Coca-Cola 600

May 30, 1999
Concord, NC

(May 25, 1999) -- Jimmy Dean Pontiac driver Derrike Cope hopes to encounter deja vu as he prepares for Sunday's Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte.

Cope was the last driver to earn a points-race pole position at the 1.5-mile superspeedway during last October's UAW-GM Quality 500. While he would enjoy sitting on the pole position again, Cope believes a top-20 effort would help turn the Bahari' Racing team's season around.

"At this point, I don't think we'd have to win a pole," Cope said. "Right now, a top-20 qualifying effort would make us feel like we're getting back on track. If we can go to Charlotte and qualify in the top-15 or the top-20, that would be a great motivator. We need that stepping stone."

Cope believes that last year's strong performance at Charlotte was due to a successful test session. After another test three weeks ago at Charlotte, Cope is hopeful of a similar turnaround.

"I think we learned some things at last year's test that really helped us," Cope said. "We did the same thing this year. We just went in there and had a good test and from that point on, we qualified in the top-10 and top-20 every week and the car was much more productive through the rest of last year. That test session took us to the next level."

Over his career, Cope has shown well in Coca-Cola 600. He has 10 top-20 finishes in 15 career starts in NASCAR Winston Cup's longest race, including a personal best ninth-place finish in 1990. Three weeks ago, Cope posted the 12th-fastest speed among nearly 30 GM drivers that tested at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"We are in the same boat this year as last year," Cope said. "We haven't been to the wind tunnel because we haven't been able to schedule time, so we really haven't pinpointed our needs yet, but our test session went well again. We weren't the fastest by any means, but we had great laps. We were in the hunt, I thought, and I think with an actual qualifying motor coming back and a better lap we could surprise some people and remind them of last year."

Jimmy Dean is one of four Sara Lee companies serving as rotating sponsors on owner Chuck Rider's Pontiac this year. The others are Bryan, State Fair, and Rudy's Farm.

In Wednesday's practice, Derrike was 39th fastest with a time of 29.814 and speed of 181.123.

In first round qualifying, Derrike produced a time of 29.687 and speed of 181.898. At the end of the round the Jimmy Dean Pontiac was left in 42nd position.

In second round qualifying, Derrike produced a time of 29.852 and speed of 180.892. This was not fast enough to make the race.

(May 28, 1999) -- Jimmy Dean Pontiac driver Derrike Cope battled warm track conditions and fell short of making the Coca-Cola 600 starting field at the Lowe's Motor Speedway Thursday night.

Under the afternoon heat, Cope posted a speed of 180.892 mph in second round qualifying, good for the 47th position out of 52 cars. Cope notched a speed of 181.898 mph during the overcast day of first round qualifying on Wednesday, 42nd in the field.

"I expected the times to be a lot slower because of the heat during the second qualifier," Cope said. "When the track is hot, it's like trying to drive on an ice skating rink. The tires can't get any traction like they did Wednesday in first round qualifying. The track was just really slippery."

Next up for owner Chuck Rider and the Bahari' Racing team is the MBNA Platinum 400 at Dover Downs International Speedway next Sunday.

Jimmy Dean is one of four Sara Lee companies rotating as sponsors on the No. 30 Pontiac. The others are Bryan, State Fair and Rudy's Farm.