Las Vegas Races Live Report by Bruce Bates

Photos
Sara Lee Cocktail Party
IWX Pontiac
State Fair Corn Dogs Pontiac
Other State Fair Photos

Friday
I arrived into Vegas about 11 o'clock. My wife could not make this trip with me due to work so I met Jeff Cope and gave him the other ticket. Jeff didn't get to the hotel until around noon so I did a little gambling to kill some time. I was also able to make a bet on Derrike winning the Busch race and bet on the "field" which included Derrike in Sunday's race.

After meeting Jeff we jumped in the car and headed to the track. We were able to get access to the Busch garage and got to see the team preparing the #61 for it's qualifying run. We were also able to meet Steve Post, the public relations guy for the IWX sponsored team. Steve gave us a tour of the transporter and told us that Derrike was 24th fastest in the BGN practice and 5th fastest in Winston Cup. This was very good news after the recent qualifying trouble at Rockingham. Steve was very nice and told us about his job with the Busch team and what the plans were for this year. Since Winston Cup qualifying was about to begin we decided to head out to pit road and watch the festivities.

The #30 went out early in the going and posted the 3rd fastest time. The car was in State Fair Corn Dog wrappings for the first time and looked very good out on the track. As more cars went out for their qualifying run Derrike was dropped further back into the field. In the end Derrike was able to secure the 24th starting spot for Sunday's race and more importantly didn't have to worry about second-round qualifying. There were 52 teams trying to qualify for the Las Vegas 400.

Next up was Busch qualifying. Unfortunately there were 65 teams trying to make Saturday's Sam's Town 300 starting grid. Derrike was to go out late in the order and that gave us a chance to get some pictures of the #61 crew and of DC. I wasn't able to find out where Derrike was after his run but did hear the announcer say it wasn't in the top 20. This caused some concern as there were still plenty of cars to go out and no second round qualifying on tap. We waited a little while but had to leave before the field was set. We found out later that night that Derrike had indeed qualified for the race in 34th position. This would be the first weekend that both teams would be in the starting field.

Friday night was a State Fair cocktail party that 7 of us Derrike Cope fan club members were able to attend thanks to Jeff Cope arranging it with Jim Garrick of Sara Lee Motorsports. There were drinks available and plenty of delicious finger foods. Many of the folks there were with State Fair in some capacity however Chuck Rider did come to our table and introduced himself. There was also a model wearing the driver's uniform for Jimmy Dean Sausage and several of our group got pictures with her. After awhile Derrike and his wife Renee arrived. He didn't make a speech but walked around to talk with everyone personally. DC seemed in a good mood and graciously posed for pictures and signed autographs for anyone that asked. Renee Cope was also introducing herself to everyone and I had a chance to swap greyhound stories with her. It started getting late and the party broke up giving Jeff and I a chance to see Star Trek: The Experience at the Hilton. This was a good show and afterwards Quark's Bar is a great place to wet your whistle.

Saturday
Saturday's racing action began after a quick bite to eat at the hotel. We went to the garage area again and talked to Steve Post about that day's activities. He said the team was in the process of getting the car ready to race and we got to see the checklists they use to make sure everything gets done. I will also note that I had to make a trip to the infield care center where I was treated and released. I had cut my finger in the morning and they fixed me up quick with a fresh band-aid. Many thanks to the fine folks working there at the Las Vegas facility.

Back to racing, we talked to Steve about some of the sponsorship options for the team and Jeff also mentioned to him that the fan club website address was not on the car. Maybe this will be remedied in the future. We also had the opportunity to meet Steve Coulter, the owner of the #61 team. He was very cordial to us and said the team was still trying to get a "book" on this series. He mentioned the shock trouble they had at Daytona and said the team had gone back to preparing its own shocks now. Since practice had begun for the Winston Cup teams we headed for pit road in the hopes of catching a glimpse of the #30 in action.

Derrike was late coming out but did stop in front of us for a minute allowing me to snap a quick photo. Not sure what his times were but he did not seem happy with the setup. DC said the car was getting tighter the longer he went. He was trying different lines but the car was still pushing up the track. After practice was over we walked around the souvenir trailers and found a bite to eat.

Next up on the agenda was the Sam's Town Las Vegas 300. The weather was great for the race. There were a lot of people in the stands. Derrike was starting in 34th position. I tuned in to the #61's frequency(461.0375) and heard Dave Fuge tell DC they had changed a few things on the car and they might come in if an early caution flew. Derrike had a good start but the yellow came out after only 2 laps for oil on the track.

Jeff Gordon making his first BGN start this year started falling back while Mark Martin and the #35 swapped the lead. On lap 13 there was a spin in turn 4 right in front of Derrike but he was able to thread his way through. After the restart DC said the car had picked up a vibration. He and the crew figured it was probably a flat-spot on the tires caused by the previous incident. On lap 28 a car hit the wall in turn 3 and Derrike came in to the pits for a track bar adjustment and 4 tires. Derrike said the car was pushing. On the restart Michael Waltrip hit the wall but the spotter talked Derrike through it. By the way I think the spotter was named Danny and I think he was the same as the WC team. I feel he was doing a better job than their spotter from last year. He seemed to speak with more enthusiasm.

As the race wore on Derrike stayed roughly in the same position while slowly losing ground to the leaders. Gordon wasn't the class of the field for a change. Martin continued to look dominant. Both Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. stayed in the hunt. Around lap 70 the cars on the lead lap started regular pit stops. Derrike was in a big pack of cars and eventually ran as high as 3rd before having to come in for his own stop. What could have been if the caution flag had come out before then.On his pit stop at lap 93 the car stalled a little and he came out 1 lap down. With the fresher tires he was able to pass some of the other cars before his tires too became hot and he slowly started fading.He was running in about 29th place at this time as far as I could tell. At around lap 138 the other cars came in again for regular maintenance. Derrike stayed out until lap 157 when he pitted for 4 sticker tires. This was a very good pit stop for the 61 crew as they got DC out in a little less than 20 seconds. Shortly thereafter Derrike went another lap down to race leader Mark Martin. Cope said the car was pushing and the crew chief came back to say the car didn't really like stickers. DC said, "Hell no!"

The end of the race saw Derrike fighting with a few other cars on the same lap as he. At one point he was 3 wide coming down in front of us. At the end Derrike was in 23rd position. The crew said on the radio that they would get better at this. Mark Martin was the winner in dominating fashion. The race was slowed by several cautions at first but then went green the rest of the way which led to a widely spread-out field.

I wasn't able to stay for Happy Hour practice but learned the next morning that DC had gotten a little sideways in turn 4 but had kept the car in one piece. That night we went to one of Vegas' many shows and then got to bed early in anticipation of an even earlier start the next morning.

Sunday
Since we were able to secure a pass to the hospitality area we decided to leave early enough to get some breakfast there. As soon as we arrived a pit tour was starting and we joined it. We were able to walk under the track and along pit road. Many of the teams were still in the process of fixing up their pit stalls. We noticed that DC's stall was directly in front of where we were sitting. Many of the folks on the tour were from Bryan Foods and some of them were very familiar with the Fan Club Website.

We then headed back up to the hospitality tent and saw all of the promotional items for this season. They had some banners and posters with all of the different cars and brands on them. Unfortunately there is still no souvenir merchandise available. We were able to get a couple of postcards of Derrike and a Jimmy Dean Racing hat. There were some people wearing State Fair coats and jackets but it doesn't appear they will be selling them to the public. Derrike wasn't able to attend the hospitality area due to a change in the driver's meeting time. We then went to meet some other Derrike Cope fans in for the race but only some of those who had attended the Friday party were there.

The weather changed from cold and cloudy before the race to nice and partly sunny during the race. Derrike started in 24th position and was hanging in there. He was just about to tell how the car was when a wreck occurred in front of him. He was able to miss the 20 car spinning up the track. During the caution Derrike said the car was loose in and tight off. He also said there was a problem with the tach and rev limiter. Around lap 16 Mayfield took the lead and Derrike was in about 25th place.Very soon afterwards the #30 started falling back as Derrike fought an ill-handling car.The crew asked later if the car was getting any better and Cope said no.

By lap 43 Derrike had fallen to around 37th position. Up front the 5, 22, 18, and 12 were battling for top honors. At lap 56 Derrike went a lap down to leader Ward Burton but then the #22 spun as he tried to enter the pit. Of course there was no caution so Derrike eventually went down a lap again. At lap 60 DC came in for 4 tires and the 22 eventually regained the lead despite the earlier spin. The car did not seem to be performing well during this time.

At about lap 100 a caution flew for debris on the backstretch. The crew performed a relatively slow stop and made a track bar change. Derrike said he was coming back in for a windshield cleaning since he was already at the end of the pack. At around lap 118 there was a crash involving the 21, 91, and 7 cars on the backstretch. Derrike had been running pretty well since his last stop. The crew performed a better pit stop this time and I heard them say beforehand they would make a track bar change but I didn't actually see them do it. Cope radioed that the temps were a little high but the crew said not to come in to pull off tape.

At lap 130 there was a major crash on the backstretch. I was looking at it through my binoculars and was able to see the crumpled hood of the State Fair Pontiac despite all the dust and smoke. Derrike radioed that "we're in it". He was able to make it back to the pits and the crew immediately pushed him behind the wall since the radiator was leaking. Looking at the replay on the big screen it appeared that the accident started just in front of Derrike and he was unable to check up fast enough to avoid the sliding cars. The crew worked feverishly on the car for about 60 laps. When Derrike brought the car back out on the track it was minus its hood and front fenders. The crew slowly made their way back to the pit area.

Around lap 180 the leaders started pitting and after everyone had come in the 99 car was in the lead. It was the typical names up in the front except for a surprising run by the 22 of Ward Burton in 3rd place. Mark Martin was the last to pit and appeared to be making this his last stop whereas the other lead cars needed at least one more in the day.

Derrike brought his heavily modified Grand Prix on lap 220 for some fresh tires and fuel. There was not a lot of talk between he and the team during this time except for the spotter advising Cope of the faster cars approaching from behind. My scanner died at lap 225 but luckily I had my splitter and listened in with Jeff Cope. Just afterwards, Mark Martin's pit strategy went out the window as Geoffrey Bodine's blown motor brought out the final caution flag of the day. All of the lead lap cars pitted and there was quite a bit of complaing from the other teams about Ward Burton's passing under the caution before the pit stops but NASCAR didn't see it their way as Ward led them to the green flag restart.

There was some really good action for the lead between the 22, 24, and 99 cars all the way to the end. Derrike started complaing of a bad smell from the motor but the crew told him it was from a car in front of him. The Burton brothers fought side-by-side for the lead for several laps but Jeff eventually pulled out in front and went on to his first victory this season. The racing was much better this year than last and I assume due to the spoiler changes. There were several occasions of three and even four wide racing. Unfortunately the wreck relegated Derrike and the Bahari' team to a 34th place finish.

I'll just hope for a better run next week at Atlanta and hopefully the team will build momentum leading up to the next race I will see them in at California Speedway.