Brickyard 400

August 1, 1998
Indianapolis, IN

(July 27, 1998) -- Gumout Pontiac driver Derrike Cope will be a popular interview subject among reporters looking for insights into the issues pervading the world of NASCAR Winston Cup racing as the circuit heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Saturday's Brickyard 400.

That's because Cope's answers go much deeper than a simple "That's racin'." His vocabulary is rich. Cope refers to single-car teams as "entities." Spending money is a "capital expenditure." Results are measured in "quantifiable" measurements.

A pad and pen aren't the only things needed when interviewing Cope. A dictionary is a nice tool, and a spell check function on a computer is also a big aid.

Cope's lexicon was built by design. Always interested in the business side of the sport, it's helped Cope relate to numerous corporations through the years that have served as sponsors.

"Through interaction with corporate entities I've been involved with, you pick up on what people say and the terminology that's used," Cope said. "I've utilized the things I've learned. I've worked hard to look up things in the past to understand what they meant. I think that's beneficial when I'm speaking with corporations. If you're sitting in a corporate boardroom you talk differently."

Cope and his father, a former professional drag racing champion, carefully mapped out his racing career. They realized that in addition to honing his skills on racing asphalt, Cope would need to comprehend the business side of the sport in order to attract sponsors.

"When we were looking at going into motorsports, we were looking at every facet of the business," Cope said. "We would try to look at all the things that would be an enhancement. I learned to be a good spokesman. I took speech classes and marketing courses. I wrote my own proposals in order to procur sponsorship. You have to represent yourself in a different light in order to separate yourself and when you talk more commonly it doesn't come off that way."

Educating himself on the business side of the sport came from necessity.

"I had to make myself do it," Cope said. "I had to learn more. I had to get comfortable on that platform because I had no money. I knew I was going to have to find funding. I worked very diligently on it because it was the only way I was going to get here. My father was adamant that that's what I was going to have to do because we didn't have the money to do it ourselves."

Cope's education away from racing continues in order to enhance his career. He took speech classes in junior college and refines his skills with intense media training seminars.

All the education has given Cope an unsurpassed ability to relate his racing experiences and opinions to a scrutinizing media.

Cope has had a difficult season. He broke two ribs in the Primestar 500 at Atlanta and has driven through much of the year in pain. Saturday's Brickyard 400 gives him a chance to make a season in one race. If a trend reasserts itself, Cope could very well find himself in victory lane. Three of the first four Brickyard 400 winners have won the Daytona 500 -- Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, and Dale Jarrett. Cope won the 1990 Daytona 500.

And if Cope shocked the racing world by pulling off a huge upset in the Gumout Pontiac in the Brickyard 400, the media needn't worry. Cope could definitely put the momentous victory into words.

In first round qualifying, Derrike took the track as the 15th of 50 cars. On turn 4, the car wouldn't turn and brushed the outside wall. This slowed the lap to produce a time of 52.273 and speed of 172.173. This was good enough at the time for 13th position. At the end of the round, the Gumout Pontiac was left in 48th position.

Second round qualifying was almost a repeat of the first round. This time turn 3 jumped out and hit the car during qualifying when Derrike was having a good lap going which would have placed him 34th in the race. As a result of it slowing the car, his time of 52.072 and speed of 172.838 was only good enough for 43rd. This was not enough to make the field so the team was one of eight that went home early.

Even though Derrike didn't make the race, he was the fastest of second round qualifying and won $500 for it.

(July 31, 1998) -- Thursday in first round time trials for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the turn four wall bit Gumout Pontiac driver Derrike Cope. In Friday's second round, the turn three wall did him in.

Cope failed to make the 43-car starting field for Saturday's Brickyard 400 after scrubbing the outside walls in both of his qualifying runs. Cope did a masterful job of collecting the car each time, but each contact slowed his runs.

"I guess it was a classic case of trying too hard," Cope said. "I'm so despondent that it happened. I felt I had a great lap going, especially in the second round in the hotter conditions. We would have gotten in the race if I could have kept it off the wall. These corners are tricky. Our cars were equal and both were good enough to make the show. This really hurts."

Cope's speed Thursday was 172.173 mph, 48th-fastest of 50 qualifiers. Friday, in a backup Gumout Pontiac, he still managed 172.838 mph despite hitting the wall. He was still fastest among the seven drivers that attempted to qualify in the second round. Had he not made contact, he would have most likely made the field.

Next up for owner Chuck Rider’s Bahari' Racing team is next Sunday's Bud at the Glen road course race at Watkins Glen, N.Y.