Primestar 500 Live Report by Jeff Cope

Thursday

I arrived in town earlier than expected so I checked in at the hotel and made sure I could connect to the Internet so daily updates could be done. I am going to the races with fellow fan club member Carola Farb, so I left a message at her hotel and waited for her to arrive. Carola got into town late so I headed to the track by myself to catch Busch qualifying. We were extremely lucky to obtain garage passes but unfortunately NASCAR Registration wasn't open so we'll have to pick them up on Friday. After qualifying, I went to a local Wal-Mart to meet Kevin Meador, Derrike's old Skittles show car driver. We then caught up with Carola at night for dinner.

Friday
Carola and I headed to the track and picked up our garage passes. It was then on to the Winston Cup garage to visit with the team. We met all the team members and took photos of each one. I met crew chief Dan Glauz and after I got him over his camera shyness, took his photo too. We talked for a little and we learned that the team was using leased T and L engines for qualifying and the race.

I talked with Jim Thomasson, Bahari' pilot for awhile. He told me how he usually flies in Chuck and Carolyn Rider along with the team members that are working at the track. This weekend, for example, they arrived on Thursday. With the large load of passengers this week and fighting the headwinds, they had to stop at Little Rock, Ark. and refuel. At the airport, they pick up their rental cars and they're off to the team hotel. During the weekend Jim helps out with whatever may need doing. Then after the race, they try to fight traffic like other race fans, and it's back to the airport to head back. Jim arranged for us to stop at the airport later and take photos of their plane.

We then received a tour of the hauler and saw that Derrike had two helmets he uses, most likely one for backup, and both were designed differently.

Derrike had not shown up yet at the hauler so we went to the Busch garage to visit with the IWX team. I met PR rep Steve Post again and he introduced us to driver Tony Roper. Tony was really nice and he told us the story of their qualifying run in which they ended up 25th. He said, "I was going into turn one, concentrating on my line and my foot slid off the top of the pedal.  I ran the complete lap using my heel to hit the gas." There was a big chuckle over that.

Back to the Winston Cup garage and Derrike had shown up. He was busy getting ready for practice. There has been some wondering why Derrike does not have www.derrikecope.com on the back of his uniform. I did notice that on the back of his personal jacket, he does have it listed.

Carola was able to meet Derrike very briefly and get her photo taken with him and a couple autographs. Then it was on to practice so we headed up to the grandstands to watch it. After Derrike's first run, he said that he had to get used to the track as it was a little different from last time, but not as good as he had hoped. They worked on the setup during the two practices. From previous races I have attended, it seemed like practice would start and he would come out about 15-20 minutes into it. But for both practices, he was one of the first ones out there.

We met with Jim Garrick and Ginna Domm, Sara Lee Motorsports reps. They are fully aware of the need for merchandise because the fans are asking for it. Hopefully soon we will hear something of merchandise available.

We watched qualifying from pit row. They made people stand further back this year so thankfully zoom lenses were in place on our cameras. Derrike was 16th out on the track and was in 8th place at the time. Just before qualifying was over, we left and stopped off at the local airport where Bahari' Racing's private plane was so we could take some photos.

Saturday
We decided to head to the track a little later in the morning and had no problems with traffic. After a brief visit to the Busch garage we went and watched the Jimmy Dean Pontiac getting prepared for second round qualifying. Taking a trip around the garage netted Carola and I a number of photos of drivers, including a couple with Carola and some drivers. During practice the best time Derrike produced was 29.12 but he was very satisfied with the handling of the car.

Derrike and Mike Skinner chat

Just before second round qualifying started, it started to rain a little so we decided to go to the grandstands because our seats were underneath the suites and we would be covered. We found the seats and even though they were free from the rain, the wind was blowing very cold up higher and it didn't take long before we were cold.

Second round qualifying was delayed a little but finally took place. Derrike took the track and produced a lap of 29.033 and speed of 185.995. This put him in 30th position at the time. At the end of the round, the Jimmy Dean Pontiac had barely survived with a 36th starting position.

The rains came again delaying the start of the Busch race. We braved the cold winds for quite awhile, but finally gave up and headed to our hotels. If our seats were lower, the wind wouldn't have been bad but it would have been exposed to the rain. You just can't win. I got back to my hotel and soon thereafter the Busch race started so watched in the warmth and comfort of my hotel room. :-)

Sunday
Carola and I went to the Winston Cup garage to watch the Jimmy Dean Pontiac being prepared for the race. The team was using a T and L leased engine for the race. Since the team did not have any practice on their race setup because Happy Hour was cancelled, they set up the car like it was in Atlanta. We heard some comments that Derrike had made earlier. Since the tires were real hard and it would take awhile for them to get warm, they were going to set the car up loose and go like that for the first 10 laps before they would know how to adjust the setup. And because of the track, Derrike would not be able to run a high line so will need to run low. He is starting on the outside so he would have to get low soon. The comment was made that the Bahari' team is a very young team so in time they should gel nicely.

This is what happened to Derrike during the race:

• 40th - lap 15 of 334 (Really tight when following a car. Loose in, tight out.)
• 41st - lap 30 (mandatory caution for tire checks. Lap times were constantly given for Derrike and the leader. At this point: Derrike 30.40, leader 29.90. Pit stop came out 31st - excellent pit stop.)
• 36th - lap 42 (got caught on the outside and lost spots)
• 35th - lap 51 (tried passing Buckshot Jones a couple times on the straightaway but the horsepower didn't seem to be there even with the leased engine)
• lap 66 ("pretty tight")
• lap 69 (caution. took 4 tires and came out 36th, 32nd on the restart)
• lap 92 ("still very tight")
• lap 105 (they asked Derrike to try higher on the track and see if that helps. He'll try but it was pushing up there.)
• 37th - lap 109 ("Didn't work too good" - he got passed)
• 37th - lap 114 ("Really heavy in the wheels and starting to push more." Went 1 lap down.)
• 37th - lap 124 (caution, going to make a drastic change in wedge, air pressure, and 4 tires. Came out 35th.)
• 33rd - lap 147 (couldn't get back in line for a couple laps)
• lap 151 (now loose all the way around. Went in pit stop in 32nd and came out 31st. Derrike said, "You guys are working hard at it - good job.")
• 29th - lap 163 (NASCAR told him he was holding up the cars on the lead lap so he had to get over and let them by)
• 26th - lap 216 (caution - came out 25th. Derrike said, "Good job guys, good job")
• 24th - lap 219
• 24th - lap 230 (running even with the 10th and 11th place cars)
• 19th - lap 278 (green flag pit stops)
• 5th - lap 285 (during green flag pit stops)
• 24th - lap 289 (after pit stop)
• 23rd - lap 314 (tire going down, told to "just ride it out")

When the race ended under caution the score towers showed Derrike in 23rd position. Checking online back at the hotel though showed he ended up in 22nd position somehow. The pit crew did a fantastic job during the race in every pit stop. That has always been a concern in past races but if they continue to perform like they did today, that should no longer be a concern.

The weather throughout the race was cool and cloudy. Actually it turned out to be excellent weather to watch a race. On the way back to the hotel it started raining so somebody paid the right people to kep the rain away. :-)