Stihl Power Tools 300

November 7, 1998
Hampton, GA

Derrike will be attempting to qualify for the race with his Busch team for 1999, Xpress Motorsports, Atlanta '98, Atlanta '98 Photos

In the first practice before first round qualifying out of 52 drivers, Derrike was 9th fastest with a time of 30.168 and speed of 183.770. In the second practice, he was 8th fastest with a time of 30.083 and speed of 184.290 in the #61 IWX Motor Frieght Pontiac. The car was purchased from Labonte Racing.

In first round qualifying, Derrike was 4th out on the track and produced a time of 30.256 and speed of 183.236 which was slower than his practice times. At the end of the round, the IWX Motor Freight Pontiac was sitting in 25th position in which they made the first race they attempted.

(Nov. 5, 998) -- Derrike Cope, driver of the No. 61 IWX Motor Freight Pontiac, qualified 25th for Saturday's STIHL 300 NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division race at the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway. Positions one through 25 were locked in during Thursday’s first round of qualifying.

"I was worried about that," said Cope following the run. "That is probably the worst lap we had all day. The car just pushed terrible. Even on the warm-up lap, the car was just pushing up the race track. If I had to guess, I’d say we just got a bad set of tires for our qualifiers.

"The car was so good today," he continued. "I think it's going to be awful strong in Saturday's race. We had such a bad lap, I was worried about even qualifying for the race. I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought and I'm very happy to be locked into the field. This gives us all day Friday to work on our race setup and get prepared for Saturday."

Cope was the fourth of 52 cars to hit the speedway for his qualifying run. Of the first four cars, he was fourth fastest. The lap of 30.236 seconds (183.236 miles per hour) held up to secure the 25th starting spot for Saturday's race. In the two practice sessions held earlier in the day on Thursday, Cope's times were ninth and tenth-fastest respectively.

Saturday's race will be the first for Cope in the Xpress Motorsports entry. The team has a limited (15-20 races) schedule for next season with the popular driver at the controls.

Saturday's race will be broadcast same-day tape-delayed by ESPN at 5:30 p.m. EDT. The race will have live radio coverage from the Performance Radio Network (PRN) at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

In Friday's first practice with the race setup, I assume, Derrike was 30th fastest with a time of 30.585 and speed of 181.265. Others were running with their qualifying setup which might account for others being faster. In Friday's second practice after second round qualifying was complete, the IWX Motor Freight Pontiac produced a time of 30.692 and speed of 180.633 for the 26th fastest time.

Derrike started the race in 25th position. This is where he was during the race:

• 27th position - lap 9 of 195
• 22nd - lap 49
• 24th - lap 65 (last car on lead lap)
• 20th - lap 114 (2 laps down)
• lap 117 (it was announced that Derrike had taken the car behind the wall and was out of the race)

Derrike finished the race in 36th position, 82 laps down.

IWX Motor Freight's NASCAR Busch Series debut didn't exactly go the way driver Derrike Cope and owner Steve Coulter planned. The team, which will run a limited NASCAR Busch Series schedule next season, finished 36th and dropped out of the race after 113 laps with engine trouble.

"We started off and the car was tight," Cope said. "We lost a lap, and decided to pit for two tires to try to get track position on the lead lap. As we were in the pits, the caution came out and messed that up. We were really good after that.

"We started to develop a vibration. We changed the tires and that wasn't it. The car just vibrated all over. We decided to park the car. This is a new team and there is no need to destroy a race car. I'm happy. I think we'll be a competitor next year."

Derrike Cope, driver of the No. 61 IWX Motor Freight Pontiac, finished 36th in Saturday's STIHL 300 NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division race at the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway. It was Cope's first ride in the Xpress Motorsports machine.

"We struggled with the handling a little early in the race," said Cope. "We had the car pretty strong and then I started to feel a vibration. We changed tires thinking that might be the problem, but it was something more than that. It got pretty bad, so we made the decision to park the car as opposed to doing serious damage or risking an accident."

Cope completed 113 of the 195 laps.

"This is a new team," he continued. "I'm very happy with the weekend we had and feel like next season we will be very competitive in the Busch Series. I'm excited about next year in this car."

The team has a limited Busch Series, Grand National Division schedule (15 to 20 races) planned for next season. The Atlanta race as much as anything else was a head start on next year's program. Team manager and crew chief Dave Fuge echoed the positive sentiments.

"I think the Atlanta experience was a success," he commented. "We got to test two days a couple of weeks ago and that really helped us get acquainted with the cars. Then to actually qualify on the first day and get a chance to do the whole weekend was very valuable for us as we continue to work towards next season."

Mark Martin won Saturday's race. He was followed across the line by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Buckshot Jones. The Xpress Motorsports/Derrike Cope combination will next hit the track in Daytona as part of Speedweeks activities in February.