2010 2009 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 1999 1998 1996 1995 1994 1990	2008 Nationwide Series   Derrike drove some races in the Nationwide Series (formerly Busch Series). He started by driving for Jimmy Means Racing in the #52 Chevrolet. Derrike drove for Jay Robinson Racing in the #4 and #49 cars. Derrike also owned the #73 Dodge and #78 Dodge and entered those in some Nationwide races.
Year Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Points Standing Winnings 2008 29 0 0 0 1765 31 $679,500

Season Wrap-up
December 3, 2008 - "I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! It is December already...wow! It was a long year though, a lot of work, but was a lot of fun going to a race every weekend and getting to race some. However, these are tough times and we are all facing uncertainty for the future. It is obviously no different on the racing front. A number of racing entities are struggling and being forced to alter their efforts for 2009. We are assessing where we are at and how we can continue to press on for next year. We at Cope/Keller Racing are gearing up for Daytona the best that we can. Our intent is to be at the Daytona 500 in February. We are actively searching for sponsorship to make that happen. We will continue to look towards the Truck and Nationwide series as well. The end of the year did not go the way we were hoping for, but we probably stretched ourselves a bit thin and the results were less than desirable.

"The one good thing is that our Sprint Cup efforts are pretty much on line for 2009. We have a bit of service work to do with regard to the trucks and Nationwide cars to ready ourselves. I have committed to an opportunity to drive for a Nationwide team next year, full schedule. I will know more next week after we have some more meetings. I will elaborate as soon as we have an agreement and understanding of the entire effort. But things are not too bad, and I am looking forward to Daytona! The break will be good though. I am looking forward to being home for a bit to regroup."

Hefty Odor Block 200
November 8, 2008 - Derrike, Kevin Lepage, and Jason White did not make the show. Derrike updated us by saying, "Things did not go well for us this weekend. We struggled with the 82 car with Jay Robinson Racing. The car would not turn and kept chattering the front tires which means it needed front grip and which they could not accomplish. I missed making the field by 8 one-hundredths of a second.

"Additionally, both of my own cars missed the show as well. Kevin Lepage tied Stanton Barrett but he had more points so he made the race and Kevin did not. We also had Jason White in the 78 team Vangle Dodge and he was not quick enough either.

"It certainly was a poor result all the way around, quite disappointing to say the least. All we can do is go to Homestead and try and do better.

"I am going to drive my own car the 78 team Vangle Dodge in hopes of getting that car sorted out for next year. I will update you from Miami next week."

O'Reilly Challenge
November 1, 2008 - After the race, Derrike updated us. He said, "The Texas weekend had its ups and downs. As for the 4 car, I only got a few laps of practice on used tires and then qualified on them as well with a poor result. The 73 car qualified very well! Kevin Lepage ran a great lap and qualified 17th. We seem to have problems with the 78 on mile and a half tracks. We cannot keep the car from hitting the racetrack. Johnny Sauter has done a great job for us, but we have not given him the necessary equipment to get the job done.

"In the race, our used tires went away quickly and the car got very loose. We backed up quickly and fell laps down. We continued to battle the car without much success. I got in the wall coming out of turn four and went behind the wall for repairs. We came back out and finished the race 34th.

"I will not be in the 4 car for the remainder of the year, so we will have to qualify our way into the show. The number at Phoenix will be 82.

"I will update you on who will be driving the 78 for the rest of the year as Johnny Sauter will be concentrating solely on the Cup Series for the rest of the year."

Derrike's Latest
October 14, 2008 - Derrike updated us with the latest. He said, "This past weekend was not what I was hoping for. First of all the weather put a damper on our Sprint Cup effort. It washed out qualifying which sent us home without the chance to attempt to make a qualifying effort. Although it allowed us the time to put the car through the inspection process which was quite helpful and it went well for us, so we should be better prepared for Martinsville this weekend.

"On the Nationwide front, we had a lot going on as well. We had two new companies on our 73 and 78 Nationwide series race cars. Germane Tool Group and Germane RED were onboard. Fred Hoeffken was at the race with us and we have enjoyed our time getting to know each other. We also had the pleasure of having Dale Clemons who is the owner of Vangle, another new company with products and services that we have been promoting. We had a promotion with my nieces Amber & Angela and a Vangle Craftsman Truck on display at the Quaker Steak N Lube in Concord introducing Vangle Assist (a concierge service) and Vangle Vault (a remote data back up service).

"Kevin Lepage qualified well with the 73, but we had some chassis issues with the 78 car driven by Johnny Sauter and we were unable to get that car qualified. As for myself with the Jay Robinson number 4 car, we struggled right off the truck. I only made 4 laps on the track but could not even get the car up to speed because of some issues with suspension that they were unable to fix. Thus we really could not even qualify or race the car successfully so we had to park the car. It could have been a potentially dangerous situation for me.

"So it is a weekend off for Nationwide and we will head off to Martinsville Speedway where we will have a new young driver, Robert Bruce, driving the number 73 Taylor race Products/Mid Atlantic Wrecker Service Dodge Truck this weekend in his Craftsman Truck Series debut. I have known Robert and his family for a long time and I am pleased for him to get an opportunity to move up from the Late Model Series. We are both looking forward to this weekend and working together.

"Additionally, we will have the Team Vangle.com/ Vangle Vault Dodge Truck entered as well with Nick Tucker behind the wheel. Nick has worked with us all year and has been very helpful and committed to the development of our whole program.

"Finally, I get to come back to the Cup Series with the Cope/Keller Racing Dodge entry. Germane RED from Reading, PA will be on as an associate sponsor as well as Design Elite, a home interior design company based in Concord, NC. I am looking forward to getting to the track this weekend. I will update you further as everything unfolds."

Camping World RV Sales 200
September 21, 2008 - Derrike finished the race in 32nd position. The #73 driven by Kevin Lepage finished in 39th position and the #78 driven by Johnny Sauter finished in 40th position. After the race, Derrike updated us by saying, "This past weekend did not go well. I went out for one lap of practice with the #4 car and it was terrible. They had not changed much from Richmond and it would not drive well. In the second session they put on 20 lap tires from the Cup garage and we made some changes but were still off significantly so Jay opted to stop practice. In qualifying, I had the same 28 lap tires to qualify on and they made significant changes to the car so I had no idea how it would perform. It was loose and no grip so I just got a lap in to get a starting position. As for the race, we had to start on those used tires and went down several laps before we began to make some pit stops for tires. We got it a little better but on one of the stops the crew got the lefts on the right and did not realize it. It resulted in a spin and parking the car early. The number 78 and 73 teams ran fairly well for used tires as well.

"The next thing on my schedule is to debut our COT car at Lowes Motor Speedway on Tuesday. It will be number 75 Cope/Keller Racing Dodge. We will only test for one day because the transporter will have to leave for Kansas. I will update you after the test."

Amber and Jennifer Jo Cobb
September 10, 2008 - Derrike said, "Amber and Jennifer Jo Cobb both did a great job at Chicagoland Speedway this past weekend. Amber had a battery problem and lost 20 laps in the pits but rebounded with a 29th place finish. She just needed to get as many laps as possible to continue to learn. Jennifer had a solid day and finished 19th. She got caught by a caution just after pitting which cost her a few laps. Overall it was a great weekend, the cars came back in good shape and both women got a lot of laps on the track."

Emerson Radio 250 Update
September 10, 2008 - After the race, Derrike gave us an update. He said, "Weather cancelled qualifying so we started 30th. We started the race on used tires and the car was a bit loose with a full load of fuel, but we got better the more laps we ran. I was pleased with how the car really ran. Provided we could have put some new tires on we could have been really productive. I had a good time and ran the whole race, so not a bad weekend. It is off to Dover next in the # 4 car and I am looking forward to it.

"We are busy trying to get both Nationwide cars ready for Dover. At this time Kevin Lepage will still be in the #73 car and Johnny Sauter will be in the #78 car. It looks like right now we will take part in the Charlotte Sprint Cup test at Lowes Motor Speedway with our COT car #75. Provided all goes well there we plan on attempting Charlotte and Martinsville in the Sprint Cup Series."

Food City 250 Update
August 24, 2008 -  Derrike updated us with the results from the weekend. He said, "This past weekend went fairly well. I am very excited and optimistic about our operation. We have been working very hard on every aspect including our engine program which seems to be moving in the right direction despite not having any sponsorship to aid in the process. Kevin Lepage is a very talented race car driver and is a very integral part of the success also. Rick and Del Markle are really making it all come together. We had an old friend and past crew chief helping out this past weekend also, Barry Dodson.

"We practiced very well with the #73 car, 12th fastest overall and qualified 13th. The car was a bit tight and we really need a taller gear and we believe we could have qualified better! As for the #78 car with Nick Tucker driving, we were still working the bugs out of the chassis during practice and he had only used tires on before qualifying. This was the first time the car had been on the track and we thought it would have a good chance of making the event, but Nick spun out qualifying and hit the wall. Nonetheless it was a good effort and we know that car has a lot of potential as well. It is an obvious setback for us because we will not be able to take it to California but hopefully we will have it ready for Dover.

"As for myself, you are probably wondering why I am not driving my own car? Well, I have made a commitment to Jay Robinson to drive his car and I do not want to go back on my word. I also know that owning my own team and driving for it sometimes means you do not always pay yourself if the team needs something. But we all have to pay the bills to keep going! We want to build this team up this year and properly prepare for the future and that means having backup cars in case we have a problem like this past weekend.

"This past weekend I only got one or two laps of practice in the #4 car which really put me at a disadvantage. I qualified on the #49 car's tires that he practiced on in both practice sessions. We were not very good in the couple of laps I ran and they changed a number of things before qualifying with no practice to sort things out. The car was very loose in qualifying, so I just was very careful since the car was locked into the field with a guaranteed starting spot.

"All the cars were going to be starting and parking because of the lack of funding. We continue to search for sponsorship and some relationships that will eventually allow us to actually run the races. But for the time being, this is allowing us to showcase our potential as a race team against the larger and fully funded operations. We are averaging a 22nd place starting spot with the #73 car in the four races that it has attempted. I would say that is pretty good for no sponsorship and a small team!

"We will be off to California next with the #73 car and Kevin Lepage, and I will be back in the #4 car for Jay Robinson Racing. I will keep you updated on our progress."

Derrike Updates
August 10, 2008 -  "There has not been much to talk about the last few weeks. I have been starting and parking the #4 car and #49 car for Jay Robinson Racing. I missed the race this weekend in Watkins Glen. We were unable to get the car to handle or stop in practice so we made a lot of changes before qualifying in hopes of finding the speed necessary but we failed to do so.

"So it is off to Michigan next week. I will have my own team entered there with the number 73 car with Kevin LePage driving the car. We are trying to take a second car as well with Nick Tucker driving, but we are not sure we will have it finished. They are Dodge Charger's.

"There is a possibility of getting our COT car ready to attempt the Bristol Sprint Cup race. I will keep you updated on our progress. It is Cope/Keller Racing and the car number will be 75. It is a Dodge as well. So as you can see we have been and continue to be very busy trying to make something happen. We are looking for sponsorship as well so we can race."

Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250
July 20, 2008 -  Prior to the race Derrike said, "I was very proud of my nieces Amber and Angela last night. Angela qualified 8th and Amber 15th. Amber's car bottomed out, otherwise she may have been a bit better. Although we had grat starting positions, they encountered numerous problems and made a few mistakes, but that is how you learn. Overall a great weekend for them and a great learning experience.

"Jennifer Jo Cobb has been driving the #74 truck at Kentucky and made a great qualifying lap today on SPEED Channel to get into the starting field. I am proud of the entire team and their efforts there. They race tonight on SPEED.

"As for me here at Gateway, things have not gone very well. I only made 4 laps last night, and had no brakes to really stop the car. The team decided to change the setup completely on the car and were unable to get the car through inspection in time for me to make my qualifying spot. So I will have to start at the back tonight. I will let you know how it goes. The team plans on running only a portion of the race."

Dollar General 300
July 13, 2008 -  Derrike finished the race in 38th position. Derrike gave an update for the weekend. "It was a very difficult weekend for the number 4 team. I only got to make 4 laps on used tires in practice before qualifying. I qualified on used tires off the 49 car. On my qualifying lap the throttle stuck which caused a bit of a problem. We started 35th. Once the race started we had the same problem. The throttle stuck again so we went behind the wall to try and fix it. We tried several times to fix it but they were unable to find the problem so we had to quit. It was too dangerous to continue.

"The twins are off to Kentucky for the ARCA race this weekend along with Jennifer Jo Cobb in the #74 Craftsman Truck and I will head off to Gateway in St. Louis for the Nationwide Series in the #4 car for Jay Robinson Racing."

Milwaukee Update
June 23, 2008 -  Derrike updated us with the events from this past weekend. He said, "First of all, there was a lot going on this weekend. I was scheduled to drive the #73 truck at Milwaukee, but with 48 Nationwide cars showing up I elected to put Larry Gunselman in the #73 truck to get more laps of practice so he would feel more comfortable about qualifying. I never actually drove the truck at Milwaukee. The truck was not very good and we struggled with it. Nick Tucker did a good job in the #74 truck. We seem to have a handle on that truck better than the #73. We will keep working on our new engines and hopefully run them soon.

"As for the Nationwide cars, I drove the #49 car for Jay Robinson Racing and I had Larry Gunselman scheduled to drive the #73 car. Larry had a problem with his eye late Friday night prior to the start of the truck race. He had something taken out of it on Saturday so I spoke to Kertus Davis about filling in for Larry in the #73 car. Kertus did a fantastic job for us and qualified well. I as well qualified decent. I under drove the car a bit (being a bit conservative), but still a good lap.

"As we started the race, the plan was for me to come in on the first lap to take the tires off the car for the other two JRR cars to use. I then returned to the track to gain the points necessary to pass the #55 car in case of rain in future races. Always a reason for everything!

"So that was all there was. I will be driving the #4 car in Loudon this weekend. I do not plan to take the #73 at this point although it is entered. We will be working on the twins' ARCA cars for a couple of upcoming tests and a race at Kentucky, where we will run the trucks again as well."

Derrike Updates
June 15, 2008 -  Derrike updated us after the weekend. He said, "As for this weekend, both trucks raced at Michigan. We are still having trouble with the #73 truck not handling so that will be my next task at hand, probably driving it at Milwaukee to see what I can lend to the situation. As for Nick Tucker and the #74, I think he was pleased with his effort. We would obviously like to race but there is no sponsor funding to allow us to yet.

"In Kentucky, I got a few hard laps with the #4 car prior to qualifying. It was not very good. It was bouncing a lot and not utilizing the coil bind very well so we struggled in qualifying and the half of the race that we ran. We ran used tires and did the best we could to put points on the board.

"As for Derrike Cope Inc. my car, the number 73, it was a great weekend! Larry Gunselman qualified very well at 22nd. I had the (Wizard) Domenick Turse, Darrin Carroll, and Charlie Love from my old McGlynn NEXTEL Cup crew working on the car and they all did a fantastic job!

"Overall, not a bad weekend. I just need to find the time to look for sponsorship so we can begin to race more! The next stop is Milwaukee. I do not know what exactly I will be doing as of yet, but I will let you know when I find out."

Meijer 300
June 11, 2008 -  Derrike stated, "This weekend it is off to Kentucky. I will be driving the #4 car from what I have been told to date. I will let you know if anything changes. I will also have Larry Gunselman in my # 73 Nationwide car debuting at Kentucky.

"As for the truck team, they are off to Michigan. Rick Markle will drive the #73 truck and Nick Tucker will drive the # 74 truck.

"So as you can see we are very busy trying to make something happen. I just need to find more time to work on Sponsorship!"

Charlotte Testing
May 14, 2008 -  Derrike told us about testing at Charlotte. He said, "We tested at Charlotte on Monday and Tuesday evening with the Nationwide car #4 of Jay Robinson Racing. I was pleased with how our test went. We ran a 30.25 which was not too bad and I think there was a little more there! It was a pleasure to be back at the track testing again in a relaxed atmosphere. Our times were fairly close to the majority of our competitors. So we are looking forward to next week and representing JVC Electronics, our sponsor for Charlotte."

Charlotte Preview
May 20, 2008 -  Derrike updated us with a preview for this weekend. He said, "I will be driving the JVC Chevrolet at Lowe's. I have withdrawn the two trucks which were supposed to go to Mansfield with the twins. We have decided not to take them there but to do more extensive testing and debut later. I do not know exactly what we will have at Dover yet.

"I am excited about this coming weekend. I think we will have a good race car with the test going the way that it did. We will certainly be a bit cautious through practice and qualifying to get to the race. I am really looking forward to getting to run the entire race and cannot wait. The entire Jay Robinson Racing team is working hard to prepare this car. I will go back to the shop on Wednesday morning for the final fitting."

Richmond Update
May 3, 2008 -  Derrike updated us by saying, "As we approached practice Jimmy Means elected to not go on the race track until there was about 45 minutes left in practice to conserve tires since we were a locked in car (guaranteed in the race). But as soon as we got on the race track we had a miss in the engine. It took several tries before we were able to diagnose the problem, thus relegating us to only one hard lap on the racetrack.

"We qualified 38th which was a bit disappointing, but with minimal laps that is all we could get with a conservative approach. We made a grave error before the race started. When it came time to make our final approved changes to the car, they were not made in time. So we had to start the car with too much wedge and the track bar too low, which left our car way too tight for the first run and went quite a few laps that way which hurt us. We did, however, run the entire race which was nice and finished 33rd. The number 52 remained a lock in car for Darlington.

"It looks like I will be driving the number 4 car for Jay Robinson Racing at Darlington, and then testing the car at Charlotte on Monday after Darlington.

"We are also working hard to get both trucks ready for Charlotte the week after Darlington. We will be working on the Chassis dyno and trying to find some more horsepower to make a better effort with the trucks.

"I will provide further updates as the information is available."

Phoenix Update
April 13, 2008 -  Derrike said after the Phoenix race, "It looks like right now that I will be going to Mexico City to drive a third entry for Jay Robinson Racing, the #49 car. Provided I get the car qualified in the field, I will then turn the seat over to Robert Richardson Jr. so he can get some road racing experience.

"I do not think at this time I will have anything to drive at Talladega so I will probably be going to Kansas for the truck race where Derrike Cope Inc. will have two trucks entered. The one truck will be number 74 with Jennifer Jo Cobb driving and the other one is still up in the air, although there is a strong possibility that it could be another female driver. I plan on taking the trucks to Charlotte, Mansfield, and Dover after that. The twins (my nieces Amber and Angela Cope) are approved to drive at Mansfield so that is the plan right now. I will drive one of the trucks at Charlotte and Dover and we will make a decision on the other driver in the weeks to come. The seat can be rented by some other drivers that can bring some sponsorship. We will be doing some testing with my nieces in the next few weeks as well prior to the Mansfield Truck races.

"Derrike Cope Inc. is working hard to get the program in a position to be competitive very quickly. We are currently pursuing sponsorship as well."

Daytona Update
February 10, 2008 - Derrike gave us an update for Daytona. He said, "As most of you know by now, I have nothing to drive in Daytona. I enjoyed my opportunities in testing there and thought that I would find the necessary funding to go back, but the programs that I thought would materialize did not. I will be going down to Daytona to watch the Gatorade Duel races, and will participate in some functions and activities for the past 500 winners as part of the 50th running of the Daytona 500.

"On a brighter note, it looks like I will be driving a Chevrolet Nationwide Series car in California and Las Vegas for Jimmy Means with the number 52. I do not have all the particulars as of yet, but I will be getting fitted in the car on Monday. I am looking forward to getting back to the track!"

Latest Daytona Testing
January 16, 2008 - Derrike was testing in Daytona. He said, "Today I got the opportunity to finally get on the track in one of the new COT cars. I drove the number 34 cars, one doing two lap runs for speed and then drafting with the other. The 34B car was the one in the draft and this morning we ran several sessions. The car drove very well and the engine very great as well. We ended up 10th fastest for most of the day, but ended up 14th overall.

"I am very pleased with the effort by everyone involved, Rob Fuller, Scott Eggelston, and the entire Front Row Motorsports crew. The 34A car was pretty fast as well, running a 48.92 second run at the end of the day. All in all, I am really excited about this car. Hopefully we can get all the necessary funding in place to come back to Daytona. I will keep you updated as we get closer to Daytona."

Daytona Update
January 12, 2008 - Derrike gave us an update. He said, "I have been in Daytona for the last two days testing a Craftsman Truck with Brian Scott. He is a rookie and has never been to Daytona before. I am working with him and helping to evaluate their two trucks to see which one they will bring back for the race. Yesterday we were fifth fastest in the draft for most of the day, until late in the session and we were bumped back to eighth fastest overall. It was a good test and I enjoyed working with Brian again. The team left for home so I have a day off until Monday. I will be testing the #34 Cup car on Monday. I am working on some sponsorship that could have us back here in February in this car. A lot of things are still up in the air but I am optimistic that we will be racing more this year. I will provide an update after Monday's practice sessions."