Derrike Cope's twin nieces tearing down stereotypes as they tear up the track

By HOLLY CAIN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

PUYALLUP -- Amber and Angela Cope seem like typical teenage girls. The 16-year-old twins have baby-sitting jobs after school; they love to shop at the mall, get their nails manicured and talk to their boyfriends on the phone.

Amber and Angela are anything but ordinary, however. Every day, once they've completed their baby-sitting duties, school work and household chores, they head out to the family's garage and spend hours working under the hood of a 3,000-pound race car -- their race car.

"You have to know about the car well enough to be able to tell your crew what it's doing during the race," Angela said matter-of-factly.

"A good driver has to know what's under the hood," Amber added.

It's one of many lessons the girls, sophomores at Rogers High School, have garnered since they started racing go-carts at age 9. These days they're delivering a few lessons of their own -- and breaking some stereotypes along the way.

While other teenage girls might plaster their bedroom walls with posters of N'Sync or Ricky Martin, Amber and Angela have adorned their pastel-colored walls with pictures of NASCAR star drivers Dale Earnhardt and, of course, their uncle, 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope.

In the family room, there's a Hot Wheels race track set up with cars sitting at the starting line.

The Copes' bedroom doors are covered with stickers advertising shock absorbers, brakes and carburetors. There aren't enough shelves in the room to hold all the trophies they've won during the past seven years of go-cart competition.

"I think that's part of what our boyfriends like about us, we're not like other girls," Amber said.

Racing has never been a high-speed battle of the sexes to the Cope twins. They aren't trying to prove girls are better than boys, only that they deserve a right to compete and be treated with the same respect afforded other competitors.

"They are so feminine, yet they can be strong and domineering when they have to," their mom, Mary, said.

They also are very conscious of their challenge.

"When we first started racing maybe they (male racers) didn't think we had what it takes, but we loved what we did and we practiced and stayed at it," Angela said.

"And we proved them wrong," Amber added. "Getting this far, moving up like this, usually people wouldn't think girls would be able to do that."

The Copes have earned their colleagues' respect, collecting approximately 50 carting victories and 30 pole positions (top qualifying honors) between them -- so many they've lost count.

Both girls have earned a pair of Puget Sound Go-Kart Association (PSGKA) championships. Amber won the 1998 Junior Sportsman and 1999 Junior Superbox titles in addition to the presti-gious 1998 Gold Cup title in the Junior Piston Port class. Angela claimed the PSGKA Yamaha Heavy (1999) and Yamaha Lights (1998) titles. The twins also hold track records at nearly every venue they've raced, including Tri-Cities and Spanaway speedways.

"You worry about them for sure, but you want the best for your kids, something to make them feel good about themselves," said their father, Darren, a former late-model racer. "Racing has helped make two shy girls feel confident and helped them stand up for what they believe in."

That good-natured parental concern ironically has kept the girls from getting their Washington driver's licenses, even though they turn 17 this summer. Darren and Mary worry more about the twins' safety driving around the streets of Puyallup than when they are banging fenders on race tracks. Street cars, after all, don't have roll cages, and it's doubtful the girls would want to wear helmets while driving to the mall.

"They're getting really close," Mary Cope said, offering the girls a wide smile. "It's the other drivers I'm worried about."

While they still aren't street legal, Amber and Angela are taking a big step forward in their racing careers. The 5-foot-3, 100-pound teenagers are moving from the driver's seats of 200-pound go-carts to 3,000-pound late-model stock cars. They will travel the state from Yakima to Tenino and compete in 18 races from March to October. Their goals are to get valuable seat time and become accustomed to the heavier, faster cars.

The fact these two are inseparable and the best of friends will come in handy in this new venture. Instead of competing against one another, they'll share driving duties, alternating race weekends.

"Even when we were racing together it was never as bad as everyone thinks it might have been. We helped each other out, and if one was faster, the other pushed them through," Amber said.

"I remember one time Amber was leading and I was in second place and we were a half straightaway ahead of the rest of the field," Angela recalled. "I tried to pass Amber on the inside and ended up taking us both out. I felt so bad. We just said we were sorry."

"And," Amber finishes, "Dad reminded us we're a team, and as long as one of us is doing well, we're all doing well."

In that case, all's well.

The burden of being female in a male-dominated sport is compounded by the big C-O-P-E lettering that appears on their car's windshield. It's a reminder of their racing pedigree, that Uncle Derrike is a high-profile NASCAR Winston Cup driver and winner of stock car racing's version of the Super Bowl.

The association is anything but a burden to the twins, however. It's a source of pride and motivation. Derrike is one of their biggest supporters. He helped them secure the big-time State Fair Corn Dog sponsorship for their bright blue No. 30 car -- a financial luxury most of their competitors won't enjoy.

Even while preparing for the Daytona 500 this year, Cope invariably wanted to talk about his nieces' burgeoning racing career.

"Oh, I'm very proud of them," he said. "They've really got a good opportunity here."

The season is not even in high gear, but the Cope twins already are making big news from town to town. They hold autograph sessions and will be making about 30 appearances at Albertson's supermarkets on behalf of their car's sponsor. The twins especially enjoy having young girls approach them. They hope they've instilled a feeling of can-do for them that didn't exist in the past.

"It's a special feeling to watch them and see how they progress and how they feel so good accomplishing even the small things," Darren said of his daughters. "To see that smile, to see them happy, like all parents, that's all you could ever want for your kids."

Reprinted courtesy of Seattle Post-Intelligencer.