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2005

2005 Nextel Cup Season Updates

 
These are various updates throughout the season on Derrike Cope's racing.

Checker Auto Parts 500
November 7, 2005 - Derrike updated us with the following, "I will be driving for McGlynn Motorsports once again. I will be driving the number 00 car in Phoenix this weekend and again the following week at Homestead. I am very excited about the opportunity. The sponsor will be Buyers Choice/Royal Administration. The car will be a Dodge with Joey Arrington engines. We had a great time with some success at Martinsville. I am optimistic that we can expand on that effort and have a productive couple of races. I will keep you updated from Phoenix after our practice sessions leading up to qualifying. Wish us luck."

Later a press release came out from McGlynn Racing.

November 10, 2005 WILKES-BARRE, PA

Derrike Cope takes over the #00 for McGlynn Racing. McGlynn Racing has signed former Daytona 500 winner, Derrike Cope, as primary driver for the 2006 season. The driver change will take place beginning with this week's race in Phoenix. Derrike will remain behind the wheel for the final race at Homestead as well.

McGlynn Racing has reluctantly parted ways with veteran driver Carl Long. The move was a business decision and was deemed necessary for the team to continue growing. Carl has been with the team for over a year and is a big reason for the team's success in breaking into the very competitive NEXTEL Cup Series. McGlynn Racing thanks Carl for his professionalism and tireless efforts while with the team and wishes him the very best in the future.

Derrike Cope will run a full schedule in 2006 for McGlynn Racing. Sponsorship for the #00 team will be announced soon.

Martinsville
October 17, 2005 - Derrike will be driving this weekend. He told us, "I am excited about this weekend...I will be driving for McGlynn Motorsports as a teammate with Carl Long. I am not sure of the number, but possibly 08. I spoke with both Ray and Ryan McGlynn today and had great conversations with the both of them, and we are all optimistic and excited to get things underway. I will look to get fitted in the car on Thursday and head off to Martinsville. I will keep you updated as things progress throughout the week. Wish us luck!"

Batman Returns 400 Update
June 18, 2005 - After qualifying, Derrike had this to say, "We gave a good effort but fell short. We just could not find the speed necessary. In my opinion we learned a lot about what this car needs, but we just need to spend some more time testing to really find the right attitude for the car to get the speed necessary. The guys worked really hard and I really wanted it for all of them. They really have a passion for racing and I feel that good things are in store for them in the near future."

Michigan Prelude
June 11, 2005 - Derrike informed us, "As for next week I will be going to the Michigan speedway to attempt the Nextel Cup race for Conely Motorsports. The car is a Chevrolet. They are a great group of people and I look forward to working with John and his team."

Nextel Open Update
May 23, 2005 - Derrike finished the Nextel Open in 21st position. Derrike had these comments about the race. "Charlotte went pretty well in my opinion. We had a few small problems leading up to qualifying and with the unstable weather conditions, we did not get to do a simulated qualifying lap and just had to make numerous changes and just guess. We had a fairly good qualifying lap.

"As for the race we were a little bit too tight but ran productively. We made some adjustments just to test the car out and ran some good lap times. We now have some data on this car and it will go through tech well. We will look forward and try and get to some Cup races here in the near future."

Nextel Open
May 16, 2005 - Derrike will be running in the Saturday race at Charlotte May 21st. According to Derrike, "I'm looking forward to being behind the wheel of Larry Gunselman's #60 Chevy for The All-Star Challenge. I am anxious to compete and to represent Year One. Kevin King is a super individual and we are pleased to be giving him additional exposure at Charlotte. We really appreciated his support and sponsorship at Daytona."

Sponsorship Announcement
February 10, 2005 - At the eleventh hour we are pleased to share the following announcement from Derrike regarding sponsorship for the 2005 Daytona 500. “We were obviously pleased with our overall performance during the recent Daytona test sessions. We have made several changes to our car that we are confident will make us even more competitive. We will be running Morgan McClure engines in the #55 at Daytona. Their engines performed well at Daytona testing and I have had previous opportunities to work with both Larry McClure and Ron Puyureur, their engine builder. Our car is ready and all that we needed was sponsorship. That has now been remedied. I am pleased and excited to announce that Year One Corporation will be sponsoring us for the Daytona 500 and will be an associate sponsor for the balance of the season. Our Daytona car decal layout will feature both Year One Corp and Muscle Performance. In addition, they will be an associate sponsor for Larry’s #62 Busch ride at Daytona.

"Year One is a Georgia based company that serves as the Restoration and Performance Headquarters for the automobile enthusiast. I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to get to know Kevin King, Year One CEO. I appreciate his enthusiasm and believe that ours will be a mutually rewarding relationship.”

Earlier today we spoke with Kevin King. As evidenced by his comments, he clearly shares Derrike’s enthusiasm. “This is our initial involvement as a racing sponsor at the Nextel Cup level. Clearly, it is an unusual opportunity for a company of our size to be a sponsor in Nextel Cup. It presents an exciting opportunity for us as virtually all of our customers are NASCAR fans. Furthermore, it allows us even greater visibility with race fans. We are particularly glad to be affiliated with Derrike Cope as a previous Daytona 500 winner.”

Be sure and check out Year One at www.yearone.com.

In another release, Derrike said, "This is obviously big for us and our program. Having a company like Year One on board not only helps us in our endeavors but it seems a natural fit giving their business with and relationship to the automotive enthusiast. We have millions of avid race fans that follow NASCAR, many of which consider themselves 'gear-heads' who spend a substantial amount of time restoring and upgrading their automobiles. This partnership with Year One seems a great fit and should be beneficial to everyone involved."

Derrike Discusses 2005
January 27, 2005 - Looking ahead to the 2005 season after successful test sessions at Daytona, Derrike shared the following perspective. "We are busily preparing both the Busch and Cup cars for Daytona. We are making adjustments, and double checking everything in preparation for Daytona. We will be pulling our test engines and putting in our race engines for Daytona. We are still looking for sponsorship and are hopeful that things may be coming together there. Larry Hollenbeck will be driving our Busch entry. In Busch, I will be driving again this year for Jay Robinson Racing. I will be behind the wheel of Jay's #28 Busch entry and am looking forward to a competitive year with Jay."

Thursday Daytona Times
January 20, 2005 - In the Thursday morning test session Derrike was 7th fastest with a time of 48.187 and speed of 186.772. The afternoon session was even faster with a time of 48.035 and speed of 187.363 which put him 16th fastest at the time. Looking back on today's Daytona test session Derrike commented, "Our team is pleased with what we accomplished during our three days at Daytona. Today the car drove well and responded well in the draft. Our speeds were respectable and we were able to run comfortably with the competitive teams. We made some balance changes throughout the day and experienced a push during the afternoon session. As the day warmed up our carb acted up which, of course, impacted our top end. We will address that with our final engine package for the Daytona 500. Right now we need to focus on acquiring sponsorship for our 500 entry."

Wednesday Daytona Times
January 19, 2005 - In the Wednesday morning test session Derrike was 16th fastest with a time of 49.163 and speed of 183.064. During the afternoon session the team picked up almost one half MPH with a time of 49.050 and speed speed of 183.486 which was 20th fastest. Derrike summarized today's testing via the telephone from Daytona. "We had a decent day again today with measurable increases in speed. We are happy with the gains that we have made since arriving here yesterday. In our runs today we still had some tape open. So far we still have not made a full out qualifying run. I expect that we will make two or three qualifying runs tomorrow morning. We still have a couple of things to throw at it to get ready for taped up qualifying runs. After these runs we will change to race trim for drafting in the afternoon. The car handles really well and I am looking forward to drafting. What we learn drafting in a pack will help us to prepare for the 150's."

Tuesday Daytona Times
January 18, 2005 - Derrike tested the number 55 Chevrolet in Daytona. His Tuesday morning time was 15th fastest with a time of 49.567 and speed of 181.572. His afternoon time put him at 21st fastest at 49.454 and speed of 181.987. Wednesday morning, Derrike was 16th fastest with a time of 49.163 and speed of 183.064.

Late Tuesday evening we spoke to Derrike in Daytona regarding the initial day of Nextel Cup testing in preparation for the season opener next month. Here's Derrike's assessment of today's session. "We were pleased overall with what we accomplished today. Our car was good right off of the truck. It is cold here and was windy at the track, nevertheless, we were pleased that we improved our speed with each run. We didn't attempt a qualifying run, but still ended up about 20th on the speed chart. I was particularly pleased with how the car handled. Our team really did a good job today and their hard work in preparing our car yielded positive results. In tomorrow's session we will be looking for some more speed. Thursday we expect to concentrate on drafting."

Daytona Testing
January 13, 2005 - Derrike and the Cup and Busch Teams are working feverishly to prepare for the three day Cup and Busch Daytona test sessions next week. Derrike will be testing for Jay Robinson in Busch and will be testing for the SWAT Racing Cup entry. On the Cup side Derrike reports that they are working hard on finalizing sponsorship for Daytona. Several fans have asked if Derrike will be driving for Jay Robinson in 2005. Derrike verified that he will be driving one of Jay’s Busch cars during the upcoming year. We will be in contact with Derrike next week and plan on updating the website with his comments regarding Daytona testing.

Getting Ready for Daytona
January 7, 2005 - Derrike told us today that "Quest Motor Racing is working together with S.W.A.T. Racing to take a Nextel Cup car and a Busch Series car to the Daytona tests in the coming weeks. We are currently searching for sponsorship for these events but are planning to field a pair of Chevrolets at Daytona. I am really excited about the Cup car we have and look forward to getting started. Hopefully we can provide more information to you with regard to the number we will be running and sponsorship shortly."

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