Federated Auto Parts 300

June 12, 2004
Nashville, TN

The next three races will be key ones for the NASCAR Busch Series. At least, that’s the thought of #49 Advil Ford driver Derrike Cope. "These next three races are all non-(Cup) conjunction races, where virtually all of the Cup guys will be somewhere else," Cope said. "If you’re going to make a solid move in the points, whether you are near the top of the list or somewhere else, these next three races will play a large role. These three will shake things out considerably."

NASCAR’s Busch Series goes to the 1.33-mile Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway this week, followed by races at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway and the one-mile Milwaukee (Wisc.) Fairgrounds.

"All three are good tracks, good for racing and good for the fans," Cope said. "They are the types of tracks where it takes a good combination all of the way through your race team to make things work well. You have to have good horsepower, a good chassis setup and do a good job behind the wheel. Add that to some really good pit work and a little bit of racing luck, and that’s what it takes to be successful at Nashville, Kentucky or Milwaukee . . . or any other track, for that matter."

A good starting spot will also be important for the Nashville event this week. "That’s always the case but especially for Nashville. That track can really be a big track-position speedway," Cope said. "If you qualify well, that’s just that many more cars you don’t have to worry about passing once the race starts.

"Plus, since we pick pits in order of how we qualified, a good starting spot gives you a better pit position," he added. "That’s always crucial. The guys who have the faster cars, obviously, are the ones starting near the front for the race – but when you take that and throw in the track position you automatically get and the better pit positions, there’s even more reason for those cars to stay up front once they get there."

A good starting spot and patience are keys particular to Nashville. "There’s no sense being in a big hurry to pass as many cars as you can at the start of the race," Cope said. "Go in with that attitude, and you are going to have nothing but trouble. If you take your time and race smart as well as fast, you have a much better chance of finishing the race in a good spot – and not finishing it on the back of a wrecker. I’d much rather be taking Advil for some muscular soreness the morning after the race than from the headaches of crashing the car," he added.

In the first practice, Derrike was 38th fastest with a time of 31.227 and speed of 153.675.

In Qualifying, Derrike pulled off a lap of 31.006 and speed of 154.770. At the end of the round it was good enough for 38th position where Derrike will start the race.

For some reason, the #49 Advil did not participate in Happy Hour.

Derrike started in 38th position and finished in 24th position.

Derrike summed up the run at Nashville last weekend as follows. "All things considered, we had a decent effort. After we wrecked our primary car in practice we went to a backup and had little practice and didn’t run in Happy Hour. Nevertheless, we were pleased to make the race on speed. That was a positive for us. In the race the car worked pretty well. Due to our lack of practice, we weren’t sure what we’d have, but the team did a super job in making changes during the race. We would have had a top twenty finish had we not run out of gas as the race was winding down. Overall, we had a good effort in the Advil Ford."