1994 Winston Cup Season

Derrike in uniform The 1994 season started with Derrike Cope racing for Cale Yarborough Motorsports team sponsored by Fingerhut Companies, Inc. Both Derrike and Cale were very optimistic at the start of the season with Derrike saying "With Fingerhut joining the Cale Yarborough Motorsports team, we're going into 1994 with the most potential imaginable. We'll be focused and motivated for every race."

Fingerhut Racing Crew chief and general manager was Ken Glenn and chief engine builders were Rick Swain and Tony Santanicola.

#02 car Unfortunately the season did not turn out as expected for all involved. In the middle of the season, Cale Yarborough dropped Derrike as his driver for the #98 Ford Thunderbird and brought in rookie Jeremy Mayfield.

#02 car Derrike never missed a beat though, picking up the #02 ride for rookie car owner T.W. Taylor of Taylor Performance Racing sponsored by Children's Miracle Net, who had had Jeremy Mayfield as his driver.

'94 Straight Arrow car After a few weeks of racing for T.W. Taylor, he drove for Bobby Allison Motorsports in the Watkins Glen race. The following week at Michigan it was officially announced that Derrike would be finishing the 1994 season with Bobby Allison. Crew chief was Jimmy Fennig.

It was also announced that Straight Arrow would become the new sponsor for the #12 Ford Thunderbird.

With Cale Yarborough	2/20/94 - 7/10/94
With T.W. Taylor	7/17/94 - 8/6/94
With Bobby Allison	8/14/94 - 11/13/94

Year	Races	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Rank	Winnings
1994	30	0	0	2	30	$398,436

Date	Event	Start	Finish	Status	Money Won	Laps	Laps Led	Race Points	Standing
Feb. 20	Daytona 500 Daytona, FL	16	21	Running	$36,220	198/200	142-148	105	21
27	Goodwrench 500 Rockingham, NC	32	29	Running	$9,900	477/492		76
Mar. 6	Pontiac Excitement 400 Richmond, VA	33	29	Running	$12,945	381/400		76
13	Purolator 500 Hampton, GA	29	34	Accident	$9,955	215/328		61
27	TranSouth Financial 400 Darlington, SC	12	16	Running	$10,405	290/293		115
Apr. 10	Food City 500 Bristol, TN	17	27	Running	$10,231	276/500		82
17	First Union 400 N. Wilkesboro, NC	22	27	Running	$7,050	393/400		82
24	Hanes 500 Martinsville, VA	14	28	Oil Leak	$6,825	473/500		79
May 1	Winston Select 500 Talladega, AL	31	31	Accident	$10,115	115/188		70
15	Save Mart Supermarkets 300 Sonoma, CA	17	43	Accident	$8,600	18/74		34
21	Winston Open Concord, NC	25	25	Running	$2,000	45/50		---
29	Coca-Cola 600 Concord, NC	22	18	Running	$13,040	394/400		109
Jun. 5	Budweiser 500 Dover, DE	24	23	Running	$10,965	481/500		94
12	UAW-GM Teamwork 500 Long Pond, PA	36	40	Accident	$7,150	54/200		43
19	Miller Genuine Draft 400 Brooklyn, MI	14	37	Handling	$9,490	91/200		52
Jul. 2	Pepsi 400 Daytona, FL	39	23	Running	$12,165	159/160		94
10	Slick 50 300 Loudon, NH	8	35	Running	$12,100	246/300		58
17	Miller Genuine Draft 500 Long Pond, PA	27	19	Running	$9,110	198/200		106
24	DieHard 500 Talladega, AL			DNQ				0
Aug. 6	Brickyard 400 Speedway, IN	39	27	Running	$26,000	158/160		82
14	Bud at the Glen Watkins Glen, NY	17	40	Engine	$9,965	5/90		43
21	GM Goodwrench Dealer 400 Brooklyn, MI	24	18	Running	$16,590	197/200		109
27	Goody's 500 Bristol, TN	19	16	Running	$15,085	496/500		115
Sep. 4	Mountain Dew Southern 500 Darlington, SC	20	35	Accident	$11,140	213/367		58
10	Miller Genuine Draft 400 Richmond, VA	18	19	Running	$13,855	396/400		106
18	Splitfire Spark Plug 500 Dover, DE	17	12	Running	$13,415	499/500		127
25	Goody's 500 Martinsville, VA	19	17	Running	$13,225	495/500		112
Oct. 2	Tyson Holly Farms 400 N. Wilkesboro, NC	16	19	Running	$11,850	394/400		106
9	Mello Yello 500 Concord, NC	7	8	Running	$28,100	334/334		142
23	ACDelco 500 Rockingham, NC	4	37	Engine	$10,950	230/492		52
30	Slick 50 500 Phoenix, AZ	22	30	Running	$12,935	303/312		52
Nov. 13	Hooters 500 Hampton, GA	3	7	Running	$21,030	327/328	1-4	151	30

Thanks to Karl Douglas for the #02 photo who was taken by photographer Nick Nicholson.
Thanks to Eric Rytilahti and Norm Gumpel for some of the stats.