 In 1994, Derrike
Cope had the opportunity to drive for Ron Zook, Red Farmer, and the entire Zook team. This
was the late Davey Allison's race equipment and team members, thus accounting for the #82
which is #28 swapped.
In Loudon, NH, New England Chevy
Dealers 250 after rain delays and the #82 car's header pipe breaking during the warm-up
lap, Derrike was able to qualify 14th. During the race, the Zook's Racing/Sport's World
Ford Thunderbird was able to avoid numerous wrecks, and on lap 110 became the race's
eighth leader. The lead was stretched until on lap 137, Derrike headed for the pits for
new left side tires and gas.
After another ten laps, the car was
in the pits for right side tires and to top off the tank. Unfortunately, the air gun hose
was run over and the team was accessed a stop-and-go penalty. So Derrike had to work his
way through traffic once again.
 Eventually, Derrike made his way to
the third position, behind Hermie Sadler and Bobby Dotter. Suddenly with seven laps to go,
Saddler's car slowed. On the last restart, Derrike was able to get to the front and remain
there to win the race, beating Bobby Dotter by .45 of a second. Derrike Cope would become the first Winston Cup driver to win a
Busch Series race at the New Hampshire International Speedway.
Following is where Derrike was
during the race among the 44 cars:
- 10th position - lap 23 of 250
- 8th - lap 52 (gained spot on position)
- lap 66 (major wreck with the leaders and Derrike
was able to get through okay)
- @lap 75 (spin near leaders and everybody in front
of and behind DC started crashing. It was almost like he was in the middle of a circle and
just barely got touched.)
- 5th - lap 94 (on restart)
- 3rd - lap 98 (Derrike went three wide to get a
pass. Announcer comment: "No feathers on that boy's legs".)
- 1st - lap 111
- 9th - lap 144 (after pit stop during caution)
- lap 151 (took pit stop for last right side tires
and ran over air hose on leaving)
- 5th - lap 200
- 3rd - lap 230 (caution, restart on lap 239)
- 2nd - lap 232 (lapped car between DC and leader)
- 1st - lap 244 (leader Hermie Saddler ran out of
gas giving the lead and win to Derrike)
RealVideo G2
is here of the end of the race and victory lane.
| Year |
Races |
Wins |
Top 5 |
Top 10 |
Rank |
Winnings |
| 1994 |
11 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
32 |
$91,120 |
| Date |
Event |
Start |
Finish |
Status |
Money
Won |
Laps |
Laps
Led |
Race
Points |
Standing |
| Apr. 4 |
Goody's 250
Bristol, TN |
14 |
8 |
Running |
$4,335 |
250/250 |
|
142 |
|
| May 7 |
NE Chevy 250
Loudon, NH |
14 |
1 |
Running |
$32,400 |
250/250 |
111-139,244-250 |
180 |
46 |
| May 28 |
Champion 300
Concord, NC |
25 |
37 |
Accident |
$1,715 |
46/200 |
|
52 |
45 |
| Jul. 3 |
Havolilne 250
Milwaukee, WI |
23 |
16 |
Running |
$5,575 |
248/250 |
|
115 |
|
| 23 |
Fram Filter 500K
Talladega, AL |
11 |
23 |
Running |
$4,825 |
115/117 |
26-29,55 |
94 |
45 |
| Aug. 20 |
Detroit Gasket 200
Brooklyn, MI |
1 |
21 |
Running |
$4,370 |
98/100 |
1-9,11-16 |
100 |
42 |
| 26 |
Food City 250
Bristol, TN |
26 |
23 |
Ignition |
$3,455 |
212/250 |
|
94 |
39 |
| Sep. 3 |
Gatorade 200
Darlington, SC |
22 |
12 |
Running |
$2,935 |
110/111 |
|
127 |
39 |
| 9 |
Autolite 250
Richmond, VA |
5 |
13 |
Running |
$4,030 |
247/250 |
|
124 |
36 |
| Oct. 8 |
All Pro 300
Concord, NC |
19 |
3 |
Running |
$24,555 |
200/200 |
|
165 |
32 |
| 22 |
ACDelco 200
Rockingham, NC |
3 |
14 |
Running |
$2,925 |
196/197 |
|
121 |
32 |
Note: If you can
fill in any missing stats or photos, please let us know. Thanks to Norm Gumpel for stats.
Thanks to Carolyn White for Loudon race positions and video. |
