Siemens 200

July 24, 2004
Loudon, NH

If there is a trick to the one-mile New Hampshire International Speedway, it's working the brakes. That's the opinion of former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, who will drive the #49 Advil Ford in Saturday's Siemens 200 NASCAR Busch Series race at the "Magic Mile."

"To get the car set in the turns and to turn the fastest lap you can, you have to work the brakes just right. They are the key to working the turns," said Cope, a two-time winner in NASCAR Nextel Cup competition. "The brakes can take a pretty good beating at New Hampshire. That track can be as tough on brakes as just about any short track. You have to use them but you have to take care of them too. Making that compromise just right is the key to getting around the race track. Working the brakes correctly enables the driver to get back into the gas quicker.

"Look at it this way. If you could, you would hold the gas wide open all of the way around the track. Obviously, you can't do that, so you are looking for the next best thing – being in the gas around as much of the track as possible," Cope said. "If you can work your brakes right going into the turns, then you can get out of the turns well. You can get back into the gas quicker; hopefully, quicker than anybody else."

New Hampshire requires good horsepower but it still a handling race track, said Cope.

"Horsepower is going to be important anywhere you race. The amount you need might change week to week but you have to have good engines to run well," Cope said. "Still, you really have to handle well at places like New Hampshire. Being able to get into the turns well helps you get around the track quicker. Being able to stay in the lower groove helps you keep from being passed. That's what you are looking for when practice starts Friday. You are looking to be able to run that bottom groove and run it faster than anyone else. That helps when you qualify Friday but it puts you in a position where you are really ready to go when the race starts Saturday."

In the first practice, Derrike was 36th fastest with a time of 30.039 and speed of 126.795.

In Qualifying, Derrike produced his fastest lap of 30.059 and speed of 126.711. At the end of the round this was fast enough for the 31st position where Derrike will start.

Derrike started the race in 31st position and finished in 37th.

Derrike summed up Saturday's effort in Loudon, New Hampshire. "We had some mechanical problems that cut into our practice time. However, the car drove pretty well. We ran a new engine for us. Our problem in qualifying was that we qualified early and with the sun out we were really loose. As there wasn't a happy hour practice, we guessed at the race setup and were really loose at the start of the race. Actually, we were moving up on a pack of cars in front of us when the motor tightened up and broke."