Emerson Radio 250

September 7, 2007
Richmond, VA

Derrike will be driving in the Busch race in Richmond. He said, "I will be driving the Busch car (28) for Jay Robinson Racing in Richmond. It is a U S Border Patrol race."

From the Jay Robinson press release, "Veteran driver Derrike Cope will be back behind the wheel of the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy for the second time in the last three races. The Emerson 250 at Richmond International Raceway marks the fifth race overall that Derrike Cope mans the wheel while the U.S. Border Patrol is the primary sponsor. "I am excited to have the chance to be back driving the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy. This is a big race for the U.S. Border Patrol and we are going to put in a great effort to do our best come race day. What the U.S. Border Patrol does for our country and the jobs it provides to U.S. citizens is pretty amazing. I am sure their hiring and information booths will be busy all weekend." said Derrike Cope.

Team owner Jay Robinson said, "We are excited about this weekends event and plan to go out there and run a good race. Derrike has always run well at Richmond. I am happy to have Derrike behind the wheel this weekend and we expect to go out and finish well for the U.S. Border Patrol."

This week joining Car 28 as Associate Sponsors will be Checkers / Rally’s and CMO Music.

In the first practice, Derrike was 35th fastest with a time of 22.191 and speed of 121.671. In the second practice, he was 44th fastest with a time of 22.608 and speed of 119.427.

In Qualifying, Derrike produced his fastest lap at 21.849 with speed of 123.575. At the end of the round this was 32nd fastest.

Derrike started the race in 32nd position and finished in 37th.

After the race Derrike said, "We struggled a bit in practice and lost a lot of practice time in the final practice, which left us a bit confused for what to do in qualifying. Kenneth Campbell, the crew chief, made some good decisions with respect to a qualifying setup and the car was pretty good. We qualified at a 21.84 which put us 32nd.

"At the beginning of the race we were able to hang on to the pack and were dealing with the car getting very tight which would not let it turn in the corners. When the caution came out, we came down pit road, but we had some issues in the pits and went a lap down it the pits which was costly. We really were unable to make the car a whole lot better throughout the evening, and with just a handful of laps to go the engine expired in a major way, right out the bottom."

Press Release

#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy position in practice: 35th
#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy starting position: 32nd
#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy position obtained during the race: 32nd
#28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy finishing position: 37th

What a great weekend of media exposure for our sponsor of Car #28 the U.S. Border Patrol Chevy in Richmond. On Wednesday the driver of the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy Derrike Cope, was busy getting ready for the race weekend and doing a local radio interview on 1140 AM news talk radio. The team arrived in Richmond on Wednesday and started setting up the U.S. Border Patrol hiring booth that was open to the public from Thursday through Saturday. Thursday Derrike did another radio spot for the U.S. Border Patrol on 106.7 FM. On Friday during practice the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy ran consistent and hovered around 22.3 seconds on the .75 mile track at Richmond International Raceway. Friday morning started off on the right foot with Derrike doing a great interview on the Tommy & Rumble show and that was followed with the JRR Team and the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy running effectively in practice, but now practice was over and it was time to go qualify. During qualifying, Derrike picked up speed in the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy and laid down a lap of 21.849 seconds, putting us in 32nd position to start the race.

The start of the NASCAR Busch Series Emerson 250 at Richmond International Raceway was set to begin at 8pm est. and was televised Nationally on ESPN2. During the pre-race ceremonies U.S. Border Patrol Chief Aguilar had the honor of performing the Pledge of Allegiance in front of an estimated crowd of 78,000 and a national T.V. audience of millions just before the National Anthem. During the coverage on ESPN2, Chief Aguilar of the U.S. Border Patrol was in full camera view during his performance as well as some spots of the National Anthem.

At the start of the race the #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy was running strong and Derrike continued to push the car up the field when opportunities presented themselves. Around lap 50 of the race Chief Aguilar of the U.S. Border Patrol participated in a trackside interview on nationally syndicated “MRN”. We had some misfortunes during the race, putting us some laps down, but the JRR Team kept fighting. The #28 U.S. Border Patrol Chevy continued to run consistently around 30th to 35th position in the Emerson 250 at Richmond. Derrike Cope stayed focused and was able to finish in 37th place after a blown engine ended our run on lap 240.

Overall it was a tremendous weekend in Richmond for the JRR Team and our sponsor the U.S. Border Patrol. We would like to thank everyone with the U.S. Border Patrol for all their help. As the U.S. Border Patrol pushes toward the goal of hiring 6,000 new agents, the trackside NASCAR hiring booths continue to be a hotspot at every race!