NASCAR Winston Cup Series Mountain Dew 500 Preview: #36, Derrike Cope
28 August 1997
#36 Derrike Cope, Skittles Pontiac Grand Prix
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Mountain Dew Southern 500 Advance
Darlington Raceway
DERRIKE COPE NOTES & QUOTES: MOUNTAIN DEW SOUTHERN 500
DARLINGTON, SC - After starting in a season-high ninth spot during the
Goody's Headache Powder 500 last weekend, Derrike Cope drove the #36
Skittles car around numerous accidents and the 42-car field on the
high-banked, challenging half-mile track. He ran in the top-10 for the
majority of the first half of the 500-lap race, before being hit from behind
by a lapped car and knocked into the #29 car and the retaining wall.
At the time of the incident, Cope was one of the 10 cars still on the lead
lap. The Skittles team had done a great job with pit stops and had been able
to move Cope up several positions each time.
Finishing in the top-20 in 10 of his 17 starts at Darlington, Cope has
finished better during the Southern 500 classic on the egg-shaped track -
fifth in 1993 and fourth in 1991. At the track "too tough to tame," Cope has
three top-10 finishes and two top-10 qualifying efforts. That's given the
team extra incentive for this weekend's Mountain Dew Southern 500 at
Darlington Raceway.
- "The new configuration may take a little while getting use to," said Cope,
whose best start was during the 1993 Mountain Dew 500 when he started fifth.
"With the start/finish line being swapped, there will be some extra
excitement on restarts with turns one and two now being single-grooved."
- "Last time at Darlington we finished 20th," commented Cope. "The Skittles
team has grown so much since then and has gained a lot of experience in the
past several months. We have the potential to run in the top-10 every week."
- "I felt bad for the team that something like that happened at Bristol,"
said Cope, who fell one spot to 29th in the Winston Cup points standings.
"The Skittles team had worked so well together - qualifying great and having
superb pit stops. That would have been one of our best finishes yet."
Cope's Record at Darlington Raceway
Best Finish: 4th; 1991 Heinz Southern 500
Top-5 Finishes: 2
Top-10 Finishes: 3
Best Start: 5th; 1993 Mountain Dew 500
Biggest Payday at Michigan Speedway: $24,330; 1991 Heinz Southern 500
YEAR EVENT Start Finish Earnings Reason
1997 TranSouth 400 25 20 13,890 Running
1996 TranSouth 400 20 39 15,654 Engine
Mountain Dew 500 11 34 17,275 Running
1995 TranSouth 400 13 5 22,950 Running
Mountain Dew 500 31 15 16,040 Running
1994 TranSouth 400 12 16 10,405 Running
Mountain Dew 500 20 35 11,140 Accident
1993 TranSouth 500 23 17 12,680 Running
Mountain Dew 500 5 17 12,500 Running
1992 TranSouth 500 26 16 9,175 Running
Mountain Dew 500 19 12 10,690 Running
1991 TranSouth 500 20 31 11,665 Oil Leak
Heinz Southern 500 17 4 24,330 Running
1990 TranSouth 500 24 27 8,170 Handling
Heinz Southern 500 9 9 12,105 Running
1989 TranSouth 500 37 35 1,790 Oil Pump
Heinz Southern 500 12 25 4,105 Running
By Muhleman Marketing