Derrike will answer your questions this year. You
can also read Derrike's answers to your 1997, 1998,
2000, 2001, and 2003-2004 questions.
- October 21, 1999
Q: Where
did the unique spelling of your first name come from?
- A: "From my Mom. She was a great big fan of movie star John Derek, and when I was born, she wanted to call me Derek, but she told me she wanted the name to be different. There were a lot of Dereks around, so she came up with the spelling of my first name. A lot of people want to put a 'c' before the 'k,' but that's wrong. You can't believe how many different spellings I've seen of my first name."
Watch various newspapers, magazine articles and TV shows. Many times you'll see a misspelling of
Derrike Cope's first name, many writers thinking there's been a miss-typing of his name on something they've seen, and they'll try to correct it, and still get it wrong.
Q: Has it bothered you over the years, or have people made jokes about his name as he grew up?
A: "No, it's never bothered me. I'm proud of my name. If anything, it brings up a lot of comments and keeps people interested. Everybody has got to have something unique about them. I guess my first name makes me stand out a little.""
August 11, 1999
Q: What kind of personal cars or trucks do you have?- A: "As a Pontiac driver, I receive a vehicle from the manufacturer. Mine is
a Bonneville. I really enjoy it's comfort and performance."
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- Q: Derrike I have been watching you since you started with Bobby Allison.
What kind of impression did he leave on you?
- A: "Bobby was a great asset to me and accelerated my learning process. He
was great coaching me on the radio. You knew Bobby had gone through so much
and you definitely didn't want to let him down, so that was a motivating
factor, too. I can't thank Bobby enough for what he did for me during my
racing career."
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- Q: Do you use the MBNA credit card that has your picture on it?
- A: "Yes, I do use my MBNA credit card. It's a great program within NASCAR."
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- Q: Is Cope Bros. Racing still functioning out on Pacific Avenue?
- A: "The Cope Brothers facility is still up and running out on Pacific Ave."
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- Q: In the past 4 years you've had
4 different crew chiefs. How much has
this hurt or helped you in your NASCAR career?
- A: "It's nice to be able to develop a long-term relationship with a crew
chief. You learn each other's language and develop the necessary amount of
communication in order to forge success. I'm excited about Barry Dodson
coming on board with the Eel River Racing team because we have a history and
we don't have to battle through so many communication problems because we
know each other already."
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- June 21, 1999
Q: I grew
up across the street from your Aunt and Uncle and went to school with your
cousin Ernie. Do you know where he is racing now?
- A: "Ernie is actually working
for me at Bahari' Racing. He serves as the car chief, organizing things
and stuff. I'm glad to have him aboard. He started at Richmond and has
helped us immensely."
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- Q: I have
heard that compared to the Monte Carlo and Taurus, the Pontiac Grand Prix
is harder to set up properly for a race. If that's true, then why do you
and several teams opt for Pontiacs?
- A: "I don't think the Pontiac
Grand Prix is any harder to set up. Look at the statistics. Pontiac's
Bobby Labonte has won two of the last three races. The three makes are as
equal as you could hope for right now. I'm happy to be in a Grand Prix."
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- Q: When did
you decide to race? After your knee took you out of baseball?
- A: "Yes, I decided to race
after my baseball injury full-time. My father pushed me in that direction,
but was also adamant about me getting an education."
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- Q: How often
do pit crew members practice their duties and how do they do it?
- A: "Pit crew members practice
throughout the week. They'll have mock pit stops in the back of the shop
to change tires, etc. The tire changes can also work on their skills alone
on a car at the shop with their air guns and things."
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- Q: The season
is nearly at its halfway point. How is your team doing despite the
qualifying and race misfortunes it has had to endure this season, and what
do you expect for the last half of the season?
- A: "I like the fact we've
added some personnel in an attempt to get better. We've struggled in
qualifying and are trying to get better. We're going to have to work extra
hard so we don't have so many qualifying problems in the second half of
the season."
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- May 6, 1999
Q: What is your thoughts
on the past-champions provisional?
- A: "I'd like to see NASCAR do away with
provisionals, to tell you the truth. I understand why they provide them, but often second
round qualifying is not fair. That's because you often qualify at a different time of day
than in the first round, and conditions are often more unfavorable. I'd like to see
everyone that doesn't make the top 25 have to go again in the second round. The only way
to get in the race would be to qualify among the 43 fastest. Period."
- Q: What do you do with your
old drivers uniforms? Do you guy sell them or auction them off?
- A: "We work very extensively with several
charitable organizations, among them Bruton Smith's Speedway Children's Charities. I
usually have my old driver uniforms given to them for various charitable auctions and
things."
- Q: What is your favorite
track, which one do you race at the best, and which one scares you the
most?
- A: "I don't really think I have an absolute
favorite track. Obviously, I like Daytona, because I won the 1990 Daytona 500. I do think
it is the track where I perform best. No track particularly scares me. There are several
tracks that are difficult to navigate, but none actually scare me."
- Q: I heard that you have
adjustable shocks for late models. Can you please provide some information about this
venture so all your fans know?
- A: "I have a company called 2Qwik which is
relatively new and supplies several smaller series, such as the Dash series, with shock
absorbers to the individual teams. My company is still in the infancy stages, but
proceeding quite well. Hopefully, you'll hear more about it in the future."
- Q: What is the story behind
the rather unusual spelling of your first name?
- A: "There really is no story to it. My father
admired the actor John Derek, the husband of movie star Bo. That's where he got my name
from. There is no story behind the unique spelling."
- March 20, 1999
Q: I am doing a report on
safety, particulary on the invention of the roof flaps and how much safer they are to you
the drivers. What can you tell me about them?
- A: "The roof flaps have proven to be one of
the major safety innovations of the decade. They're designed to open when the car has an
inclination to get airborne, they manipulate the air in a manner which keeps the car on
the ground. They work great. There's no way for the driver to control the car when it's in
the air. If we can keep it on the ground at least a driver has a way to try and control
the vehicle. "
- Q: Have you had a teammate
before, and what do you think about being on a multi-car team?
- A: "I've never worked with a multi-car team,
but obviously, there are advantages. You get more testing information and that's critical.
But you've got to find a teammate you can trust where you share all the information.
That's not always easy, but when it's done right, multi-car teams certainly have some
advantages."
- Q: Can you please tell us your
opinion about Bahari's engine program?
- A: "Ron Puryear and all the guys in the
engine shop at Bahari' Racing are working hard to improve our motors. That's all you can
ask for. Through continued hard work, we'll get things the way they want them."
- Q: Similar to football
players, do you review film from previous races to see what worked and didn't work with
either yourself or other drivers?
- A: "I'll look at film from other NASCAR races
at times to pick up other lines drivers are using and who their cars are working well with
and such. I also like to evaluate my performance and see how I can improve by looking at
myself on the track through films."
- Q: Being that your primary
sponsors are food manufacturers, how do you eat at the track, and who cooks it?
- A: "We have a cook who has a couple of guys
help him out that come to about 20 races a season. They've got a huge Weber grill and we
eat a lot of grilled chicken and pork. We have huge breakfasts available with scrambled
eggs and bacon and such. He also makes a great chicken soup with corn. It's delicious.
It's safe to say we certainly don't go hungry."
- February 22, 1999
Q: Out of all the drivers
in NASCAR Winston Cup who do you think is the best?
- A: "It's hard to pick anyone but Jeff Gordon
right now. He's won three of the last four championships and is a great spokesman for the
sport. He wins with class and treats drivers with respect on the track. I have nothing but
the highest admiration for him."
- Q: I was wondering if you have
ever played golf in Iowa?
- A: "I've played golf all over the country,
but I don't recall specifically playing in Iowa. Since my injuries in Atlanta, I've played
on a very limited basis. But I'm looking forward to the spring and getting back in the
swing of things, so to speak."
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- Q: Do you get to keep all of
the money you win or does some go back into the team?
- A: "Typically teams arrange for some kind of
split of the money between car owner (team) and driver. I receive some of the money I win
on track and some goes back into the team through the owner's pocket as well."
- Q: How do you feel about the
new sponsorship, who was responsible for this change, and also, which new car design is
your personal favorite?
- A: "I love our new sponsorship with Jimmy
Dean, Bryan Foods, State Fair Corn Dogs, and Rudy's Farm. I think it's the wave of the
future as far as sponsorships in this sport. Chuck Rider and myself and really everyone
with the team, through marketing and public relations right down to the guys that clean
the shop at Bahari' Racing had something to do with us getting this sponsorship. That's
because we were all able to make a good enough impression to get these great brands from
the Sara Lee Corp. I like all the cars' paint schemes equally. They show up well on the
track and are all very innovative and creative."
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