No plans for Cope to compete in Cup at this time
Derrike Cope has no intentions of competing in the Cup Series anytime soon, the drive told The Racing Experts.
Cope continues his role in 2018 at the team manager for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team StarCom Racing (SCR), alongside his wife, Elyshia, who serves as the team’s marketing director.
“I think we’ve really committed to trying to run one car,” Cope said.
The team currently fields the No. 00 Chevrolet driven by Landon Cassill, who competed in a majority of the races for the team in 2018.
Cope drove SCR’s car in its first two premier series races in 2017 and in a second entry for SCR three times in 2018.
The last time Cope, the 1990 Daytona 500 champion, drove in a Cup Series races was for SCR at Darlington Raceway last September to a 33rd-place finish.
Was the Darlington race his last as a Cup Series competitor?
“I really don’t prognosticate what’ll happen,” Cop said when asked that question. “Honestly, it could have been, and it may not be. I don’t really know.
“I haven’t really thought much about it. My concerns are more about the team and where we’re at right now. So yeah, it could have been, who knows.
“I still would like to do something again, but right now I’m pleased and happy with what we’re doing.”
Cope refrained from using the word “retirement” during the interview.
If he never competes in a Monster Energy Cup Series race again, Cope will end his premier series career with 2 wins, 6 top-five finishes, 32 top-10 finishes with 427 total starts spanning 27 seasons.
Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.