1998 Winston Cup Season

Derrike Cope drove the #30 Gumout Pontiac for the Bahari' Racing team owned by Chuck Rider and Lowrance Harry in 1998. The announcement was made in September, 1997. Bahari' Racing also had a press release of the announcement. Derrike appeared on RPM 2Night to discuss his new ride. Later in 1997, Gumout was announced as the sponsor for the 1998 #30 Pontiac. Further associate sponsors announced later were Bryan Foods, Jimmy Dean Sausage, State Fair Foods, Brut, Suave, and Degree Anti-Perspirant. Photos were released of the #30 Gumout. Ever wonder what the difference between a Pontiac Production Grand Prix and the Gumout Pontiac is? Here's your answer. In April 1998 it was announced that Pennzoil and Quaker State would merge.

In 1997, fan Patty Leizear visited the Bahari' Racing race shop and shared some photos of her visit. Fans attended the '98 Winston Preview along with Echo in Winston-Salem, NC and the Fort Washington Expo in Fort Washington, PA.

Before the season began, the team was looking forward to the upcoming year. Derrike Cope gave some thoughts on the 1998 season. Crew chief Doug Hewitt also showed enthusiasm for the upcoming season. Chuck Rider gave his thoughts on 1998. The team used the new SB2 engine in 1998. During the winter prior to the season, the team tested in Daytona and Talladega. After the Daytona testing, Derrike was interviewed. The Orlando Sentinel had a nice article about Derrike before the Daytona 500. More photos of the Gumout Pontiac and Derrike were released. Jeff Cope visited the Gumout Pontiac simulator during the year.

In July 1998, Jimmy Dean Foods announced a promotion to give away a Pontiac Trans Am.

Unfortunately, the season did not turn out as well as the team had hoped. Injuries to Derrike in the spring Atlanta race sidelined him and a qualifying accident in Texas reinjured him and slowed his healing process. The end of the season was promising with the team's improved qualifying efforts. Derrike Cope achieved his first pole position and the team ended the season with top 10 starts in 5 of the last 9 races.

The Bahari' Racing raceshop is located at:
208 Rolling Hills Rd.
Mooresville, NC 28115

Gumout Card

The scanner frequencies used by the team were: 466.3000, 469.1250, 469.0000.

Year	Races	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Points	Rank	Winnings
1998	28	0	0	0	2065	37	$956,980

Date	Event	Start	Finish	Status	Money Won	Laps	Laps Led	Race Points	Standing
Feb. 12	Gatorade Twin 125 Daytona, FL	4	6	Running	$12,605	50/50		--	--
15	Daytona 500 Daytona, FL	11	37	Running	$80,605	191/200		52	37
22	GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400 Rockingham, NC	35	15	Running	$29,500	392/393		118	29
Mar. 1	Las Vegas 400 Las Vegas, NV	9	31	Running	$49,400	264/267		70	31
9	Primestar 500 Hampton, GA	19	38	Accident	$28,400	203/325	52-55	54	31
22	Transouth Financial 400 Darlington, SC	31	40	Engine	$22,475	231/293		43	35
29	Food City 500 Bristol, NC	15	26	Running	$28,615	495/500		85	33
Apr. 5	Texas 500 Roanoke, TX			DNQ					38
20	Goody's Headache Powder 500 Martinsville, VA			Injured					40
26	DieHard 500 Talladega, AL	7	22	Running	$35,300	182/188		97	39
May 3	California 500 Fontana, CA	32	39	Accident	$34,325	153/250		49	39
16	Winston Open Concord, NC	12	11	Running	$12,396	50/50		--	--
24	Coca-Cola 600 Concord, NC	25	33	Running	$31,615	495/500		64	39
31	MBNA Platinum 400 Dover, DE	32	35	Running	$27,545	390/400		58	39
Jun. 6	Pontiac Excitement 400 Richmond, VA	43	34	Transmission	$24,850	390/400		61	39
14	Miller Lite 400 Brooklyn, MI			DNQ					39
21	Pocono 500 Long Pond, PA	41	26	Running	$23,955	194/200		85	38
28	Save Mart/Kragen 350 Sonoma, CA	41	38	Rear End	$31,745	92/112		49	37
Jul. 12	Jiffy Lube 300 Loudon, NH	29	16	Running	$43,825	299/300		115	36
26	Pennsylvania 500 Long Pond, PA	41	23	Running	$34,340	199/200		94	36
Aug. 1	Brickyard 400 Indianapolis, IN			DNQ					37
9	Bud at the Glen Watkins Glen, NY	42	39	Running	$24,665	87/90		46	37
16	Pepsi 400 presented by DeVilbiss Brooklyn, MI	14	43	Accident	$24,740	7/200		34	37
22	Goody's Headache Powder 500 Bristol, TN	20	36	Handling	$27,185	353/500		55	37
30	Farm Aid on CMT 300 Loudon, NH			DNQ					38
Sep. 6	Pepsi Southern 500 Darlington, SC	22	27	Running	$30,870	361/367		82	37
12	Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 Richmond, VA	8	24	Running	$30,855	398/400		91	37
20	MBNA Gold 400 Dover, DE	3	35	Engine	$23,480	314/400		58	37
27	NAPA AutoCare 500 Martinsville, VA	42	30	Running	$26,750	483/500		73	37
Oct. 4	UAW-GM Quality 500 Concord, NC	1	14	Running	$68,289	334/334	2-7	126	37
11	Winston 500 Talladega, AL	26	11	Running	$43,930	188/188	139-144	135	37
17	Pepsi 400 Daytona, FL	13	38	Rear End	$31,650	67/160		49	37
25	Dura Lube/Kmart 500 Phoenix, AZ	36	33	Running	$22,070	253/257		64	37
Nov. 1	ACDelco 400 Rockingham, NC	8	25	Running	$25,775	390/393		88	37
8	NAPA 500 Atlanta, GA	6	30	Running	$37,130	221/221		73	37