NAPA AutoCare 500

September 27, 1998
Martinsville, VA

(Sept. 22, 1998) -- Derrike Cope learned just how much racing means to him when he was forced to sit at home and watch April's Goody's 500 at Martinsville Speedway on television while replacement driver Jeff Green took his accustomed seat in the Gumout Pontiac.

Cope sat out the race to rest two broken ribs aggravated in a qualifying crash the week before at Texas Motor Speedway. Cope cheered on Green to a respectable 17th-place finish, but it wasn't easy. Now Cope is healed and anxious to return to one of NASCAR's oldest tracks.

"I hated to be on the sidelines and watch someone else drive the Gumout Pontiac," Cope said. "But I was right there with Jeff trying not to get lapped and trying to get the cautions to fall right for us. It was still difficult. You hate not to be there, but it was the best thing for me. I'm healed now, and I think we can have a good run at Martinsville.

"It was a great effort put in there last time by the whole crew, and obviously, Jeff Green. They had a good finish and did exactly what we needed to have happen, get in the race and run productively and put points on the board."

Cope has reason for optimism upon his first visit to Martinsville this season. He's on a qualifying tear, having qualified eighth at Richmond and a season-high third last week at Dover.

"We've got a good team and we've had some good runs, but the results really haven't reflected what we've done or could have done this season," Cope said. "It's a whole lot more difficult to win in this day and time than it was when I won twice back in 1990. To pull off a win now, almost everything has to be perfect. That's tough."

Gumout Pontiac owner Chuck Rider maintains his characteristic enthusiasm and confidence in the Bahari' Racing team.

"We've had good qualifying efforts the last three weeks and should have had better finishes than what we've had," Rider said. "Things beyond our control just keep getting in the way. Derrike's still a darn good driver. With all the bad luck we've had this season, it's about time we have some good luck."

In the first practice on Friday, the leased qualifying engine was blown which required the team to switch to a new engine. They did not get much practice time on the new setup before first round qualifying.

In first round qualifying, Derrike took the track as the 45th of 47 drivers. On the first lap, he was 44th fastest. He was only able to pick it up a little on the second lap and was 41st fastest with a time of 20.700 and speed of 91.478. At the end of the round, the Gumout Pontiac was left in 43rd position.

The team ended up having to take a provisional to make the race and Derrike will be starting in 42nd position.

For those following the engine story with the team, the team was planning on using one of their own engines for the race. Derrike started the race in 42nd position. This is where he was during the race among the 43 drivers:

• 41st position - lap 15 of 500 (Darrell Waltrip earlier caused an incident and Derrike hit Dale Earnhardt in the left rear. Not sure how much damage though. After seeing he was in 41st here, Derrike must have had to go to the pits since he was running farther up front. Even Waltrip was ahead of him on the restart and he was the one that spun.)
• 42nd - lap 22
• 38th - lap 45 (Shown fighting with Ricky Rudd to stay on the lead lap)
• 38th - lap 50 (1 lap down)
• 29th - lap 98
• 41st - lap 150 (Announcers said Derrike was in the pits and lost a few laps. Not sure what the problem was. 5 laps down.)
• 39th - lap 166 (9 laps down)
• lap 175 (Derrike shown passing Jeremy Mayfield)
• 38th - lap 210 (10 laps down)
• 38th - lap 240 (11 laps down)
• 36th - lap 285 (after pit stops. 12 laps down.)
• 30th - lap 357 (12 laps down)
• 29th - lap 390 (12 laps down)
• 30th - lap 433 (16 laps down)

Derrike finished the race in 30th position, 17 laps down.

(Sept. 27, 1998) -- Gumout Pontiac driver Derrike Cope and the Bahari' Racing team battled an overheating engine throughout the day but managed to finish 30th in Sunday's NAPA 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

In blistering 90-degree conditions, Cope's engine began overheating early on and he went a lap down after a hard fight with eventual winner Ricky Rudd 50 laps into the race. On lap 134, Cope's left-rear tire went down and he had to pit. The crew took advantage of the opportunity to cool the Gumout Pontiac's radiator with water, but lost more laps.

Cope and Chuck Rider's team kept battling, however, continually hosing down the radiator on pit stops to keep the engine running. Cope finished 30th, 17 laps down to Rudd.

"We were overheating and the motor was pegged from the start," Cope said. "It was getting really hot inside the car. The guys did a good job just to get it through the race. I'm amazed. The Gumout Pontiac worked good. If we hadn't been overheating, we would have been all right."

Next up for the Bahari' Racing team is Sunday's UAW-GM Quality 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Ken Fleming was at the race and provided a live report. Ken's Live Report