was exhilarating.

DC radioed his concerns over his tires, which had developed a vibration in his car. After a change of tires, he settled in smoothly with the rest of the pack. He began to fall back due to the lack of "push" from no cars directly behind him. He radioed "as long as there's a car behind me, I'm OK" which was obvious to see. He was lapped but continued to "dig" and consistently run "silky" smooth. It was a thrill to see him racing 3 wide and with some of the best.

I continued to "hex" #3 and immediately began to deepen my desire for Mike Skinner after he swiped DC's right side. Derrike radioed he could see he and Mike Skinner might have some problems this year on the track. His crew chief came back that Skinner was probably upset because he (Cope) was "kicking his ass."

The last 10 laps was the most awesome finish to a race I've seen in some time. Every fan was standing and no one was leaving! The last 2 laps were white knuckled for me since DC couldn't win, I definitely wasn't pulling for Earnhardt and Skinner. You know the outcome - need I say more.

DC sat back, watching and waiting for something "crazy" to happen - he finished a flawlessly smooth 18th spot even though 1 lap down. His words were "we have to prove to them we can do it" and they did. Go Cope!

Remember the "piece of cake" drive, park and getting into the stands within 1 hour and 15 minutes? We stood in line for the Park and Ride bus for 1 hour - got to our car and finally moved out of the parking lot and 7:30pm. We thought we were back at the Texas Speedway. Even though we had to wait, it's still a great way to get to the track.

Daytona - see you in July for the 400! Fans of Cope - hope to see you at one of the races. Now the weather has turned back to very sunny and getting warmer, so... off to the beach!

Note: Thanks to Bob Cope and Cyndi Price for the photos.